Grade 6: Then &Now pt. I

The last time I was in Grade 6 was many many many years ago, but you could never tell based on my sharp and effortless recall of Grade 6 content I daily rely on to assist my nephew in preparing for the 'dreaded' Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) in march 2010.

I recall like it were just yesterday in 19something when I was one of about 50 students in Ms Moss' Grade 6 class at Granville All Age, Trelawny. As I reflect on then and compare it with what my nephew's current reality is, I marvel at how much extensive changes have been effected to impact the learner and how little they seem to worked.

Lets take a quick look at what was then compared to now
• We had recess where every student was 'shooshed' outside the classroom to play. The more domesticated and introverted ones remained behind and swept the class for the afternoon session. The likes of me revelled in a mean game of dandy-shandy, site or baseball, the toast of the recess for girls and cricket, football and war games for the boys. What do we have now?: Students are told by teachers not to play as they get too sweaty and that makes for a foul smelling classroom when they return from breaks. OMG! I GUESS TEACHERS KNEW THE STRONG CO-RELATION BETWEEN LEARNING AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND IT DIDNT TAKE A DEGREE OR MORE TO DO SO.... JUST SHEER COMMON SENSE.

• Do you remember Mental Ability? Who can forget the problem solving techniques that were employed? It was a joy to be using our skills to solve x-factor questions, maths, english and all the areas of study integrated in one subject. For those who not gifted in the usual math or english, Mental Ability was the subject he would prove his prowess and smile at the rest of us. I guess then the integrated approach to learning was effective and very relevant

• And if you thought the techniques of problem solving were all, just remember the nmenomics employed in studing our daily list of new words and the enormity of strength it took to recall the 3 to 12 times? Every single day that God sent we had to prove our independent knowledge of those words given the previous day and all of thise time tables including up to 14xs dependent on the generousity of the dear teacher. Nowadays, the teachers merely ask for any proof of word knowledge and timetable swat. Yes they conduct spelling tests weekly – which is a composite of familiar words from the week’s lessons – whic is marked by a student. Soes the teacher review it. Definitely not!

• Then there is the elocution exercises. Teachers then were masters of style and diction. We had to read independently from our Reader and teacher always knew who to pick on for which section of the passage. Today, my observation takes me to a distant simalarity to this practice. Woe be to those slow or non-readers. Test reading seems to be a thing of the past. But with all fairness to the teachers, I have seen class reading timetabled for about 15 minutes per week.
• Talking about limited time? I remember when we had enough time and sufficient guidance to complete assignments, especially projects? Well I dont know if its the delinqiency of my nephew or the general practice of the G-6 teachers but parents are having to stay up late and loooong hours to complete their child(ren's) project which was given a day or two before and due the following day. There seems to be the trend of setting complex coursework projects which require at least 1 week of deep research and collation in addition to the sourcing of materials that are usually available from a store shelf. What ever happened to recycleables , reusables, or the plain old rubbish?
• Do you remember Phonics? Well well, that was one of my better subjects areas. Here we honed the skills in word pronounciation, which was timetabled at least twice per week. Today, when asked why students are not 'drilled’ with phonics, I was told by a renowned G-6 teacher "..it’s not on the syllabus..." Lord help us! Is it any wonder our students are so inept in their speaking, which translates in their less than favourable writing skills?

The Grade 6 I knew then and the Grade 6 I come to know are as alike as night is to day.