Many families have moved to Henrico County and the far west end because of our excellent school system. Students get a well rounded curriculum of study and do well on the SOL's.
Now our schools and those in the rest of the state may soon find the curriculum changed in a way that will be detrimental to our children in the lower primary grades. The culprit is Senate Bill 185.
Sponsored by Senator John C. Miller (D- Hampton), the bill would mandate the Board of Education to require only math and english SOL's for third graders.
On January 24, 2012, the bill was read the requisite third time and passed the Senate by a vote of 33-Y and 7-N. The bill is now in the House of Delegates.
Proponents of the bill claim eliminating testing of science and social studies will give more time to testing for reading and math, increasing a student's achievement. And it will save the state money.
But are these really good reasons to do away with science and social studies? Opponents point out that not having these subjects taught will hinder a students success in school, and not give them the full curriculum needed in the upper grades.
There are advantages to keeping these subjects as part of the curriculum. Teaching the scientific method is helpful in all subjects, and knowing about where we live is equally important.
Perhaps parents and teachers need to realize that at the third grade level, more is not always better. How much more testing does a third grader need to figure out a math concept. And reading obviously is very important.
But reading is part of science and social studies, isn't it? Instead of putting so much emphasis on 'the test', we should make sure our third graders can read, but read about the world around them too.
Teaching our children to be creative in their thinking, and aware of what goes on around them is the right thing to do. It is hoped that every parent of a primary student will think this bill through.
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