i went to a parochial school class size was over 60--every year (graduation class in 8th grade was 64!)
Ok, we were all girls (more chatter than antics) and there was the threat of expulsion --not unique, but apparently uncommonly, no corporal punishment (we were mortified, but not manhandled!)
we had:
religion,
english,
poetry (once a week, in addition to english, and we had separate poetry books) we read aloud, and were required to memorize!
SRA, (reading)
controlled reading (2 times a week),
spelling (oh how i hated spelling!)and vocabulary
math,
science,
history,
geography,
civics (once a week)
art(once a week--3 weeks of drawing (making art) and 1 week a month of art appreciation),
music (once a week(again, 3 weeks of song, 1 week of music technicalities--like learning to read music.)
Dance (no gym-once a week)
plus, of course, fire drills (NYC Mandates 1 fire drill every 2 weeks-for schools!) (and even air raid drills!)
and field trips (NYC museums, the zoo, the botanical gardens) at least once a year. (often 2 field trips a year) and once a year trips to the local library (to learn library skills!)
and we got out early (1 hour) once a week--a release time progam (so public school kids could come and get religious education!)
our day was full of learning! lots of subjects! (part of that learning was rote and part was songs (another form of rote!))
nowdays, it is 'social studies' history, geography and civics all rolled into one, and more focus on soft stuff and not on dates and facts
Geography! today's kids don't know it, or how to read a map! and they know less civic too,
and we had state wide test (for reading and math comprehension) once a year..and "regents" exams (state wide test in a subject (like history) that were optional, but all good school opted in.. (so parents could see where kids 'stood' compared to others in the state. (my school always came up in 70th or percentile.. not a top school, but still above the average!)
I see my friends kids, doing lots of busy work ("workbook" stuff) they do pages of this stuff in school and many more pages of this stuff for homework!) the kids are bored by this dull work!
in first grade i was expect to memorize poetry .
i am bright, but i wasn't one of those kid who learned to read early.. (i could read words, but real reading, that i learned in school (and as soon as i could read, i was allowed/encouraged to read real stuff, not "dick and jane" junk!)
(while still in elementary school, i discovered serial novels (crime novels no less!) in the newspaper and started to read them!--(NYDaily news!)
my grandkids are in 'charter schools" and one requirement is heavy parental involvement.. my grand daughter (like my son) is a bit slow in learning to read.. but she loves books, and i suspect any day now (she is in second grade) reading will click, and she'll make up 'lost time' (my son went from not reading to reading above grade level in 8 weeks.. ) but the school is in a quandry.. she is 'failing' (and remember, there is to be no child left behind!)--so all the supposed 'individual education" it all crap.. she need to be "normal" (not herself!)
