Answers to Questions About Learning and School
Parents send their children to school and trust that the "magic" of learning happens. Parents often think they know about school because they went to school. People who have worked in school know it is quite different from what they remember from childhood.
When children have no problems in school, parents don't think to ask questions. When children have difficulties, parents often don't understand the situation and try to deal with the consequences of the problems. This page attempts to simply answer common questions that many parents have about school and how their children learn.
Questions about:
- School
- Why don't my child's teachers teach what my child needs to know?
- Who decides what my child will learn?
- What is taught in each level of school?
- What does it mean that my child's school is in crisis?
- Is this a good system of grading schools?
- What are educators doing?
- What is the difference between remediation and intervention?
- Educators
- School Safety
- Learning
- Cognitive Development
- Language
- School Readiness
- Reading
- Math
Information about:
About school...
- Why don't my child's teachers teach what my child needs to know?
- Who decides what my child will learn?
- What is taught in each level of school?
Each level has a different academic curriculum that teachers must teach. Anyone can find out what is taught at every grade level by going to the state department of education's web site where the "standards" are.
Schools are divided functionally, academically and legally (for educational purposes) into: preschool, primary (K-2), elementary (usually 3-5 or 6, depending on the school structure), middle school (5 or 6-8), and high school (9-12).
Preschool is where children learn social and academic readiness skills. Children do not have to attend preschool. Primary classes emphasize reading instruction and basic mathematics operations. Elementary classes focus on reading comprehension, advanced basic mathematics and beginning social studies and science instruction. Instruction is mostly teacher directed in preschool through elementary levels. Independent reading and work completion begins at the elementary level. Sometimes students do not read well enough to complete assignments on their own. Then teachers may be the center of instruction by monitoring group oral reading of textbooks or actually reading the textbooks to the students. Middle school focuses on reading literature and content as well as all basic mathematical processes and reasoning. High school continues these requirements at more advanced levels.
- What does it mean that my child's school is in crisis?
- Is this a good system of grading schools?
- What are educators doing?
- What is the difference between remediation and intervention?
Click here to listen to recordings of Dr. Jennifer Little discussing various topics relating to education.
