Oklahoma Teacher Walkout – We Support Our Teachers

So, it’s the end of day three of the Oklahoma Teacher Walkout. We’ll be having another day out of school tomorrow, too. How long is this going to go on? Nobody knows.

 

Some of the teachers are going up to the capitol to protest every day, but school is still in session at our house. Emily and Noah both have workbooks that they are working on to continue to further their education. The last thing I want is for kids to go backward on the skills they’ve learned during this teacher strike.

 

Noah found only educational games and books on his Kindle Fire this morning and he was not a happy camper. He asked for his “fun games” probably about a thousand times today.

 

We made it, though. We’ve been doing something different every day the kids have been out of school.  On Monday, we had Pajama Day and the kids just sort of hung out while I worked. On Tuesday, we went to the library to get some new books to read then went to the grocery store to get some things to eat while we’re at home.

 

Today, we had a picnic lunch out on the back patio. It was pretty cool in the shade so Emily and I moved the patio table out into the sunshine. It was so nice to sit out here and relax in the sun for a few minutes!

 

This evening, we found out that school is out again tomorrow, so I’m already brainstorming something fun for us to do. The kids will have to get their schoolwork finished first though.

 

The Oklahoma House passed a bill that would help fund public education.

 

The Oklahoma House passed a bill that would help fund public education. Hopefully, the Senate will pass the bill tomorrow and we can move forward and work toward righting the wrongs of the last 10+ years.

 

So far, there’s no word on how the school district will make up the days that the kids have missed. I, for one, will be very disappointed if they just add a few minutes to the end of each school day to make up for the days that have been missed.

 

I, for one, will be very disappointed if they just add a few minutes to the end of each school day to make up for the days that have been missed. 

 

In my opinion, adding just a few minutes on to each class or each school day is not an effective way to make up for all the class time that has been missed this week. The kids need dedicated time to learn and practice the lessons, not just a few fleeting moments.

 

If that means the kids need to delay their summer vacation or go to Saturday school, then I’m all for it. I think it will be worth it.

 

Regardless of what happens with the schools, Emily and Noah will be well prepared because of the additional work they’re putting in this week. I’ve been really pleased with the workbooks that I got for them. We’ve actually had the workbooks since last summer but we never used them regularly.

 

In case you’re interested, here are the books we’re using:

1. 2nd Grade Big Workbook (School Zone)
2. Handwriting Workbook (Brighter Child)
3. Spectrum Math 7th Grade
4. Summer Bridge Activities
5. Daily Summer Activities  (Evan-Moor)

 

What’s your opinion on making up missed days by adding a few minutes onto the end of the school day?