That’s amazing... kudos to your daughter for doing an excellent job grooming our youth!
Sadly, that is the appropriate word when five year olds are learning the Gettysburg address and memorizing state capitols. "Grooming", not learning. Just memorizing and spewing, that's all. They cannot process that information. They do not understand how long ago one year was, let alone the Civil War. They do not understand how far away the next town is, let alone the next state.
Mac this is no remark on what kind of teacher your daughter is. She is probably having to teach in the iron grip of that Charter school and so it is. She is probably a phenomenal teacher. But that curriculum is not good for learning and ESPECIALLY not 21st century learning. I know that sounds like "liberal code buzz" or whatever but it's true. We don't need people who can memorize stuff that is meaningless to them.
We need people who can make meaning out of what was meaningless before. THAT take genius creativity. You don't get that by teaching five year olds the Gettysburg address.
I sense a terminal case of "charter school" envy here. Just because it doesn't fit the developmental models that your ed school pushed and the unions insist on..
It's a kick start for kids who CAN capitalize on the extra stimulation and does no HARM at that age for kids who aren't motivated by their early success..
As "they" say... Don't knock it til you've tried it and documented the results. And if there's one thing that American needs --- it IS results..
WTF is HEADSTART and PRE-K if NOT attempts to "jump-start" their little cranial engines?
Here's something to ponder: many European schools achieve way over and above our American schools and they don't even think of teaching "academics" until kids are seven years old. Let alone having them do horrid academic feats like memorize the Gettysburg address at five years old. (!!!)
Wanna know why? They know the research, and aren't into impressing dull brained parents.
But the reaction FROM the parents (dull brained or not) is REINFORCEMENT for achieving competency in using the TOOLS of learning.. You don't teach a carpenter apprentice to build the WHOLE house or cabinets. They learn to saw, paint, measure, sand before they even understand how the results are expected to look.. Nobody is getting fooled here. BUT -- I'm a fan of sneaking in a bit of tools learning and making it rewarding..