Do Your Grandchildren a Favor

In the olden days at school the only time we heard squealing in elementary class was when Kitty wore a new hair bow like ours, or Tommy yelled “IT IS SNOWING!” Then we would all run to the window screeching and laughing. And it would take the teacher a few minutes to collect us again and herd us back to our seats. Schools do not have desks now. We have tables, with bouncy balls under them, recliners for the children who are exceedingly good or exceedingly bad and will not get out of them when asked, until the teacher merely gives up. Oops. Did I say that aloud? Hm…. Anyway, we hear screeching and screaming and laughing all the time now, so that is a plus. How do children stay upright on bouncy balls? How do they stay still? They do not. They are not expected to, and the teachers are piping in music that they like, all day long. The children do have I-pads and laptops. It is not much fun for the ones who do not know sight words though. Phonics are out. Spelling tests are forbidden. Practically anything considered “old school” has been thrown out, except for a few dinosaurs like me who are difficult to get rid of due to age discrimination laws. I am not saying this is every school, or my school. I am saying it is some classrooms. So please buy some alphabet cards and number cards at a dollar store this weekend and play some games with your grandchildren. It might save your children from being shocked and indignant during their fifth-grader’s parent-teacher conference that he cannot read, and does not recognize basic kindergarten-level sight words. As if it is not bad enough they are sitting on bouncy balls, and cannot hear most of what the teacher is saying over the music.