SIT AND DELIVER


Fixing schools right from the kitchen table
By Kelvin Wade August 05, 2010

My granddaughter, Lauryn, has been studying with me this summer in hopes of excelling in the eighth grade.

I'm a tough teacher. Lauryn thought I was kidding when I gave her vocabulary words like mononucleosis, portmanteau, malapropism, onomatopoeia, soliloquy, vinaigrette, loquacious and heterogeneous. These are 10th- and 11th-grade words that had this 13-year-old eyeing the exits of my house.

But aside from one B, she's scored all A's on her spelling tests.

This past week she had to define 100 of these difficult words. She scored an astonishing 87 out of 100. It made me want to check her palms to see if she'd Palin-ized the answers. She hadn't. Now she sees she's capable of accomplishing things she didn't think were possible.

She read William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies.' Then she read Paul Zindal's 'The Pigman' in half the time of the first book. She just finished Dave Pelzer's 'A Child Called It.' Not bad for someone who . . . gasp . . . doesn't like to read.

What homeschooling has over public or even private schooling is that assignments can't be blown off. If I assign something, she knows I'm expecting it back completed. And she knows I don't believe in handing in papers with blank answers. There are no discipline problems. No talking, note passing or texting. And best of all, there are no boys.

While our studies consist of English, science, and math, what I'm really teaching her is how to learn.

Things have been going so well that Lauryn's parents asked me if I could include Lauryn's 5-year-old brother Vika into the mix. Vika will start kindergarten soon. I readily said yes, temporarily forgetting that old adage about letting one's mouth write checks that something else can't cash.

For some reason, I'd blocked out how difficult teaching Lauryn had been when she was 5. The look on her face when I told her we were going to study was as if I'd snatched Santa's fake beard off in front of her. What hair I didn't pull out of my head turned prematurely gray.

It's easier teaching an eighth-grader. They have a frame of reference. Teaching a 5-year-old is akin to describing the color turquoise to someone blind since birth.

Our first joint-study session went as well as could be expected. But I realized that having both kids there shortchanged them of my attention. Lauryn and I almost colluded in duct-taping her brother's mouth closed.

In addition to the academics, Lauryn and I usually have great discussions about things going on in her life as part of a character education curriculum I've put together. However, she wasn't so open with her younger brother present.

I changed things so they study with me at different times. I can indulge my natural silliness with Vika without detracting from some of the seriousness of Lauryn's studies.

More parents and extended family should do this. You can pick up a lot of educational materials at the dollar store and there are tons of worksheets to be found online.

People talk about improving our schools. The cheapest and fastest way to improve our schools is for more parents to help in the education of their children. Period. Peace.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

ADDITIONAL NOTES: This is something I've thought for a long time. That the quickest way to fix our ailing schools is through parents or other adults helping prepare kids for school and making sure they do their work. Too many parents have this attitude that it's solely the school's responsibility to educate and that's gotten us to where we are. I know with people working and sometimes working two jobs, they don't have the time or energy to devote to studying with their kids. But I think any parent can maximize the time they have.

There are 168 hours in a week. Surely, we can find some time to squeeze in some learning.

It's been daunting, challenging, and frustrating teaching my grandkids. But it's also been funny, silly, and rewarding. But it's only the beginning. I've got the school year to look forward to and I'll support them in any way I can to make sure they get a quality education.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering Matt Garcia

Image
Ten years ago, I woke up and turned on my laptop and went to the Daily Republic website and was devastated to learn of the shooting of Fairfield City Councilman Matt Garcia. I immediately called my brother Tony who answered and knew why I was calling. We shared our shock and horror. But mainly we just cried together on the phone. Later when Matt had been removed from life support and passed away I told Tony that it felt like hope itself had died. He told me, “Matt has inspired too many people to let hope die. But hope took a beating today.” It seemed like some horrible cosmic joke. Twenty-one year old Matt Garcia, elected to the Fairfield City Council on a platform of supporting youth and curbing violence is murdered on the streets of Fairfield. What's worse, his killer mistook him for someone else. It was a pointless act of evil in which a worthless example of a human being took the life of a priceless one. In 2007 Matt invited me to lunch at Joe's Buffet to discuss...
Read more

What if we could enforce our own driving laws?

Image
Thursday, June 6, 2013 Let’s all enforce our own driving laws By Kelvin Wade From page A11 | June 06, 2013 | Leave Comment Vallejo resident Anthony Cardenas, 52, became a local hero after painting his own crosswalk near his home on Sonoma Boulevard at Illinois Street. Cardenas claims the busy street is dangerous for pedestrians, so he painted the crosswalk and earned himself an arrest for felony vandalism and trip to jail for his trouble. Mr. Cardenas makes me want to place my tongue firmly in cheek and take matters into my own hands to make things safer. Have you ever had idiots zoom down your street in complete disregard for kids in the neighborhood? I’d love to creep outside at 3 a.m. with some cement and make my own speed bumps. The next time the speedsters come flying down my street, they’d make a sunroof with their own heads when they hit my new speed bump. BAM! Problem solved. Last week, my friend Nedra Polk asked me to write about the condition of Clay Bank Road between Air B...
Read more

The reason I've ditched my earphones at night

Monday, August 26, 2013 FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA Accident convinces me to ditch my iPad By Kelvin Wade From page A7 | August 22, 2013 | 4 Comments I’ve been an insomniac for years. I used to embrace my insomnia by putting on a pot of coffee at night and doing some of my best writing while the stars were out. I wrote about having a sleep study a couple of months ago and one of the things the analyst told me is I have to stay off my iPad in bed. That hasn’t happened. But recently, my girlfriend Cathi stumbled upon a cure for my nightly iPad habit. So there I was in the middle of the night in bed with earphones in listening to an awesome version of Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Live and Let Die” while pummeling various victims in “Words with Friends” on my iPad when I heard a boom. I turned on a lamp and saw my Beagle, Theo, panting at the bedroom door. I thought he’d jumped against the door to get my attention. Lately, he’s had to go out a lot at night (a dog with the bladder of a mouse...
Read more