Too Much, Too Fast

This article could not describe my feelings about public education and the associated pressures any better. Kids just aren't allowed to be kids any more, and it's sad...really sad.

My support of public education and my involvement in the schools notwithstanding (my main reason for being involved to begin with has nothing to do with education really and more to do with my need to be "in the know"), it's the pressure and "inability" for kids to just be kids that has often lead me to thinking that homeschooling may in fact be a better option.

Maybe...

...the teachers, rather than the students should be the ones taking these silly state tests? I joke, of course, but this story is just funny.

Organizing Ideas

Acronyms. Emily seems to respond quite well to them and said as much while doing a recent math assignment on order of operations. She said, "PEMDAS...Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally" but really it means, "Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction, just so you know, Mom."

So...I need to think of a good acronym or two for things such as, "Don't forget your homework" and "Remember to bring everything home that you need" and "English class starts at 8:03 not 8:10."

I am being a little silly here, but really? I think this type of thing might work. I bet this is something I could find on line...like an acronym creator or something.

I am having a hard time coming up with other ideas. I already have the typical ones in place...a set time and place for homework, reminders before she leaves to turn her homework in that she has done at home, chatting with her about her day, and being involved with the school (as much as possible in middle school at least). Does anyone else have any thoughts?

Public Education

You what it is sometimes that drives me crazy regarding people who knock public education? It's the people who automatically decide it's a bad thing, just based on their own experiences as a child. When you really think about that, it doesn't make sense.

It sort of falls in to the same category as defining what makes a good teacher. Of course there are obvious things that don't, but most of the time, if you were to define a teacher's "goodness" by the performance of their students? You'd have a tough time. Because guess what? Everyone is different. There are always going to be students who learn better by reading, others who learn better by doing, others who are very adaptable and can learn using any method, and still others who will have difficulty no matter what you do. Does this mean that because a student is failing the teacher isn't doing a good job? Maybe, but not necessarily.

Getting back to the original point, just because your experience in school may have been poor, does not automatically mean your child's will too. Personally, if I had really given a lot of thought to what my experience in school had been before sending my own children, I might not have sent them, and in the case of my children specifically? I think that would have been a big mistake.

Using Julia as an example, I do sometimes wonder if all of the extra help she is getting now and may need to continue with in the future is more of a hindrance to her than a help. It may not be a big deal now, but when she gets older, if she needs to be pulled from the classroom for whatever, will that bother her? I have no idea. But right now? By all accounts, speech therapy is not torture. It's fun. They play games, read stories and use different manipulative's (blocks, play dough etc) to initiate speech and language development. It's not like they sit there and just ask her to say specific words or ask her tons of questions to see how she responds. Same goes for PT and OT. Does this mean that all 4 year olds will love these therapies? Of course not, but it works for her.

The point? While we should take our own experiences in to consideration when making decisions, we should not allow that to be the deciding factor in whether or not we send our kids to public school. A little open mindedness can go a long way.

Middleboro School News

Of note to local readers...

The Middleboro School Committee is looking at saving energy costs. YAY! More money for the kids and green living...works for me!

And, perhaps even more exciting than that...

The School Committee has decided against pursuing the extended learning time initiative.

I don't think...

...I have ever had a bad thing to say about the Middleboro Public School System but, I am appalled that I have not yet been officially informed that Emily has a long term (more than likely until the end of the year) sub in her classroom right now. Emily has informed me of this verbally but I think that it is crazy to expect a 10 year old to tell this to her parents and leave it at that. It is the school's job to inform parents for a major change in the classroom. I realize that there is only a month and a half of school left but it still seems like something I should be getting official word on.

Am I wrong here? I mean, maybe I am over reacting?

*UPDATE* Emily came home with a letter today! YAY! I knew the higher ups wouldn't disappoint!

Going Green At School

Emily and Katherine came home today with three of the exact same notices. One was a reminder about Mardi Gras, one was a notice about a fundraiser sponsored by the high school Key Club, and another was about football registration. I have often thought that this was a waste. I don't need more than one copy of any single notice and, with the supply shortage in full effect, it would make sense that the notices come home to one student in the elementary school system, as opposed to all. The above mentioned notices may have been printed and copied by the involving parties, but, there have been plenty of notices from the school directly that have come home with both kids.

It might be involved, but it would seem to me that there would be a way of distributing notices to only one student in the system. Perhaps it would be the older student. It just seems like such a waste of paper and time and if a system was put in place, it could save both.

Funding Etc.

If you feel that the federal and/or state governments should back out of the education picture entirely, since that doesn't seem to likely to happen, how do you feel the current situations in education should be handled?

For example:

What should be done the many, many requirements through NCLB that must be met and the severe lack of funding to support them?

What should be done to attract quality teachers?

Should "good" teachers be rewarded?

What qualifies as a good teacher?

What about school choice?

Should MCAS be a graduation requirement?



Please remember, the questions are asked in a manner which reflects the current situation. I know that some people will feel that the way to resolve all of it is for the feds and state officials to back out. That's about as likely as a snowballs chance in hell though, so, what can be done to fix things aside from that?

Link Fest

This is good to know, epecially since Emily has taken (or is currently taking in the case of Lamictal)both of thees drugs for seizure control. Emily has generalized tonic clonic seizures and while the Depakote was doing a fantastic job with seizure control, it was doing a number on her mood control. We switched her ove to Lamictal, and she has been seizure free for almost 2 1/2 years! WAHOO!

This seems like a good idea, and while I am more of the belief that things such as financial awareness should be taught at home, if it's not being done there, school seems like the next logical choice.

I just joined this organization today. After attending a school committee meeting last night (which will be included in a post regarding the school budget for next year) I have decided that it is time to take a more active role in the discusssions surrounding funding and support for the public education system.

This website provides an easy to understand breakdown of the various components of public education and what it means today. I knew most of it already, but I still found it quite useful.

Ever wondered what the difference between an IEP and a 504 is? This article does a nice job of explaining the similarities and differences between the two.