DCPS working on a cirriculum issue

[spuwho]

At the recommendation of Supt. Vitti, DCPS has been embracing a New York designed Common Core curriculum for greater Jacksonville.

Unfortunately some components of that cirriculum is causing some adjustments in the elementary schools.

Some elementary principals recently sent letters to parents about 2 books in the cirriculum in that they requested a closer look.

"The Librarian of Basra" and "Nasereens Secret School"

These books are based on true stories of 2 women, one in Basra, Iraq trying to protect the books in her library she had spent years to build.

The other about a mom trying having her daughter get schooling in post Taliban Afghanistan.

The books are in cartoon format  and are being promoted as a way to show passion in reading and education in other cultures.

The issue parents are having is that these books are being targeted at 3rd graders.

Some of the concerns raised are that it isnt made clear why Basra was bombed and the librarians house was searched. It just mentions "invaders" caused this to happen.

Focus groups held by DCPS didnt have any issues with the explicit mention of the characters faith in Mohammed or references to the Koran. Nor were their concerns on highlighting Iraqi or Afghan culture throughout.

It was the concern that 3rd graders after reading this may be unable to discern exactly why Iraq or Afghanistan were in wars to begin with.

Some felt these were anti-war books presented as kids material. These books have won many awards.

Others were concerned as their spouses are on active duty and it is already hard to raise kids with a parent doing a "good" thing when a book portrays it as something else.

To an adult the books appear harmless. To a 3rd grader, parents believe its a message too soon and upsetting.

Just what age is appropriate to discuss the horrors of war in real life?

[AKIRA]

middle school.

[wanderson91]

The kids are already growing up hearing about it in the news or from adults. There's nothing wrong about exposing them to other viewpoints at   a young age.

[Tacachale]

I've never understood the impulse to shield kids from everything and pretend that war and disaster simply don't exist. Those things happen whether they're shielded or not. I think Mr. Rogers' advice was much healthier and more effective: rather than sheltering kids, we should help them cope with the reality and reassure them that no matter what happens, there are good people doing the right thing. Mr. Rogers' famous quote was that when he heard about frightening things happening on the news, "My mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother's words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers — so many caring people in this world."

http://www.pbs.org/parents/rogers/special/scarynews-thoughts.html

I know of "The Librarian of Basra", and it seems pretty perfect for delivering that message. Alia Muhammad Baker was a hero who saved 30,000 books that otherwise would have been destroyed. She was one of the helpers.

[Charles Hunter]

Gee, I wonder if the folks protesting these books would be  so upset if the heroes were  Christian?

[AKIRA]

The question was regarding the age to start teaching about the horros of war.  I would say elementary is not the age.  Kids have such a short time to be kids. 

[Tacachale]

They're having to deal with those horrors regardless of whether a few books get banned. I'd rather we teach them good ways to process them than pretend they don't exist.

[AKIRA]

Kids in Jax in elementary are regulaly dealing with the horrors of war?

[Tacachale]

Kids in Jax in elementary are regulaly dealing with the horrors of war?

If they have access to TV, the internet, or family members in the service, then yes they are.

[AKIRA]

If they have family in the services, then I'm sure those families wish to deal with those issues themselves.

Also, I doubt elementary kids are spending much of their entertainment time "dealing with the horrors of war", instead of the abundence of things geared for them.  If they are surfing such horrors, then there is a bigger problem at hand.

My issue is a bit bigger than just this.  Years ago, kindegarden was just what it was named after, a safe place for kids to explore and play, and in turn learn, fom 8am to 1.  It has evolved into an educational rat race from 8am to 3, where you ae behind the eightball if you are coming in not knowing your number, letter and such.  The race to achieve higher education goals, Common Core being an example, is canking up the expectations for elementary kids to be something older and more mature than they need to be, leaving behind the benifits of play and imagination.

I see the intruducation of "horrors of war" topics to third graders as another effort to push these childen past their childhood faster than they should go.

Childhood is brief, but what was gained or lacked, will effect the child throughout life.

A japanese kindergarden that is brillantly well done: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5jwEyDaR-0
The importance of play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg-GEzM7iTk

[Tacachale]

Have you read the books? "The Librarian of Basra", at least, is no more "horror"-filled than some other things on 3rd-grade curricula. Let alone TV shows, video games, and movies.

[AKIRA]

My answer was for the original question, which was "Just what age is appropriate to discuss the horrors of war in real life?"

This is not about a few books, as much as it is about Common Core's unrealistic view of the progression of a child's learning and the misguided exception that more education, not better education, is best.

Elementary kids in American are generally not ready to process the kind of knowledge we are talking about.  Middle school is.

Teaching more at a younger age is a seductive thought, giving the impression that students are getting ahead of the game.  In reality, busying the child's mind with things beyond their years takes away from the natural state they need to go through. 

Instead of working on a curriculum about the recent wars, third graders should be having art class or playing outside.