School Policy...*(&^&%!!!!!

[FrizzleFreak]

When I was in elementary school I LOVED SCHOOL! I couldn't wait to get there everyday. You know why? Because my parents and teachers trusted me to do my homework, and not nag me about it. You know why? Because the teachers expressed a desire for me to learn, and tried to give me material that was at my learning level. You know why? Because there were recess times where I could let off some steam.
I'm in high school now. I hate school. Know why? Because most of the teachers don't care.And because they aren't allowed to use their own curriculums any more, they have to teach us according to the stinkin' state tests. Know why? Because every flippin piece of paper I get has to be signed (mom's okay with me forging it, cause she leaves at 6:30 every morning, and doesn't get back till late) Know why? Because I'm kept in a freezing building filled with fluorescent blinking lights for eight hours a day.
But I still get A's, especially for the teachers who care. Know why? Because education is important. Well, and because I could skip two grades and get the same grades, but whatev.
I am a reasonably intelligent person, and I hate school. Know why?

 

[EweSheep]

I got a flyer to join the Booster Club for my dd's school and they listed fund raisers and candy sales on it. UGHHHH!

No thanks!

 

[wombat]

Well, and because I could skip two grades and get the same grades, but whatev.

Might not be a bad idea. I accumluated enough credits to get out of high school in 2½ years, and started at a junior college. I had my Associate's by the time my peers got their HS diplomas, and a two year head start on getting my Bachelor's.

My wife just plain dropped out of high school at 16 and started college. I wouldn't recommend that ... you never know what's going to come along in life and keep you from finishing college, and you might want that HS diploma just in case ...

My wife's mother is a scientist. She was unhappy with the education her daughter was getting in HS, and went in to talk to the counselors about taking her out of school early to start college. The only thing the counselor had to say was "you can't do that, she'll miss her PROM!" ... and that decided it. My wife had over a year of college accumulated before the school system even realized she was missing.

Maybe you can stay in HS, but start taking one night class a semester at a local community college. Some also give college credit for advanced placement courses taken in high school, and give credits for college level equivilency program (CLEP) exams ... take a test, get credits.

Take some AP, a college course, and some CLEP, and in a year you could be well on your way to a degree already.

Get an education. Don't settle for just "getting school over with."​

 

[rainplace]

Quote:
I loved your post.

 

[luvmyturkens]

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Reasonably intelligent? Sounds very intelligent to me. I agree completely.

 

[Boyd]

I do have a question about school policy and etc..... I am paying taxes for my children to go to school, yet at the start of every year the kids all come home with a list.........

Which of us will bring in tissues for blowing noses, toilet paper for the kiddo's, extra boxes of pencils and erasers, and more notebooks than my kid could use himself through k-12...... where is our money going? I can hardly stand some of these stupid rules, but where is my tax dollers going to?

It's bad enough when I had to tell the principal, School board, bus garage etc that YES, I have given my kids cell phones with a video record because THEY do not control the kids on the buses. A kid who was kicked out of school for selling drugs was let back in two weeks later and assaulted my two teen daughters, and they got in trouble for fighting back. After I got video showing what the kid did to them in front of the principal, school board and head of bus garage they just looked at me and said, "Cell phones aren't allowed on the buses". Bull puckey!

 

[Camelot Farms]

Hey Boyd...I think that for us, buying those things kept our taxes from being raised. If they kept supplying, then we were looking at a hike.

I know that our list this year included tissue, hand sanitizer and gallon zip lock bags...that was a new one for us.

BTW...nice job on the cell phones for the bus. I'd do the exact same thing!!

 

[mom'sfolly]

When my child was in third grade, we also had the issue where the kid would get the hit when I didn't sign something. I pointed out to the teacher that she also wasn't checking it. If it didn't matter to her, why should it to my child or to me....gee, things changed after that.

Kids shouldn't be held responsible for their parents.
NCLB should be trashed. Teachers should be allowed more leeway in curriculum and teaching, not just getting kids to pass the tests.
I don't always agree with the school's policies, the TAG program rules here particularly irritate me, but I usually go along with them. TAG is campus specific here, so a kid that makes TAG at one elementary might not qualify at another. This seems to me that they are not actually testing for gifted children, but high performing children.
I think that parents should be allowed to observe a classroom and participate in classroom activities to a certain extent; but they should not be allowed to access a child's classroom any time they choose. It is not fair to the teacher to have to deal with multiple interuptions 'cause mom forgot to give Johnny his bye-bye kiss, or whatever.
With almost nine hundred kids in the elementary school, going from cafeteria to classroom, PE, recess, music, art, etc, the kids need to be quiet in the hallways. Do to otherwise interupts the other classrooms. It boils down to common courtesy. In middle and high school this is not so important because everyone changes classes at the same time.
One of my biggest gripes is with projects that are too complicated for grade level and end up as parent work. My kid's work (I actually make them do it) should not be judged against an adult's work.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I am not familiar with the term TAG, but from your comment, assume it refers to your gifted program. State law s usually define the level at which gifted programs MUST be made available, but local districts can opt to include children who are at a lower level. For example, Az law says that gifted programs must be provided to a child who tests at the 97th percentile or above, but a local district could provide that program to all children testing at the 90th percentile.

 

[mamaKate]

Man! I waded through this long thread while sitting up waiting for my youngest to finish his Hardee's shift at 3 am. My stomach tightened as I read the posts that talk about overwhelming, irrational bureaucracy. I was especially disturbed by the folks who have kids with learning differences (NOT disabilities). It reminded me of the struggle I had before removing my kids from public education. My heart goes out to families caught in the web of requirements. Homeschool was the only viable route for our family and from what I'm reading, it would be even more necessary today. Does anybody else see that this stuff is directly opposite to "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happinesss?" The state controls too much already. My kids are pretty much grown, now: 35, 33, 33, 28, 21, and 17. They are all hard working, self-disciplined, political conervatives. We had to make some serious financial sacrifices but I wouldn't have done it any other way.