"Today Casper told us that her current (3rd grade) teacher gave them a lecture today about how hard 4th grade is, and how if you forget to turn things in you get a 0, and (unlike in 3rd grade) they don't let you correct mistakes in your work for extra points after a first grading. "
I worry that they are managing by fear. This can be really bad for some children -- the children obsess on the fear and never get things done because they are so focused on the fear. (I may have one of these, yes.)
It isn't so much about rigor as about whether they manage by persuasion or by Dreadful Consequences Otherwise. Consequences are good, but telling a sixth-grader that he's ruining his chances at college... really not good.
no subject
I worry that they are managing by fear. This can be really bad for some children -- the children obsess on the fear and never get things done because they are so focused on the fear. (I may have one of these, yes.)
It isn't so much about rigor as about whether they manage by persuasion or by Dreadful Consequences Otherwise. Consequences are good, but telling a sixth-grader that he's ruining his chances at college... really not good.