Are Schools Creating Bullies?

all my girls but one knew how to tie shoes before kindergarten. The girl that did not grasp it easily was by no means dumb or slow...she just could not quite get this task. I would have been so upset had the teacher given her a time limit or in any way make her feel inadequate. I understand your concerns. Have you talked to other parents about this policy? It seems wrong.

I don't like that at all. Sounds like the teachers are a little lazy. Its their job to teach the children. Sounds like they are passing the buck to the other children.

that is really awful... this is the first time i heard about this... i agree with you that tying shoes is not an easy task especially for a kindergarten kids... what if not a single child manage to do it by the end of the first quarter??? are the teachers still going to impose this??? are the kids going to fall down and injured themselves because the teachers are not willing to help them to tie their shoe laces??? that is very absurd... i think you have to say something to the school and express your concern... no wonder more and more parents are home schooling their kids nowadays...

i think schools are a micocosm of wider society and as we have bullies outside schools, we have bullies inside schools too. A teacher refusing to help a child fastening their shoes is bullying. A good way of getting bullying out of schools is to start getting rid of the bad teachers. By bad I dont just mean those who cant teach, and there are a few of those, but also those that develop such stupid ideas. At our daughters school, one bullying teacher got it in to her head to prevent children visiting the toilet in class time, suffice it to say we removed our daughter from the school. This sort of thing seems to be on the increase and bad teachers are the root cause blessed be

I hate the idea of shaming a child if they're a little slow on a certain task. I remember my teacher humiliating me because I couldn't tie a bow when we were making Christmas decorations for our parents. I had to take mine home without. It definitely has an impact. I remember being too shy to tell anyone that I couldn't tell time and so I just carried on not knowing for far longer than I should have without the skill. A teacher should be patient with a child and help them learn. That's their job!

I suggest you check out the following video, which might explain what is going on in our schools: http://youtube.com/watch?v=5IAqsrMpaLE and pass the link on to your children. With the recent California court ruling that states "homeschooling in California is illegal. Parents have the constitutional right to take care of their children, but they do not have the constitutional right to educate their children..." (paraphrasing) I cannot help but wonder if their isn't a connection.

..it seems to me the schools are getting meaner and meaner.. less and less tolerant.. Now there's the new zero tolerance and kids expelled for things they draw.. or when they turn a butter knife in to the office they brought to school by mistake.. - I also heard a report of a grade school child suspended for his (sort of) mohawk hair cut.. It wasn't all that mohawk even! Now what if he has Native American roots? Even if not, I thought it was ridiculous.. another report I heard recently was being suspended (in grade school again) for wearing a crucifix (a gift) as it was supposedly gang related..

That's the most bizarre thing that I have heard today. What happens if none of the class learn to tie their shoelaces. Will they all run about until they fall over and someone sues the school. Whilst I hate the whole concept of litigation in schools it does sound like a dereliction of duty. I can see where you are coming from here. I can tie my laces but you can't. What are you going to give me if I tie yours for you.

Oh yes, they are being taught at a very early age how to get a one upman-ship, get one over everyone else. No community spirit any more. I remember learning how to do my laces as a little 'un. And then BANG they introduced buckles.... now what is a little mite supposed to do in that particular situation. Lucky for me, that was explained and was practised over and over again so that I got to understand how both these methods work. A bit like doing your times tables... 1 x 1 = 1, 1 x 2 = 2 etc., etc., It is a shame that teachers/schools/academia don't have time for this sort of thing any more. I think they are leaving it up to people like you (grandparents) to teach the young 'uns how to socialise and do simple things like tie your shoes. Mind you they now have velcro for those that can't quite do it...!