This was in my inbox,
I teach 1st grade. We were told we are not allowed to send a letter home telling parents that we are going to teach about the three major religions-Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Admin said Sonya McSwain (director of K-2 Reading) said no.
Why are they trying to hide it before we teach it? Because they know parents won't like it! And we are not allowed to skip any stories. Half the assessment is on the Three World Religions story!
Also, we just read a story called Hatshepsut. In the story she was told she could not be pharaoh because she is not a man. "Hatshepsut simply replied, 'That is no problem. I officially declare myself a man!'" It goes on to say Hatshepsut wore a fake beard and had pictures and statues made of her dressed as a man and wearing a beard.
Students are having a hard time grasping the unreasonable objectives. They can't see the words, as they don't have books. This is all read aloud that they expect students to remember after one read!
The district should never try and keep parents in the dark even if letting them know will be uncomfortable. A friend floated the theory that the reason we are using this god-awful curriculum is to chase people to charter schools.
I don't think the district is trying to promote religion but most of what they expect first graders to learn is way above their head. For goodness sake Ziggurat was a jeopardy answer the other day.
Incredible.
I teach 1st grade. We were told we are not allowed to send a letter home telling parents that we are going to teach about the three major religions-Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Admin said Sonya McSwain (director of K-2 Reading) said no.
Why are they trying to hide it before we teach it? Because they know parents won't like it! And we are not allowed to skip any stories. Half the assessment is on the Three World Religions story!
Also, we just read a story called Hatshepsut. In the story she was told she could not be pharaoh because she is not a man. "Hatshepsut simply replied, 'That is no problem. I officially declare myself a man!'" It goes on to say Hatshepsut wore a fake beard and had pictures and statues made of her dressed as a man and wearing a beard.
Students are having a hard time grasping the unreasonable objectives. They can't see the words, as they don't have books. This is all read aloud that they expect students to remember after one read!
The district should never try and keep parents in the dark even if letting them know will be uncomfortable. A friend floated the theory that the reason we are using this god-awful curriculum is to chase people to charter schools.
I don't think the district is trying to promote religion but most of what they expect first graders to learn is way above their head. For goodness sake Ziggurat was a jeopardy answer the other day.
Incredible.
Being naturally paranoid, I approached colleagues with caution about my idea that Vitti was deliberately trying to destroy public schools, only to find that they all enthusiastically agreed.
ReplyDeleteI keep my parents well informed but sadly they don't seem to care. I keep dropping subtle hints but not one has taken it and run.
ReplyDeleteNot only are we keeping parents in the dark about the reading curriculum, we are doing the same with math. The district purchased large white notebooks for elementary children to file their math worksheets in - sometimes three and four a day. Teachers are not allowed to send any math work home with the children, even struggling or ESE students. The district creates a math homework hotline but won't let the parents see the work their children are doing daily in math! Yes, incredible.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I'm glad we don't have books to these horrible stories. Then the district might tell us that they can partner up with a peer or independently read the stories during center time. You know, cuz nothing else makes sense nor is it right for children.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it I am not able to access the actual curriculum. ? I had to go ask to see the teacher's guide for the oral story telling part, ENGAGE NY and EUREKA out of Texas have the actual workbooks and teacher guides for parents or anyone to see. What are they hiding .... turns out a lot. The district does not allow books in the classroom unless approved by the district. Parent letters that go with the curriculum were not sent to me. I would have had her sit it out.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter came home asking what gods we pray to in front of her grandmother at supper and what is our religious orgy?
I looked up what she meant to say- at the Engage NY website- WHAT????? I cannot believe any parents or teachers would ever approve of religion or why people pray ever being discussed in class. -- Put that with no books being allowed in class , not even one of those little reader books because it is not part of the curriculum - I am not liking this. How come I cannot see the actual material that is being taught---without an appointment with a teacher.
No district I have ever heard of teaches this without telling parents first on something like that.
My child's teacher said that they were told they could not send out a letter telling parents. What else is going on in the classroom that is being told to my student that I don't know about? My child needs to learn to read better -- not spend weeks learning about gods and goddesses and it has been at least two weeks.
This storytelling curriculum is not to my liking. It has very inappropriate content. My understanding it was recommended by the Superintendent and even the whole school board didn't approve it. this past summer . I want to see exactly the teacher is teaching like they have at the Engage website. I was told that I couldn't because the district hasn't finished writing it yet. I am a worried parent . What else does the district not want me to see before it gets taught? from a very irate parent