conuly

Their mom drops them off with her in the morning, and then she brings them to school. (Well, she brings the younger one, who is in pre-k. Lately the fifth grader has been going by himself.)

And she picks them up from school in the afternoon, feeds them dinner, and I grab them and bring them to mom again.

Anyway, the pre-k kids have one homework assignment every week, and even I think this one is developmentally appropriate: They have to go through a magazine (magazines are provided for those who don't have) and cut out an image that contains the "shape of the week". Then they have to bring in an object that is the same as the 3D shape or color of the week. To my knowledge, the two shapes don't have anything to do with each other - if the picture is supposed to be a circle, the object might be a cube. They do this over the weekend, and then on Monday they all talk about it.

So V was there the other day waiting to drop the kids off at the pre-k entrance, and she overheard some parents talking. One of them, aggrieved, went "Well, I never looked at a shape in my life! I mean, I saw them, but I didn't need to name them!" and his wife, to whomever it was they were talking to, said "Honestly, what I do is I take the magazine and find it and cut it out for her."

What the hell is wrong with these people!?

If it's any consolation, at least they only have one child to screw up between the two of them!

**************

Autonomously growing synthetic DNA strands

Multidimensional Maps That Provide New Perspectives on New York City

Tanzanian cafe where all the staff are deaf

3D printing doubles the strength of stainless steel

By turning medical scans into adventures, GE eases children's fears

How ‘Photo Detectives’ Have Helped Reveal Irish History

This fungus has over 23,000 sexes and no qualms about it

Why Aren’t U.S. Cars Popular in Japan?

Scotland offers free abortions to women from Northern Ireland

Mammals switched to daytime activity after dinosaur extinction

The Zombie Diseases of Climate Change

North Korean snacks: 'Speed cakes' and 'man-made meat'

Blame tired brain cells for mental lapses after poor sleep

Can Prosecutors Put the Same Gun in the Hands of More Than One Shooter?

In 2017, It’s Still a Crime to Be Poor

Ivanka, Eric, and Barron Are the Biggest Winners in Republicans’ Tax Bill

Gunman storms small-town Texas church, killing at least 26 (Another week, another mass shooting. Hard to find anything to say anymore.)

9 talking points that are repeated after every mass shooting (Video)

'Absolutely shocking': Niger Delta oil spills linked with infant deaths

Refugees lack menstrual supplies and private, safe toilets

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

larryhammer

Well, I never looked at a shape in my life! I mean, I saw them, but I didn't need to name them!

:facepalm:

And seriously, DON'T DO YOUR PRESCHOOLER'S HOMEWORK FOR THEM. That's starting off school life on the WRONG FOOT.

The point, after all, is not that they do something correctly, but get in the habit of doing it.

Edited (POW! rant on) Date: 2017-11-06 08:18 pm (UTC)

From:

conuly

To be fair, it's reasonable to ask if kids in pre-k should have homework at all. But in this case, they do. It's not an onerous homework load. Either do it, or don't do it, but don't pretend.

From:

akamarykate

Those parents are...something else. Reminds me of when I was teaching at an elementary school and one of the middle school teachers told me a parent had said (to HER, the child's TEACHER) that when her child had too many activities after school he would leave his homework on the counter and, "*giggle* The Homework Fairy takes care of it!"

From:

conuly

Yo, if your kid doesn't have the time to do homework, or you think it's too much homework, or you don't value homework - own it! Write a note saying "We're not doing this assignment" and be a grownup. Don't pretend!

From:

akamarykate

Honestly! But this group of parents was not known for...admitting they (or their kids) couldn't do it all. The (private) school was a pressure cooker for everyone involved, but it came out in some very dysfunctional ways.

From:

conuly

Those poor kids. (Also, gonna say, if it's more than one activity, more than one day a week, maybe you need to cut those down. Homework or not, kids should not every day be doing multiple structured activities after school.)

From:

movingfinger

The bizarre conversation about shapes sounds like it's from Watership Down.

From:

conuly

I see rabbits with scissors, I'm running.

From:

zesty_pinto

Those kids are on a road to a privileged, "[insert generational buzzword] are ruining everything" template, I'm sure.

Isn't it ironic that US cars in Japan are the buzzword when technically so many Japanese automobile manufacturers have a stake in the US market that they technically are US cars? I saw Trump's remark on having cars made in the US and all I could think was, "You're known for watching movies but you forgot about the Ron Howard film 'Gung Ho?"

Some of the North Korean food made me think of how it might be rebranded in the future. Injogogi sounds like a health food craze waiting to happen. Alternatively, Dububap doesn't sound too different from inari sushi, which is fantastic. I don't think it'll taste the same though as the latter is sweet and smoky from sugar and sesame seeds. Other things like sundae though is like something you can find in any Korean grocery store in any K-town so surprises me is mentioned at all.

The infant deaths from oil spills probably also ensures Nigeria has issues too; I know oil thievery from submurged pipelines isn't uncommon. Likewise, I find something bitter about how Flint, MI has a birth rate problem as well that is sadly third world-like.

The alt-whatever people using the shooting of the church as some excuse it's antifa is just another example of how dumb it all is. Dumber still is that the a Texas Congressman fell for a 4chan joke.

From:

conuly

Other things like sundae though is like something you can find in any Korean grocery store in any K-town so surprises me is mentioned at all.

But if you're not Korean, maybe you've never been to one so you don't know.

From:

zesty_pinto

I dunno man, when you look at things that way, then it is just as liable to make people think everyone's a North Korean just because people eat that food (yes the site mentions in passing that all Koreans basically eat it, but the disclaimer is just questionable to me). Might as well also mention other dishes like nengmyun too, which I know they do make up there because I read an article about someone who got to finally meet his relatives up there and got to eat a meal that he was nostalgic for and its bittersweet price.

From:

ludy

Hi, you've just subscribed to me and we seem to have a few friends in common but I don't know who you are. Are you someone i've met IRL but haven't connected your DW identity to or have you just found me through DW comments of mutual friends journals?
Anyway, Hi friendly person!

From:

conuly

Definitely the second, hi :)

From:

nodrog

https://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/11/chongqing-restaurants-serve-cultural-revolution-nostalgia/281100/

http://www.newsweek.com/chinas-red-restaurants-68221

From:

conuly

Fascinating, thanks.

From:

nodrog

It is, isn't it? Imagine a

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Restaurant

World War II ‘Community Feeding Centre’ revived to-day. It might do well!

From:

fred_mouse

We sadly have some of those kinds of parents around here. When eldest was pre-K, we used to go to story time at the library, and one parent confided in me, all confused 'She counted to ten the other day. I don't know where she got that from, because I didn't learn her' (imagine this is kind of a stereotypical poor/uneducated accent, and you'll have it about right).