I know I just need to get over it, but

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

something my kindergartener told me has been irking me. We were reading on the couch, and out of the blue, ds said that his teacher asked the class if they knew what a noun was. He said the kids were saying all kinds of funny things, but none of them really knew what a noun was. He gave examples of what they said, but I don't remember exactly what he said. I said, "Did you raise your hand and tell the teacher what a noun was?" (We've been doing First Language Lessons, so I knew he knew the definition of a noun.) He said, "I told her it was a person, place, thing or idea." - pretty much what the definition is in FLL. I asked him what the teacher said when he said that (thinking she would be somewhat impressed), and he said, "Close.- It's a person, place or thing." I told ds that his definition was not just close, it was exactly right, but that little kids sometimes don't understand how an idea can be a noun, so they don't usually teach that part to them. Don't get me wrong- I'm thrilled the teacher was talking about nouns with the class! I love this teacher. Compared to my older son's K teacher, this woman is an educational powerhouse. I just wish she had worded her response to ds a little differently. There, now that I got that off my chest, I feel a little better.

[manylilblessings]

Well, shoot. That's what they say on "Schoolhouse Rock". How could that be wrong?

LOL...

[LibrarianMom]

We have had a similar experience in that our teacher doesn't include idea in the definition. But my daughter just smiles and tells me "I know that ideas are nouns too" and goes on. I think the teacher is probably parroting the definition their textbook uses.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Well, shoot. That's what they say on "Schoolhouse Rock". How could that be wrong?

LOL...

I guess nothing rhymed with idea! :tongue_smilie:

[lcelmer]

I had never heard idea included till we used fll. I personally would have classified ides under the word thing.

[Karis]

I taught our dc that it's "a person, place, thing, creature, idea or concept, quality, or activity.

(Just get it all in from the very beginning.)

Someone did argue that a creature is a "thing" - a living thing.

I ignore those types of people. :tongue_smilie:

[Danestress]

If you say "a noun is a person, place or thing" that is correct, because an idea is a "thing." It's not a tangible, concrete thing, but it's still a thing. So I do think that adding "or thing" to the definition of a noun can be considered redundant. I like the FLL way because it reminds a child that ideas are things and are nouns but a teacher might choose to teach the other way, that that seems okay to me.

[Hotdrink]

Well if you're being really technical, a noun is a word for a person, place, thing or idea. :tongue_smilie: But geez, I agree with you, she oughta be impressed with his definition. It was wrong of her to say it was 'close', implying that he hadn't go it right, when in fact his definition was better / more advanced than the one she planned to use. She could have said something like "Yes! Looks like you know about nouns. And a definition I like to use is..." Or even gone ahead and used his definition. That is a typical example of one of the drawbacks of school though.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Well if you're being really technical, a noun is a word for a person, place, thing or idea. :tongue_smilie: But geez, I agree with you, she oughta be impressed with his definition. It was wrong of her to say it was 'close', implying that he hadn't go it right, when in fact his definition was better / more advanced than the one she planned to use. She could have said something like "Yes! Looks like you know about nouns. And a definition I like to use is..." Or even gone ahead and used his definition. That is a typical example of one of the drawbacks of school though.

My point exactly. Instead of encouraging him for coming up with the answer, she made him feel like he was wrong. I think FLL distinguishes the tangible from the intangible because it's hard for a little kid to understand how a concept like liberty or speech can be a "thing" like a chair or a guitar.

[Karis]

Well if you're being really technical, a noun is a word for a person, place, thing or idea. :tongue_smilie: But geez, I agree with you, she oughta be impressed with his definition. It was wrong of her to say it was 'close', implying that he hadn't go it right, when in fact his definition was better / more advanced than the one she planned to use. She could have said something like "Yes! Looks like you know about nouns. And a definition I like to use is..." Or even gone ahead and used his definition. That is a typical example of one of the drawbacks of school though.


"A noun is a word given to name a..."

Maybe she was only taught to teach the basics at that grade level.

But saying "close"... (which is basically, "not really" or "not quite") is just wrong.

[TammyB]

That would actually irritate me. Her use of the word "close" indicates that she herself does not know the full definition of a noun. I've been a classroom English teacher, and when a student answered more fully than I anticipated or expected, I gave him credit for his knowledge. I never dismissed it with the word "close."

[BabyBre]

That's so funny, I just had that exact same conversation with ds7 this morning! His teacher corrected him the same way. I told him that FLL was the only place I had heard "idea" included in the definition of a noun, and his teacher had probably not heard it that way. I learned it was a "person, place, or thing", and she probably learned it that way, too.

I think somewhere within some volume of FLL or maybe on the "Writing Without Fear" audio CD, SWB explains why they included "idea" in the definition - basically because an "idea", like freedom or love, is abstract and difficult for young children to understand as a "thing".

If I had a child tell me that a noun was the name of "a person, place, thing, or idea", I would at least stop and think about the "idea" part, realize that it could be included as a "thing", and discuss that with the child or children, affirming that his definition was correct. That's what I did with ds this morning.

[johnandtinagilbert]

OP...glad you feel better now :) :grouphug: and glad dc is looking so brillianT!

[Tree House Academy]

Yeah, I'd just let it go and be really proud of your son for remembering and speaking up! I am sure that does a momma's heart proud!