I really am dreading the future of our kids. I recently watched a really stupid movie on how this guy had gone forward in time by several hundred years and everyone around him acted like 5 year olds. The systems had let them down, lack of learning and quite simply he was the smartest guy on the planet BY FAR! Stupid movie but what's scary is there could be reality in it.

My Grade 1 son yesterday started his homework. 3 hours later and a LOT of help from Dad, we finished. Him extremely tired and grumpy, and me with the worst temper in a long time. It involved maths, making up groups of numbers.

Question would be IE Complete the number set: 2, 4, 6, _ _ _ _ _ The answers being 8 10 12 etc
The next question 46, 44, 42, 40, _ _ _ _ OK so backwards in 2's
Another question counting forwards in 5's

This is the same work my daughter was doing I think in G4 or G3, don’t remember.

So can it make it the child smarter to be such advanced work at such an early stage. NOT!!! How can the child even define or READ the question for that matter when in Grade 1. How is he supposed to complete the sentences required in the same homework like : "I counted FORWARDS in 2's to get the answers" (he had to actually write these answers) The child's reading ability, just by the shear nature he is only starting school is no where capable of reading or defining the questions without an adult.

Bottom line is the homework is not for the child, its for the adults. Where does the education system get off saying that the reason children are becoming the way they are is because we don’t spend enough time with them. Where do they get off believing that we can afford to spend 3 hours on Homework. (1 child only) Children DO NOT want to spend time with there family doing homework. This is not bonding time, most children consider homework a punishment of sorts (I certainly did)

I chatted to another teacher who has refused to accept the new curriculum. She clearly states that in 5 years time, our G1 children are not going to be able to read the way we know reading by G5. Why, they are been taught to recognise site words, not sound words. A simple word "general" will be easily read as they learnt it as a site word but what about "generally", same word more or less but cant read it because its not a word they learnt. According to her this is happening ALREADY. Children are flunking as the parrot fashion type education is failing them.

A mathematician told me the times table and english are the basis for maths, get those 2, you fly. So start teaching them ENGLISH first, and the times table, then let do number sets, grouping all the rest of the crap! The child cant read the questions. IS THIS NOT AS CLEAR AS DAYLIGHT!

Very cross today…. Very very cross...