Private School Has Failed My Family

[Ries]

Its never too early to drop out, is my rule of thumb. I was kicked out of kindergarten, primary school, and high school, dropped out of high school twice, and college twice. Turned out just fine. School is a bit over-rated, in my 60 year old view.
However, I am more of the Hunter Thompson school of thought than you probably are.
I am glad to hear its working out for you, though.

 

[Markgeezer]

Its never too early to drop out, is my rule of thumb. I was kicked out of kindergarten, primary school, and high school, dropped out of high school twice, and college twice. Turned out just fine. School is a bit over-rated, in my 60 year old view.
However, I am more of the Hunter Thompson school of thought than you probably are.
I am glad to hear its working out for you, though.

But you weren't kicked out of school in Argentina, and you've never been to school in Argentina right. And you don't have children here.
So according to your take on this I shouldn't worry, just give the kid a copy of Fear and Loathing, and he'll be alright.

 

[mmoon]

Methinks the owner has been reading baexpats

Hope it works out!

 

[Ries]

I am kidding, of course. but I also think that in many cases, schooling turns out to be less important than you think at the time.
I have two kids, they are in their 20s. One was a perfect student, loved by teachers, got great grades, never in trouble.
The other was a constant source of trips by me to the disciplinary officers of schools, starting when he was about 4 years old.
Both have turned into adults, and the "bad" one is very competent, self supporting, and loved by his employers.
I understand Argentina is much more by the book, strict, and bureaucratic than some of the schools in the USA, and I am glad my kids didnt go to school in BsAs- but I still say, in the end, most likely, the kids will turn out just fine, and you will be able to look back on these issues and laugh, in fifteen years or so.

 

[rickulivi]

I have taught at different universities for over 35 years, mostly juniors and seniors, and mostly well behaved kids. I can't imagine the nightmare for a teacher to have a student that, according to the parents had "[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]fits which involved screaming, kicking chairs etc." Schools are not correctional institutes; they are learning environments. No teacher SHOULD have that type of a student in a classroom. Sorry, students that are disruptive do not belong in a classroom.[/background]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]Further. for a parent to expect a teacher to control such student behavior and or situation is totally unrealistic. Teachers are not cops. Teachers are not parents. We are educators. [/background][background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]it's the job of parents to discipline their kids and to make them well behaved around others. If parents want their kids to throw tantrums at home, that's their choice. But it's totally un-acceptable that teachers should put up with brats.[/background]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]I hope I don't offend anyone with my comments, especially the parents who initiated this post, but it's too easy, and too often that we teachers get blamed for not dealing with kids that have not been taught proper behavior at home.[/background]

 

[syngirl]

Rickulivi -- While I"m in agreement in theory with some of your comments I have to say there is an ENORMOUS difference between classroom behaviour expected by 20 somethings and that of 5 year olds -- which is how old the student in question is -- and as the parent said -- just turned 5. In Argentina the school day at a bilingual private school is a full 8 hours -- it can be extremely tiring for young kids. Yes in theory no teacher should have to put up with a disruptive student, but I also wonder how many classrooms at that age have you been in lately? There are a lot of schools around the world these days that incorporate disruptive and disordered children into regular classrooms. You may think that no teacher should have to put up with disruptive students, but that's far removed from what the reality of a typical inicial (preschool and kindergarten level) classroom is like, in Argentina and around the world.

 

[nativexpat]

I agree a bit with everyone. Sorry to go a bit off topic, but now that you mention it, syngirl, no child should be in school 8 hours.

 

[mikic007]

@Rickulvi

I agree, that the best for the teacher is to have well behaved children, properly raised by parents. But since we are talking about 5 years old, that probably see parents for last 4,75 years 3 hours a day, while teachers obviously 8 hours, maybe we have to change perception. I was lucky to see my parents all the rest of the time out of school and got all, bad and good things from them, but reality today is sadly different. Schools, society and even TV have almost the same effect as parents, and you would like to put everything on the latter?

Also, fits at 5 don't mean nothing else than missing attention and certainly you can't condemn such children to some correctional institution. It is more and more normal, since society gets crazier and crazier, that children, not guilty of anything, bear the burden of it.

I know my child at 5 won't be 8 hours in school; I didn't have to be, wouldn't like to be, and certainly I have no right to make him a victim of my (or my employer) ambition...

 

[rickulivi]

syngirl

Yes, there is a difference between a five year old and an adult. Obvious. But, did you ever see that poster that said something like "everything you need to learn about life you learned in kindergarten?"

There seems to be a consensus that educational quality has dropped around the world. Culprits? TV, etc. and a breakdown of parental authority. As a friend told me not long ago (he's 69): "we belong to the last generation that feared parents and the first generation to fear our kids"

I had a female student a few years ago that was a little bit insolent one day in class and rolled her eyes too. I had to swallow hard and move on. After class, a female student from China came up to me and said: "if that would have happened in China, the teacher would have whacked that student." Whether true or not, I don't know.

Two years ago I taught my first freshman class. It was a horrible experience. Students would talk among themselves, would walk in at whatever time, leave whenever it occurred to them, spend half the class in Facebook or similar app. Turn in homework? What's that? Be attentive to what we are discussing in class? What? Participate? What: I don't want to look like a fool!

When discipline breaks down in kindergarten, it follows all the way up to college. Finally, I can assure you that having a disruptive student in a class dumbs down everybody, because they joy of teaching is gone, and the learning environment is poisoned.

It's time that more parents teach their kids respect to teachers; it's time that more parents support teachers and it's time that more parents stop blaming schools for the poor parenting skills they choose to have.

 

[sergio]

You said that you are Anglo-Argentine which means that your families have been in Argentina for many generations. It surprises me that you are seeking advice on this forum.