01
Repetition is mercy
A fact that is almost known is not known. The child will repeat using a multiple range of competence skill sets until the answer is quiet in him, not only to justify a completed worksheet.
A child in first through fourth grade does not need a program that flatters him. He needs a quiet table, a clear task, and a teacher who will not leave the hole in the foundation because the calendar is moving on.
Reading begins with the letter and the sound. Math begins with the number that can be trusted. Writing begins with the sentence that can stand on its own. The later grades will ask for essays and multi-step problems. Those years are kinder to the child who was not rushed through the first ones.
One teacher, one student can focus on the child’s awareness and the individual gaps awaiting fulfillment. The hour is not a playlist of games. It is diagnosis, practice and a short look back so the student and parent knows the questions that still need to be answered.
A fact that is almost known is not known. The child will repeat using a multiple range of competence skill sets until the answer is quiet in him, not only to justify a completed worksheet.
The child will not have to learn a second language to comprehend worksheets. Algorithm skill sets will be explained, practiced and repeated as needed.
A parent or guardian is welcome to stay in the house during the lesson. No child is left as a stranger in another woman’s home. What is practiced at the table should be named clearly enough to be practiced again at the kitchen counter.
Tuesdays and/or Thursdays only. Wednesdays are only added if needed. The limit keeps the work digestible. This leaves open times for other interests to flourish in the student.
There will be no prize bin for sitting still. Attention is trained by a task that is the right size, not by a reward that trains the child to bargain.
First through fourth is the work. After that, the holes are more expensive to fill. Ms. Bastian stays in the years where an hour still changes the year.
If the school packet is a tangle, bring it. If the child is ashamed of being slow, say so before the first sitting. Shame shrinks in a room where the work is named without mockery and without fuss.
Ms. Bastian will not promise a grade. Ms. Bastian will promise an honest hour, a clear next step, and the same one or two days each week for as long as the seat is held.