Starsmore Discovery Center
Thursday, October 16, 2008 by Amy
Riley had a field trip today to Starsmore Discovery Center. Field trips are always stressful, but this one really rubbed me the wrong way and the more I think about it, the madder I get. The class was broken up into two groups and there was an employee leading each group as they learned about animal senses. Each group had perhaps 8 to 10 kids. So we start off in the visitor center and the lady is asking the children what their senses are. Riley is sitting right up front raising her hand. The kids answer seeing, smelling, touching, hearing, and Riley is still sitting up front patiently raising her hand. She lady is looking for someone to answer tasting, and looks at Riley raising her hand, and instead calls on kids that aren't raising their hands. They offer the same seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and the woman keeps calling on more kids and totally ignores Riley. She looked disappointed, but not too upset.
Later, they go to different stations in the woods, and they learn about a bear's sense of smell, a deer's sense of hearing, an owls sense of sight, a raccoon's sense of touch, etc. Every time Riley got a spot up front right in front of the lady and raised her hand for every single question, and every single time the woman looked at her and called on someone else. By the end of the field trip she was in tears. She didn't get called on one single time. If the women hadn't been an old lady looking for a way to spend her retirement, she would have gotten a serious piece of my mind. I think I'll talk to the director about it. It just wasn't right. And we wonder why girls don't like to show their smarts. I know that aggressive boys get most of the attention in school, but seriously? In pre-school already?
You know, private school or public school, it's all the same. Girls eventually just melt into the woodwork. Whatever. I was hesitant about this test for Riley, and now I say bring it on. That is, if the damage hasn't already been done. Seriously, she already pretends that she doesn't know things. Her school has been working with her on the same 6 letters for the third year now. She knows them! She was spelling words with those 6 letters plus another 5 I threw in and writing them down at home. Whatever the results of the test, I'll know how to advocate for her better (hopefully).
Ugh, and I wish I could say that I were any different, but I'm not. When I'm in class I don't speak up either. I must have been having a particularly sheepish day yesterday, and whenever the professor would ask something, I would say the correct answer loud enough for the people around me to hear, but not loud enough for the teacher. So I guess that realization on top of the field trip experience has really got my knickers in a bunch.
Riley's brain, at the ripe old age of 4, is on the verge of being wasted. Already.
I'm still seething...
I'll post pictures later. I'm so mad that I don't want to pretty this post up with pictures.
Later, they go to different stations in the woods, and they learn about a bear's sense of smell, a deer's sense of hearing, an owls sense of sight, a raccoon's sense of touch, etc. Every time Riley got a spot up front right in front of the lady and raised her hand for every single question, and every single time the woman looked at her and called on someone else. By the end of the field trip she was in tears. She didn't get called on one single time. If the women hadn't been an old lady looking for a way to spend her retirement, she would have gotten a serious piece of my mind. I think I'll talk to the director about it. It just wasn't right. And we wonder why girls don't like to show their smarts. I know that aggressive boys get most of the attention in school, but seriously? In pre-school already?
You know, private school or public school, it's all the same. Girls eventually just melt into the woodwork. Whatever. I was hesitant about this test for Riley, and now I say bring it on. That is, if the damage hasn't already been done. Seriously, she already pretends that she doesn't know things. Her school has been working with her on the same 6 letters for the third year now. She knows them! She was spelling words with those 6 letters plus another 5 I threw in and writing them down at home. Whatever the results of the test, I'll know how to advocate for her better (hopefully).
Ugh, and I wish I could say that I were any different, but I'm not. When I'm in class I don't speak up either. I must have been having a particularly sheepish day yesterday, and whenever the professor would ask something, I would say the correct answer loud enough for the people around me to hear, but not loud enough for the teacher. So I guess that realization on top of the field trip experience has really got my knickers in a bunch.
Riley's brain, at the ripe old age of 4, is on the verge of being wasted. Already.
I'm still seething...
I'll post pictures later. I'm so mad that I don't want to pretty this post up with pictures.
