tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771001836026553701.post774231041904470445..comments2023-08-03T05:13:22.831-07:00Comments on Hawke Talke: What is a normal year?Hawke Talkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09541410031318289708noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771001836026553701.post-29892523133084995022013-01-13T10:22:18.895-08:002013-01-13T10:22:18.895-08:00So glad that he is getting a good education. The m...So glad that he is getting a good education. The most important thing for me (and all of us at KIPP) was not that he was at our school, but that he was getting the best possible education. I'm glad that is what he has now, and especially glad that he has continued with the trumpet. I can still point to the hundreds of ways that learning music continue to help me, so I'm glad he gets to continue in this area.<br /><br />Also, yeah, failure is tough. The key is failing fast, and doing so in a way that doesn't close doors moving forward. Hawke Talkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09541410031318289708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771001836026553701.post-10874417080395931472013-01-12T07:36:32.574-08:002013-01-12T07:36:32.574-08:00Oh, I probably made that sound worse then it is fo...Oh, I probably made that sound worse then it is for him. I think he is getting the best possible education is our area. There are MANY things I love about his school. His other teachers have been great. His Civics teacher emailed me to let me know that Greyson went from an F on a states and capitols quiz to an A the next time. I liked that he celebrated a positive and not just focused on the negative. And of course their band program is amazing. <br /><br />I am not a fan of this science teacher though! Greyson was sick whenever she handed out the big booklet of instructions. She didn't believe him and wouldn't give him another one! Granted, it was a month later so I can imagine why she would have been annoyed. It made it difficult for him to know where to begin though!<br /><br />Another issue that makes it difficult for us is that we are supposed to check on grades via an online thing but not all the teachers update things until close to the end of the term so it's not reliable. And so I stopped checking it on a regular basis. I would have liked an email or form for me to sign to say 'Your son is going to fail because he has not done any of the steps required in his science project.' You have given me a lot to think of about allowing him to fail so that he learns from it. Kerrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13059454698648426927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771001836026553701.post-63693586611396269362013-01-12T06:39:22.462-08:002013-01-12T06:39:22.462-08:00Thank you for your kind words; please know that no...Thank you for your kind words; please know that none (or at least a negligible amount) of this negativity came from parents or students. For what it's worth, there were a lot of great things about these two years. We had some really wonderful teachers who were a pleasure to work with. We had a bunch of great kids, and it was great to be able to help them and get to know them.<br /><br />As an aside, our kids go to a school in New Haven that is similar to KIPP, but that has been around for several years. It is a great place for them, and they haven't faced any of the negativity that Greyson faced at KIPP. Among other things, I wish we would have met Greyson when the school was at a place that would have better served his needs. <br /><br />In terms of the science project, I do think there is a balance between, one one side, teachers working with parents to ensure kids don't fail, and on the other side, teachers putting more ownership on kids. KIPP definitely erred on the side of not allowing kids to fail, largely to address the fact that so many of our kids had failed multiple times before arriving...but there is also something to be learned from having responsibility for something, not doing it, and seeing the negative effects. I was fortunate enough to make these mistakes in 3rd grade, when I balked on completing a huge project - but I remembered the feeling and knew I couldn't get out of projects afterward. I would rather have a kid fail a class in 7th grade than 10th, but if there's a way to fail on a smaller scale and learn from it, that would probably be better on the whole.<br /><br />I do wish Greyson were receiving a better education; let me know if I can help in any way. Hawke Talkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09541410031318289708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771001836026553701.post-32114672826954123502013-01-11T20:23:41.091-08:002013-01-11T20:23:41.091-08:00ugg. I can't even explain here how sad it mak...ugg. I can't even explain here how sad it makes me feel to know anything about those tough years in there. I do know that regardless of what that grade was...that there was some really important stuff happening at KIPP Impact that will stay with those kids, my son included, forever. I think highly of you and wish you had some sort of role in educating any of my children today. <br /><br />Recently, Greyson turned in his science project really late after we had to prod him to get the work done. He would have failed the class without it. The first thing I thought was that this would NOT have happened at KIPP because the science teacher would have called us! His science teacher never contacted us so it would have just been a big surprise when the report card would have come out. He is getting an OK education although not as tough as KIPP was. Kerrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13059454698648426927noreply@blogger.com