School Year 2012-2013

     Welcome to the 2012-2013 school year. Is it going good for your family so far? I know, it has only been 2 days but, the drama has begun.

     And not because of me (or not all of it). Kids being sent on the wrong bus or not getting left off at the right house. At least I haven't heard of a small child being left off at the wrong place yet.. which did happen last year to my niece. And not on the first day of school.

     The family moved and my nephew updated the information with the school and his daughter was dropped off at her new location for several days. Then, out of the blue, she was taken off her new bus, put on the old bus and taken to her old location. Why? Because the new bus driver said she didn't have a valid note to ride a different bus. WHAT!? She wasn't visiting a friend she freaking MOVED! Luckily, a neighbor picked her up and called her dad to tell him what happened. But the school felt he had no right to be upset that a 6 year old was left at the wrong address. Ahhh, public school system logic at its finest.

     Controversy I've stirred up? School lunches. My kids say that it is meatless this year. Soy or veggie burgers, etc. I was hoping that someone would show me where I was wrong but instead I managed to insult/offend a friend in charge of a lunchroom for which I am so sorry. Heartfelt apologies again!! But the workers can't help what they are required to serve. And her lunchroom has very good staff that are attentive and caring. Kudos to them and to all lunchroom workers who work so hard every day! And I'm not saying that just because I used to be one of them, honest.

     I like that the school system is constantly trying new options that are healthier and offer more variety. That works for vegetarians, to get more meatless options. I realize that you can't please everybody. I also think this is catering to a select group to the detriment of the rest. But making all kids vegetarian meals whether they like it or not? Nah, not cool. Blaming the government for the changes? Some. They are responsible for some but not all. It also comes down to what is cheapest, readily available, etc.. yada, yada, yada. Not necessarily what is in the best interest of the STUDENTS.

     Some of the school papers I had to sign are going back with comments. (From me? you say. Why yes, it is so). Child's name, age, grade.. understandable. Check. Marital status. Um, what? My child is 13, is that really relevant? I can kinda, sorta see it for high schoolers (yeegads) but middle schoolers? I don't think so. 
  
     And a  paper about anti-bullying and how the staff deserves respect? Hmm, anti-bullying programs I am totally for. But from a school that told parents that the student that threatened to turn the school into the next Columbine had a very difficult situation at home and we should all feel sorry for him and be understanding and forgiving? Yeah, that's who should be leading an anti-bullying program. I'll believe it when I see it. 

     Support for this same staff who has members infamous for their bi-polaresque temper tantrums and refusal to tell the truth? Again, I don't think so. And so my comments stated.

     I want my kids to have a positive school experience. There have been some awesome teachers in my children's school years and I have lots of family that are teachers. (HOLLA) I know teachers are under stress and they are trying to teach some kids that really shouldn't be in polite society. I tell my kids that THEY are NOT to be the ones disrupting class. But when the children are held to a higher standard of behavior than the ADULT  staff members in charge.... well, that just speaks volumes doesn't it.

     So the school year has begun and the drama. Sigh. Here's hoping that the staff I come into contact with this year can act like adults and actually problem solve.
     But, I'm not crazy enough to hold my breath on that one.
     HAPPY SCHOOL YEAR TO ALL!!

Changes

WOW!! The school system/elementary school has implemented several changes for the students this new school year. Even though Grace won't be there, I am still really excited. The changes that I'm referring to are directly related from several of the problems that I contacted Frankfort and the local school board about (is anybody surprised that I received zero replies to my repeated emails and calls?, lol).

Does this mean my reform attempts had any effects? Does this mean that other parents should step up and fight for their child/children? Heck yeah to both questions. To be fair, I'm sure the proper authorities would be quick to insist that these changes were already scheduled to be effected this school year. Um. Yeah. Right. I think I'll still go with my claiming-the-credit thing, that makes more sense.

1. Agendas are being utilized in a more effecient manner. Classroom assignments are being written down and, I'm going to assume, that parents are getting teacher notes if appropriate.

2. Kids are staying in the classroom with their teacher instead of going to several different places to several different teachers each day. What were they doing? What were their assignments? Why no homework? No matter who I talked to I was given the impression that those issues were need to know only and the parents didn't need to know.

3. At least in 1 case, the adults are in charge of the clipboard instead of the children. The children were using the clipboard as a means of showing favoritism to friends and getting revenge on "unfriends" the last few years. Ahem, I mean to say that students were encouraged to remember that they would be held accountable for their actions by being written up by a student that was "in charge" but not held accountable for his/her actions.

4. Some of the classrooms are testing the childrens reading/math/spelling levels and placing them in corresponding groups accordingly. I like this idea because the children will be taught on the level that is best for them. Before, the kids were taught on the lowest level in the classroom which resulted in bored upper levels and lower levels that were consistently frustrated by trying to attain the higher levels too quickly in an effort to have all the students on the same page.

Why is all this exciting? Because it shows that change is possible in the school system without a lawsuit (you bet I was ready, willing and able to go that route!!!). Report the problems folks... don't take it to the principal and assume that the issue is resolved. Take it to the next level (school board) and then to the next (Frankfort). I'm sure my name is written in big red letters in a LOT of departments now but, hey, I'm totally o.k. with that.

I encourage anyone interested in homeschooling to check into it. There is a lot of information available and plenty of people willing to help get you started. I've heard from families near and far, some through Facebook (how cool is that?), and have gotten so much help, ideas and encouragement from all of them. It's awesome!!

Let me know if you have questions.

P.S. Sorry I haven't gotten all the bugs worked out.. still not quite a blogger yet.

Homeschooling started

I tried several avenues to get my 4th grader switched to another county school and was told emphatically that the school policy is that "there are no changes allowed unless the student is in a transition period (ex: switching from elementary to middle)" or the student is moving into another district. Really!? Well, that's odd considering all the students I know that are driven to school because they are out of that district. Still county, but located in the zone for another school. And.... I am not counting those students that I know are "transitional" students. I'm not going to follow up with that because I don't want to interfere with those who did manage to get away with it. The school system know or should know who the students are and that's that.

Apparently the rules are only followed "absolutely" sometimes and exceptions and changes are allowed. Imagine that!

 So.. we are homeschooling for 4th and 5th grade. I can see that it will definitely be a challenge. And with my ADHD, I will have to work a little bit harder to keep us on track and focused. But the learning opportunities are endless and we are so excited this school year. I get up every morning eager to look over the lesson plan and double check that we are ready to go. I find that I have a tendency to overplan and sometimes have to trim the lessons down just a bit.

So far this week we are just reviewing. I've already found some strengths and weaknesses which will help me firm up a schedule. Right now we are just working on certain subjects on certain days without a strict time for each subject. I'm dismayed by how much math work we are going to have to do. For the last school year the students didn't bring home work if they finished it at school so I rarely saw what Grace was working on. I would see a graded test and that was it. A very big positive to homeschooling is that I will KNOW what she is working on and I will be able to allow extra help on trouble areas.

Grace has already read an entire chapter book and wrote me 2 paragraphs about what she read. Another trouble spot: writing. She is very expressive verbally; we just need work on getting the thoughts onto paper in a logical and organized way.

We are going to do as many science experiments and art  projects that we can this year. Grace is very creative and is usually in the middle of painting, making playdough creatures, designing and coloring a book... so I want to incorporate hands-on learning projects into the lessons. This seems to be her learning style so we will run with it.

Good luck to everybody this school year, I hope it is a happy one!

School's Out for Summer

Yay, summer has finally arrived. We were beginning to think the school year would never end. The kids are enjoying sleeping in and, I admit, so am I.

I've had numerous conversations with parents of students in a wide range of grades and I don't know whether to be relieved or more anxious after talking to them. It is a relief to know that my family is NOT the only one with concerns. Quite often I get attitudes from the school staff members conveying that only I have problems, that no other students/parents ever contact the schools or want a discussion. Yes, yes, yes. I am the troublemaker, yadda yadda yadda. It's all me.

And yet... I wish it WAS only me. Because the problems are so widespread and invasive and the school board and individual schools work hard to ignore or cover up the problems. (Think of how the school board reacted to the video of the dangerous water recently). There are teachers and subs that are so well-known for their horrible outbursts and bizarre antics that they can be identified just by describing what they said or did. It gets to be like a horrible, twisted game where the winner has the most horrifying story of something that happened at school.

Why doesn't the school board actually step in and correct the issues instead of covering them up or flat out denying they even exist? Credibility is compromised or lost when parents know the facts and get blanket denials in the face of the evidence.

I did receive an interesting suggestion today. That was: whenever I send an email to a teacher, principal etc.. to send copies to the superintendent, school board members, and people in other counties and to state that I had done so to improve accountability. I wish I had talked to this person at the beginning of the year. I'm at the point where I'm ready to send all correspondence to the local news and Frankfort about all the issues I have. Hmmm, would that be better or worse?

Still working on moving my daughter out of her current elementary school. I hate to move her. I've had at least 1 child in that particular school for the last 15 years. That's a big part of why I've held off moving the kids even though we were growing increasingly unhappy with the situations; I kept telling myself "this school is better than this, there must be a way to resolve this". But that usually wasn't the case and hasn't been for a few years. At least she is very excited about going to a different school, luckily. She's been miserable and mistreated for too long and she's ready for a better option.

So here's to bigger and better things.

HURRAY FOR SUMMER!!