Early Education

[Cg34]

Hello!

I hope that it's ok that I post here, as I'm not an engineer, but I certainly know a lot of them. ?

My father and father in law are PEs. My husband is a phone company director in a very technical area. He has that same way of thinking. Then there is my son... My six year old son, who is currently in kindergarten.

He is an engineer in training if I have ever seen one. Nothing electronic is safe! Although, he has moved past the purely destructive phase, and actually is fairly helpful at fixing things. He can tell you all the parts of a circuit board, all the different types of wires and what they do, and he's great at math.

However, he's not doing so great at school. I think he knows what is being taught, but he has no interest in being there or participating. He scribbles through his work so that he can move on to something he finds more interesting. He daydreams instead of listening to instructions. We have been working with him, and are in close contact with the teacher, but they are talking about not moving him on to first grade.

It hasn't escaped my notice that they tried to hold back my husband in first grade, and my father in second grade. Despite their early stumbling blocks, they are both very bright and have gone on to do very well.

I'm wondering if this is at all common with engineers? How many of you didn't fit the mold in early grades? If you don't mind being part of my very non scientific study, I'd be very interested to know!

 

[matt267 PE]

I was not the best student. They skipped me past "pre first" because of my attention to detail in kindergarten, but I struggled and repeated 1st grade. I too used to take things apart. And homework was a big battle every night. I also had undiagnosed ADD. So yes, I struggled in school.

Perhaps a charter school would be a better fit for your son? Buy him STEM toys, lots and lots of STEM toys.

 

[wilheldp_PE]

The answer to your question is "yes." It is common in engineers to be bored in early school. It is probable that your child is ahead of the curve, so they are bored in class. "Good" schools would recognize this and either give them the opportunity to advance a grade, or transfer to a different school (they are called "magnet schools" locally) that will allow them to excel in their education. Unfortunately, I think that public schools have regressed to bringing everyone down to the average and punishing kids who are ahead of the curve.

I don't have an easy solution...I just wanted you to know that you are probably right.

 

[Cg34]

Ah yes! We have lots if STEM toys. It doesn't hurt that his dad is into the same things. They work on projects together all the time. They turned his power wheels into a robot that they can control through the iPad with an arduino ?.

My husband was diagnosed with ADD. Ritalin is the reason that he was eventually moved to 2nd. He says it helped him focus. I just don't see it on either of them though. I don't want to medicate my little boy just because he doesn't fit a mold. I don't know what to do.

 

[Cg34]

The answer to your question is "yes." It is common in engineers to be bored in early school. It is probable that your child is ahead of the curve, so they are bored in class. "Good" schools would recognize this and either give them the opportunity to advance a grade, or transfer to a different school (they are called "magnet schools" locally) that will allow them to excel in their education. Unfortunately, I think that public schools have regressed to bringing everyone down to the average and punishing kids who are ahead of the curve.

I don't have an easy solution...I just wanted you to know that you are probably right.

I do really like our school system. They have engineering courses in higher grades and they have a gifted program. My older son (3rd grade) is in the program. While he is more of a stereotypical "smart" kid (straight As, high test scores), I know that there are kids in the program who struggle with grades.

After my youngest's first report card, I reached out to the director of the program for help. She agrees that he could be a candidate, but he's not eligible until 3rd grade.....and that's a long way off.

Right now he is sitting next to me, showing me the insides of the microphone he just dissected

 

[DanHalen]

My parents were non-technical people. My dad was a cop and my mom was a factory worker. My grandparents were farmers and my great grandparents were Native American (great grandmother) and my great grandfather was an "engineer" the kind that worked on a train back in the late 1800's early 1900's. I hated school, hated my teachers, and like your son day dreamed a lot. I was threatened many times about being held back a grade all the way through high school. I'm anti-social and just don't like many people. It didn't help much that my dad had written nearly everyone in the whole entire county a ticket so I caught a lot of crap for that. I have always been somewhat a tinker like your son. I remember when I was five or six taking apart a lawn mower engine just to see what was in it. I had no ambitions of going to college because the teachers I had growing up all said I wasn't cut out for college and would never amount to anything. Upon graduation from high school I joined the military and that's where my interest in the profession began.

Like you, I too have a six year old in Kindergarten. He goes to a charter school so they do things a little different that traditional public schools and he's already at a fourth grade reading level. He's adding columns of numbers together so he's definitely an engineer (or whatever he wants to be) in the making. He likes taking things apart and seeing how they work. I wouldn't worry too much about your son. Most engineers are introverts and not overly social. They're reserved and analytical and don't waste time with things they think are nonsense. That's what I did in school and I'm sure you kid is doing much the same. We're talking about kids here and they don't have much attention span as it is. Demanding kids sit perfectly still for six hours a day with the energy levels they have is asking way too much. Don't worry too much about it and keep up the good work on staying involved.

 

[matt267 PE]

I hear you on the not wanting to medicate. There are likely better ways to help him.

Your post reminds me of this dilbert skit:

>http://youtube.com/watch?v=60P1xG32Feo

 

[Cg34]

Ha! Yes, he has the knack!

 

[engineergurl]

I only passed the lower grades because my parents rewarded me with cool stuff. Do good in science? Here's a microscope. Pass all your spelling tests and we'll take you to the library. I was still a pretty average student but always tested with a high IQ so they never kept me back.

 

[Cg34]

He has been promised a new littlebit if he makes it to Friday with all smiley faces on his papers ?

 

[MetsFan]

I was definitely bored in Kindergarten and first grade and was very talkative and I could not sit still. My grades were pretty good though, so the school decided to have me skip the 2nd grade and go straight into 3rd.

 

[Road Guy]

my parents were both teachers, & my experience is they are not necessarily "lazy", but they don't like to deal with anything "extra"

[teacher voice on]If your kid cant sit still for 6 hours a day without squirming around once or twice then he or she obviously has ADD and needs med's

lots of kids have a tough time sitting still all day, especially in kindergarten, I wouldn't sweat it

 

[goodal]

In my small amount of experience, medication works wonders for some kids, but is simply a way to get most of them to behave. I have 3 kids and don't have this problem, but my humble opinion is to only medicate as a DEAD last resort. A little daydreaming and squirming at 6 yrs old doesn't warrant putting him in a coma for the next 12 years.