Mum Shocked Over ‘Skills List’ Given By Teachers Before Son Starts School

A mum was not impressed when she was handed a list of skills her son should have to be ready for school.
She uploaded it to Reddit with the caption: “I have failed to prepare my son for Kindergarten (reception class).”
The 11-point list expects kids aged five to be able to write their name, cut with scissors and identify colours, among another things.




Not only were Reddit users concerned at how well-equipped these kids had to be at a young age, they were also confused about how many letters were in the alphabet.
“It says identify 30+ letters, aren’t there only 26?” one person wrote. 
A pre-school teacher then waded in and said this included both upper and lowercase letters.
Either way, it seems extensive for a five-year-old. What do you think?


http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/kindergarten-list-of-demands_uk_57a1b0f6e4b0459aae5eb4ce

I HAVE to wonder about the mentality of many infants and primary teachers these days...

Whether it be idiot "skills lists" like this..

Or some schools banning whole food groups from childrens' lunches, when a couple of kids have developed an allergy to peanuts, or eggs, or wheat products;

Or those schools that drop P/E and/or sporting activities, so as to have more funding for more computers and technology;

Or those primary teachers who are telling their pupils such erroneous statements as :  "you're all special"/"you can be anything you want (careerwise)"/"all your opinions are equal"..

MORE LIKELY, a few primary schools and their misguided teachers are probably setting many students up for increased worry and angst, unneccessary feelings of inadequacy, unreal expectations, disappointments ?        

Completely agree Wolf.
Welcome to the age of technology where babysitters are the TV and computer.
I knew many of my timestables by the time I went to school.
In this an indication of things to come?

There are so many rules and regulations for teachers and they have to stick to a guideline - it's why many of the old-school teachers simply want to leave the profession now; it's not about the children, it's about ticking boxes, attaching labels and making sure everyone is almost the same.

That 'skills list' is awful. Every single child is different and unique and all learn things at different rates and stages. I remember going to a parent consultation day when my son was four or five and being told he was "amazingly clever and such a good and kind boy but they were concerned about his scissor skills"

They said he couldn't use scissors properly and that by now he should be able to cut. I did point out he was left-handed and they got him some left-handed scissors. Turns out he was still shit at cutting out and he still is.

My point is though, what the hell difference did it make to his learning and happiness that he couldn't use scissors property?

CRAP SAKES ...that used to be what the 1st grade teachers curriculum was!
While those little warm bodies had just learned how to sit as still as possible/remain in your assigned seat/raise your hand/ask for permission prior to leaving the room/group participation/
counting to 10/colors/identifying your alphabet and reciting it out loud/listening/craft work/social interaction/tying your own shoe laces  - all taught in Kindergarten!

eddie wrote:There are so many rules and regulations for teachers and they have to stick to a guideline - it's why many of the old-school teachers  simply want to leave the profession now; it's not about the children, it's about ticking boxes, attaching labels and making sure everyone is almost the same.

That 'skills list' is awful. Every single child is different and unique and all learn things at different rates and stages. I remember going to a parent consultation day when my son was four or five and being told he was "amazingly clever and such a good and kind boy but they were concerned about his scissor skills"

They said he couldn't use scissors properly and that by now he should be able to cut. I did point out he was left-handed and they got him some left-handed scissors. Turns out he was still shit at cutting out and he still is.  

My point is though, what the hell difference did it make to his learning and happiness that he couldn't use scissors property?

That he did not end up injuring himself?
That is I guess is the reasoning behind that.
Every single child is different but these are things a child should be knowing already, unless they have learning difficulties which would then require a different school anyway.
As why then send a child who is that far behind the rest to the same school.
Thery require being in a shool where they are with other children who are slower learners.

Didge...being able to use something safely is a different matter to being able to use it well and/or accurately....I know a LOT of people that can use the tools I do perfectly safely....but I wouldnt sit on a chair they built

Lord Foul wrote:Didge...being able to use something safely is a different matter to being able to use it well and/or accurately....I know a LOT of people that can use the tools I do perfectly safely....but I wouldnt sit on a chair they built

Fair point lol, but I doubt its based on their creative skills, but if they could end up doing harm as i said.

Now, do you think we should call this 'the little boys gang'?    No, I don't think we should, because I wouldn't want to descend to that level.

sassy wrote:Now, do you think we should call this 'the little boys gang'?    No, I don't think we should, because I wouldn't want to descend to that level.

Maybe you would like to point out who exactly is being ganged up on here sassy?

Nobody, that's the point.   LF indulges his misogyny to say that two woman agreeing is a girly gang.   Which kind of makes two men who agree a little boys club, but there you go, he thinks like that, I don't.

sassy wrote:Nobody, that's the point.   LF indulges his misogyny to say that two woman agreeing is a girly gang.   Which kind of makes two men who agree a little boys club, but there you go, he thinks like that, I don't.

Misogymy?
Show me anywhere that he dislikes and is prejudiced against all women?
That would mean universal hate towards all women on here?
Also on threads about women
You do realise that do you not?
So if you cannot prove this, then you owe him an apology.

Didge I do understand what you're saying and there are children that are very far behind when they start reception/kindergarten level.
Children aren't usually statemented as having any "mental or social difficulties" until they're at least 6 or 7 (though some cases are obvious well before then).

The point is, if you had a "skills list" like the one in the OP where would that leave EAL (English as Additonal Language) children? Those who are immigrants, for example?

Photoshop!

Ben Reilly wrote:Photoshop!

Will you just shush?!

eddie wrote:Didge I do understand what you're saying and there are children that are very far behind when they start reception/kindergarten level.
Children aren't usually statemented as having any "mental or social difficulties" until they're at least 6 or 7 (though some cases are obvious well before then).

The point is, if you had a "skills list" like the one in the OP where would that leave EAL (English as Additonal Language) children? Those who are immigrants, for example?

Fair point on immigrants but again children seem to pick up fast even if foreign, but again is it fair with foreign students who do not have a good command of english which will again hold others back. I am all for schools that help accomadate this, but we must not get into a situation where there is such a massive level of learning between students, where it will effect the higher or lower, dependent on how they are taught. We need to cater to the needs at the levels of the children or have two starting classes for the youngest ages. One that helps those behind to catch up.

Ben Reilly wrote:Photoshop!

   

sassy wrote:Now, do you think we should call this 'the little boys gang'?    No, I don't think we should, because I wouldn't want to descend to that level.

funny init...didge gets basemented by me....gets warned...and gets a strip torn off quite often.....

yet somehow...i'm his "best buddy and fellow gang member"???

ANNNND ONCE again Sassy shows the world what "dumb" is.....

I was actually disagreeing with didge there.......since i took his post to be a somewhat harsh view that someone who cant use scissors neatly aint safe to have them...so I pointed out that that wasnt actually the case....

as for not descending to that level...that would be hard for you ...you have gone far deeper than that, to do that would be ascending.....

I think the list is pretty fair. Cant most 5 year olds do those basic skills?
If not why not?
My first thought would be that the parents didn't bother to interact with their kids for the first five years of their lives.

Syl wrote:I think the list is pretty fair. Cant most 5 year olds do those basic skills?
If not why not?
My first thought would be that the parents didn't bother to interact with their kids for the first five years of their lives.

I agree, i don't see the list as unreasonable
and if the kid cant do that the parents do probably needs to put some more effort into educating them

by 5 i think they should be starting to understand addition and subtraction and maybe spelling a few words, like their name etc.

the penicl/pen thing is a bit old fashioned
can they type and/or use smartphone is more practical now days

eddie wrote:

Ben Reilly wrote:Photoshop!

Will you just shush?!

No... of course it's totally genuine...!!!


Even all the heavy pixelated areas around all the words are real...!!!





I get letters through the post all the time and all of them have heavy pixelated bits round all the writing!!!


Tell you what... just for fun... why don't you get one of your own letters... any letter will do... lay it out... take a picture of it with your phone... then have a good zoomed in look at pic... see how all the writing then has heavy pixelated bits around it all...!?


Can't see that...!?


Maybe you don't see it in your own picture of one of your letters because that is what a pic of letter should look like!!!


You only get the heavy pixelated shit around bits that have been edited in photoshop!!!


Think about what I'm saying!!!

Tommy Monk wrote:

eddie wrote:

Ben Reilly wrote:Photoshop!

Will you just shush?!

No... of course it's totally genuine...!!!


Even all the heavy pixelated areas around all the words are real...!!!





I get letters through the post all the time and all of them have heavy pixelated bits round all the writing!!!


Tell you what... just for fun... why don't you get one of your own letters... any letter will do... lay it out... take a picture of it with your phone... then have a good zoomed in look at pic... see how all the writing then has heavy pixelated bits around it all...!?


Can't see that...!?


Maybe you don't see it in your own picture of one of your letters because that is what a pic of letter should look like!!!


You only get the heavy pixelated shit around bits that have been edited in photoshop!!!


Think about what I'm saying!!!

See! Me and Tommy know that when you zoom in on an image, it is not supposed to be pixelated one bit!

veya_victaous wrote:

Syl wrote:I think the list is pretty fair. Cant most 5 year olds do those basic skills?
If not why not?
My first thought would be that the parents didn't bother to interact with their kids for the first five years of their lives.

I agree, i don't see the list as unreasonable
and if the kid cant do that the parents do probably needs to put some more effort into educating them

by 5 i think they should be starting to understand addition and subtraction and maybe spelling a few words, like their name etc.

the penicl/pen thing is a bit old fashioned
can they type and/or use smartphone is more practical now days

ONLY typing and using a smartphone, at age five,  veya   ???

I DON'T believe that's anywhere near enough..

IF THEY can't at least reverse your car out of the driveway,  write an app' for that smartphone before breakfast, and then explain Einstein's Theory of Relativity on the way to school, well !

They're just not advanced enough for the 21st century --  and should be marched of to remedial classes, posthaste..