This week my 8 year old went to a sleepover.
With 27 other children.
In the school library.
I admit I’m kind of jealous. It was Lesenacht–Reading Night. The kids brought their sleeping bags, pillows and a bag full of books. Oh, they also brought flashlights and the teachers took them outside for a game in the dark. Then they changed into their pajamas, spread out their sleeping bags, and read books until they fell asleep.
The next morning, they had breakfast, and could come home at 10:00 or they could stay and watch a musical that the fifth graders wrote themselves. My son declared, “It was the best play I’ve ever seen written by fifth graders.” I should probably add, it’s the only play he’s ever seen written by fifth graders.
I haven’t heard of American schools doing something like this, and maybe there are some that do. I think is awesome. I loved reading at that age and would have died of happiness to sleep in a library.
On the other hand, this further cements my desire to not ever be a teacher in the Swiss school system. There’s hiking, going out in the woods, and now, supervising a sleepover. Shudder.
Teachers dedicated to making children learn, will do whatever it takes to encourage learning but having said that, the problem here,in USA with the educational system is the besides all the rules and regulations that teachers have to follow, are the difference in cultural value placed on need for education for children. As a former educator, myself, I personally saw extremes in attitudes in family situations. In more increasing situations, the children are only fed at school and are unsupervised at home. There’s just so much one teacher can do within the system, especially a dedicated teacher..
This article had me laughing. I have to admit the thought of losing one of the kids in the dark crossed my mind.
Me too! The teachers are braver than I would ever be. The kids all had flashlights, though.