Teachers – Be Ye Forewarned – Do not Take this Personally

Posted on Aug 19, 2009 06:44:17 PM

Ok, so you knew it was coming, right?  Let me first introduce this bit of information by saying that over-all the experience here in the second week of school has been ok.  I’ll get to my complaint later because I would not be me if I told you nothing but good things now would I?

And, just in case someone happens to be reading this and wants to blame my child for my opinion, then I want them to understand that my feelings are not personal.  As I introduced myself to the Assistant Principal (he is new this year), we discussed the websites, (both the first grade one and the school one), we discussed me teaching the STI over-view at the first PTO meeting and we had a nifty little conversation regarding all things of this nature.

Before leaving however, I made sure he understood that I am more than willing to do what I’m asked to do.  However, I do have an alter ego who suffers an enormous disdain for homework and when I feel someone is not being honest with me, I have no problems speaking my mind.  He chuckled and we parted ways.

Now, that said, please meet the alter ego.  This homework crap is for the dadblasted birds.  I explained to the good man what research had proven to me (he was a junior high math teacher last year and for a few years prior) and his rebuttal was that he believe that homework had it’s place but that he never gave a lot of it himself.  At that point, we were interrupted and the topic changed.

However, I am willing to even concede to the research that says ten minutes per grade level.  That being the case, my son who whizzes through his homework with ease is apparently in at least the third grade or maybe the fourth.  I have a website that I set up and devoted to purely information for my son’s grade.  His teachers were kind enough to spread the information to the other parents (they asked me to write the letter but they did send it home) and they expressed thanks to me for doing so. 

So, I am reluctant to complain so early in the year but if it starts out like this, can it or will it possibly get worse?  I suggest that you guys go look, PhD in First Grade will take you there and you can see what’s happened in the first 7 days already.  Amazing stuff.  I assured the teachers and the parents that the site would be for information only and not for any malicious content.  I did however explain to the teachers that I had plenty of sites where my malcontent would be discussed.  They chuckled…or more like they coughed.

Anyway, I made the decision to approach the school year in a different manner than last year.  Never mind that I had mono when school started last year and didn’t have the energy for a lot of things plus, heck, everyone needs a learning curve, right?   Last year I simply let the school do their thing, I complained, I complimented, I hollered, I cheered but I took no action really except in cases where I was unhappy.  I didn’t join the PTO, I didn’t do much of anything by the way of being involved.

This year, I have joined the PTO, I am the head room mother for my son’s room, I am going to teach a few quick sessions on how the parents can use the board of educations system to monitor their child’s school work, attendance, notes from the teacher and I’m going to start by doing the first session at the PTO meeting.  Since I have worked on the teacher side of the whole process and have one year under my belt on the parent side, the suggestion was made that I serve as a parent/teacher liaison and I jumped at that opportunity.

I do believe that having my foot in the door on some minor issues will give me the chance to express my opinion and that of many researchers on issues such as homework.  As I posted here from the facebook conversation (or possibly it was before the blog moved), sending home these mass amounts of homework is more than unacceptable.  For one, the parents who are going to babysit their child while he does homework is going to read with their child and encourage learning regardless of what the teacher assigns.  And, the parents who are not going to do it, are not going to do it just because it’s homework assigned by a teacher.  And the problem lies therein…….if I do not sign off on my child’s homework assignments, he loses one point for each time I don’t sign and thus his grades suffer.  In my opinion, this is more than unacceptable. 

I went to first grade once.  I’ve now been to kindergarten twice and looks like I am repeating First grade again some 34 odd years later.  And, of course, there is another child.  At this rate, I will have spent 3 years in every grade by the time my kids graduate.  And, this…….does not make me very happy. 

Again, I want to emphasize what good people the teachers seem to be.  They are louder and a bit rougher than kindergarten teachers but that’s to be expected.  The expectations are higher in general.  And, my son has already, 7 days in complained about the fact that the teacher talks “loud”.  He has yet to say she yells, but he has made it clear that it upsets him when she talks loud. 

Acting as that liaison I mentioned, she has 12 boys and 7 girls.  If she were to tell them they were having ice cream she would have to say it loudly or they would never hear her, even if the ice cream bucket was on her desk.  It’s just the nature of the Y chromosome I think.

Reading, it’s really that important & Daniel X – Watch the Skies is as good of a place as any to start….

Posted on Aug 16, 2009 10:58:05 PM

Now, let me say this, if you don’t already know how important it is for us to learn to read at an early age (what with all the ideas of learning foreign languages and the like as well), it’s just painful to watch kids read and not enjoy it.  But, when children are forced to sit and read and not play and run and let energy released, they become very reckless when it comes to reading. 

If you have any questions about what you think might be excessive, just visit my son’s first grade blog that I am handling.  PhD in First Grade is going to be  great site, but just look at the stuff that’s been required and it’s just the second week of school.

With that, I am excited that my son still loves to read.  And, considering the amount of time that my husband and I spend on line, for quite a while he thought all books and magazines should be stored near the toilet.  But, then….then I received a book last summer, one from the Daniel X series.  My husband sat down and it took him about 3.5 hours to read it.  I was in the hospital and he was just sitting with me.  Once he started, he simply would not put the book down. 

So then there’s the new book.  It came and my kids were ecstatic when they realized that a book was in the bag.  Now, with that said, they aren’t old enough to read or understand it but the importance of seeing us read is that important. And, the book sat on the sofa for a day or two, I had decided that I would read this book. 

However, before I could settle down with it, it was in my husbands hands.  He let the internet go that day and he read…and he read…and I requested a few favors here and there but mostly, he just kept reading.

When the afternoon turned to evening, he proudly closed the book, a smirk turned to a smile and he declared, that really was better than the last one….there’s two more in this series right?  I wasn’t sure how many more are available in the series but I know what he is getting Christmas…