Am I wrong not to tie kids shoes in the classroom?
I recently worked in this kindergarten class, with a 40 year veteran teacher. She told me that she does not tie shoes. If a child is unable to, we (teachers/aides) do not tie their shoes for them. They learn nothing. We can:
1. Have them ask another student.
2. Send a note home to the parent to practice with them.
3. Set time aside each day to practice with the student until they can tie their own shoes.
I agreed with her. We are educators, not shoe-tiers. If aides and teachers want to do that all day, they can be in child care or nursing instead. Prior to that, I taught in a 2nd grade classs where the aides were tying shoes. Now that I am more informed, I find it disturbing. What do you think?
At age 5 children are learing to tie shoes. It is not a milestone for 2nd graders. Soon enough, more kids will be coming up to get their shoes tied. For safety reasons, I will tie shoes until it interferes with the learning environment. Suggestions can be forwarded to parents to have them wear velco, buckle or slip-on shoes. Steps will be made to teach the unmastered skill of tying shoes in the classroom until it is accomplised. Some children need extra help.