Category Archives: K-12

Cross-Curricular Missteps

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This homework worksheet was assigned to 3rd graders in Georgia.

Imagine this: Your third grade child heads back to school after winter break and comes home with a math worksheet. You, being the awesome parent that you are, help your child with his homework. You are shocked to read the following questions:

If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week?

Frederick had 6 baskets filled with cotton. If each basket held 5 pounds, how many pounds did he have altogether?

Each tree had 56 oranges. If 8 slaves picked them equally, how many oranges did each slave pick?

This exact scenario has recently played out in a metro Atlanta elementary school. In the wake of the incident, the school system launched a full-scale investigation and activist groups took to the airwaves. The Georgia NAACP demanded that all staff involved in the incident be fired, that the teachers offer an apology to all parents, and that the affected students receive counseling to cope with the aftermath of the offending assignment. The Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE), on the other hand, has said that the staff involved should not be fired but retrained and that this unfortunate incident ought to be a teachable moment. Continue reading →

The Value of “Thank You”

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In the age of email, Twitter, and texting, the old-fashioned letter is an endangered species. So, as the U.S. Postal Service fights for its continued existence, let’s take some time to participate in National Letter Writing Week, which lasts from January 8 to January 15. National Letter Writing Week just so happens to follow the holiday season, perhaps attempting to remind errant gift recipients to write those belated thank you letters.

Children (and, often, adults) of all ages tend to despise writing thank you letters. After all, having grown up in the techno-era, thank you letters must seem awfully antiquated. Yet making thank you letters a habit can pay off tenfold later in life.

First, writing thank you letters encourages children to, well, write. Study after study and test result after test result has shown that today’s students are not proficient writers, and while this may not seem overly important to some students, writing is an essential skill for success in nearly any career field. Students who read and write often become stronger writers, allowing them to craft stellar college and grad school admissions essays, highly effective papers and reports for classes, strong resumes and cover letters, and, eventually, impressive business-related correspondence. By encouraging your children to make letter-writing a habit (even if it’s a habit that only appears after receiving a gift), you can help to encourage stronger writing skills later in life.

Moreover, writing thank you letters is just plain nice. Who doesn’t enjoy receiving heartfelt thanks for a thoughtful gift? Instilling this kind of prompt gratitude not only encourages your children to be mindful of others, but may even pay off in adulthood. Who knows – the day may come when a well-written thank you letter could net your child an important business contact.

So take some time during National Letter Writing Week to encourage your children to catch up on those thank you letters. Get them to take a break from email and texting in order to craft a truly heartfelt thank you for a loved one – and get them to exercise those latent writing muscles as well!