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TOO SMART&nb
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TOO SMART&nb
TOO SMART
I know it's going to sound like I'm gloating here, but this is a serious problem for me.
You know how some kids complain that school is too hard? I complain that it's too easy.
And because of that, it's boring.
I'm in fourth grade, but when I took my school's online tests (I'm homeschooled in PACyber), it said I had *drumroll*....
A 7th grade, 2nd semester math level.
Also, a 10th grade, 1st semester language arts level.
And of course they don't quiz you on science or social studies because their PSSAs only have language arts and math in them so that's all that matters is getting you ready for some huge boring test that doesn't really mean anything and science and social studies are shunned even though they're actually interesting.
SO YA IT'S BORING.
AND TOO EASY.
AND REPETITIVE (did I spell that right?).
AND TERRIBLY PRESENTED.
So in this case, being too smart isn't a good thing.
It's really bad, because I'm not actually learning anything.
It's just stuff I've already learned and boring stuff I already know that they just want to drill into my brains.
And they don't actually care if I understand it or not.
They just want me to VOMIT up answers for some dumb quiz which doesn't really matter. It's so hopeless.
And we quit regular school after second grade because I'm a weakling and everyone* in Waldorf School was a total jerk.
*mostly everyone. I have three friends from there who aren't so bad.
My only real comfort is BOOKS. In books, it's like you're transported into a whole different world, and everything around you starts melting away. All your troubles shatter (of course they rebuild themselves once you put the book down). And you can learn what you want to learn. You can do what you want to do and read what you want to read.
I realize that schools are driven by the need to drum stupid topics into students' heads over and over again, but it's like there is no freedom. You can't choose what to do. They choose it for you.
And now I'm posting this HERE, like it's going to matter.
I don't even care if the admins don't put this up because of words like vomit and stupid and dumb and jerk. It just felt good to type it, to release this worry which has grown into something like a pain.
There. I'm done with my rant. If you read all that, thanks. If not, great. I don't expect you to.
If the curriculum is too easy for you, I don't understand why you're in fourth grade. I thought one of the great advantages of homeschooling is that you can work at your own pace. Why don't you have higher level material?
Admin
submitted by ScarletJumpFreak, the universe
(May 5, 2014 - 1:59 pm)
(May 5, 2014 - 1:59 pm)
Um...since you're homeschooled, can't you just ask your parents to give you harder material?
And just as a general tip, if you're way ahead of your level in school and as a result are really bored, why don't you just research topics that interest you outside of school?
(May 5, 2014 - 6:21 pm)
It seems like you're being homeschooled because you had this problem when you were in school, so why don't your parents give you harder material?
(May 6, 2014 - 1:40 pm)
I suggest asking your parents to give you higher level matierial, and if they still need convincing, show them this post or explain to them what you said above. This is a great point, and definitely applies to the public school system as well.
Another annoying thing is when you can't be in an advanced class because you do music. As a result, everyone is telling me that I won't be able to advance AT ALL for science just because I want to do orchestra and chorus... And the kids who advance are just skipping a year, which means they pretty much have to teach themselves eighth grade science when working on other topics. Pointlessness all around!
(May 6, 2014 - 5:52 pm)
@Gollum - My parents know, and I've already told them what I said above. They agree with me; this school is not high-level enough. But unfortunately, the only "additional" material available is for kids who think the normal lessons are too hard. We can find advanced material outside of the school, but I still have to trudge through all 180 lessons for all 4 subjects, not to mention a Spanish "class" that may as well have been formed by a three-year-old.
Another rant below.
The other thing is, it's terribly presented and hard to navigate. Everything I want to do is a new page, a new lesson, a new tab, a new site, a new window. Because they, for some reason, don't want to have everything on 1-3 page(s).
You have to open up the homepage, then login. It will take you to a long white page with a bunch of notifications. At the top, there is a link for your student email (and 20 other things that I don't even know about, mostly acronyms because that's 'cool'). You then have to scroll down to nearly the bottom of the page (why it's not at the top, I don't know) to find the links for your actual lessons. Then you have to click on a link (5 different links for 5 different subjects) and it will take you to a new window where the actual lessons are. But of course you have to log in AGAIN.
Every single topic is covered in 180 different lessons. This makes it extremely hard to find the information I need for assessments. Again, if it was just maybe 10 pages of stuff, it would be easy. There's also different units, four different subject courses, and a gradebook where you have to submit assessments and scanned papers (of course, a new window).
Oh yeah, did I mention there's a workbook as well, with pointless activities and stuff you really don't need to know but they're going to drum it into your head anyway?
Thanks for all the feedback, everyone! I think it helps to talk about it...
(May 7, 2014 - 6:26 am)
@Maggie - I've tried that, and it mostly works, but I still have to trudge through school. They call it self-paced but it's really not. You still have to complete every single lesson and do at least one assessment every day.
@Ivy - There is no harder material available. Believe me, we've tried.
(May 6, 2014 - 6:55 pm)
You are just like me! I'm tenth grade level on a lot of things, and could be higher if I were allowed to learn more. I'm eleventh on quite a few, and I am really bored. I'm in fifth grade.
(May 7, 2014 - 5:12 am)
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one with this problem.
(May 7, 2014 - 12:23 pm)
Well, um, I don't know what to say. From what I remember, 4th grade was pretty easy but when I got to the higher grades, they got harder. I mean, 7th grade is ok and I'm doing well with my As but I know the next grades are going to be harder than before. Maybe just go with it anyway? From my point of view, maybe you shouldn't rush it or anything because though school is easy, it can get harder. Then again, I may be wrong, but htat's just my point of view.
(May 7, 2014 - 6:06 am)
@Moss - That's reasonable, but I think it's not just too easy, it's badly presented, which, in a way, leads to boredom. You're probably right that it will get harder as I progress, but my worry is that as school gets harder, my brain will get larger, and the pace will still be too slow for me.
Also, let me correct something I originally said: being smart CAN actually be a good thing. Just not in this case.
also i may have been exaggerating a teeny little tiny bit when i said it had grown into a pain
(May 7, 2014 - 12:21 pm)
Oh ok! My mistake; I don't think I read your post too clearly. I was in a bit of a rush to get to school. If it's badly presented, then I'm not so sure what to do...
(May 7, 2014 - 6:20 pm)
@Admin
I wish I could be in fifth or sixth grade, but even though we've complained repeatedly to the people who own our school, they still say that I have to slog all the way through fourth grade and its pointless topics before I can get to fifth grade. And same with fifth/sixth. And sixth/seventh. And so on.
We'll be quitting this school next year, so I suppose there's really no intense problem here. I just wanted to post it and finally "get it out of my system."
(May 7, 2014 - 6:32 am)
It's good that this isn't a permanent problem! Out of curiosity, is this a private school, and if so, do you know if they have a specific teaching principle, like Sudbury or Waldorf?
In the meantime, if you want to learn more things, I would recommend Khan Academy! It's pretty easy to use, and there isn't a linear thing, what you want to learn you can learn, and you can go at your own pace and with your own style.
(May 7, 2014 - 5:48 pm)
I'm homeschooled in PACyber. I go on a computer every day and do the process I described a couple posts above.
Yes, next year my parents will actually be teaching me (probably mostly my dad, because my mom goes to work every day). We will use independent online resources like Khan Academy, TedEd, and Influent.
And yes, it is good that this isn't permanent. We've actually tried three different homeschool "systems" and have been disappointed by all of them. The first one, Time4Learning, was completely unresponsive to assessments and it never told you how well you did or gave you feedback from a real person. PACyber actually does have that feature, which is pretty good, but it has far too many downsides for me.
(May 8, 2014 - 7:23 am)