Wordless Wednesday - Homeschool Dinosaurs

The First Step of Our Homeschool Journey

We've started homeschooling our Little Guy, and I am discovering that it takes a serious change in view to school such a creative and bright child.  Most people who meet Little Guy are shocked by two things. The first thing they notice is that he's small for his age.  The kid is a victim of  maternal genetics.  The second thing they notice, after talking to him for a bit, is how quickly he picks up on things and how much knowledge he's already stored away in that head of his. 

The story of my life - Left behind, while he forges ahead

 

 

 

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The first step, I discovered, is letting go of my own notions of how his education should proceed.  Big Guy and I struggled with getting him to practice writing his letters.  Little Guy sat there with his pencil and paper and very passive aggressively refused to trace his alphabet.  He doodled, he sang, he made up stories starring his pencil and paper, but he WOULD NOT write his letters.  In response, we cajoled, we pleaded, we threatened, we yelled...  And then, we let it go.  I sighed, shrugged, and told him he could watch a TV show if he wrote five words down.  Any five words. 

And he did. 

It took less than two minutes.  Two hours of fighting over writing and in less than two minutes he wrote five words.  Big Guy and I looked at each other, shrugged, and let it go. Later on as we discussed the difficulties, we came tot he conclusion that we were approaching this the wrong way.  We had to keep in mind WHY we were homeschooling him.  We recognized that he would not handle the stereotypical school schedule well.  He'd rebel and then get in trouble.  We also didn't want him to HATE education, so we knew we'd have to do things differently than they would in a classroom. 

That's where we screwed up.  We approached the writing the way they do in school because that's the way we were taught.  We knew that wasn't going to work with him, and we tried it anyhow.  It worked exactly as we expected; he fought us.  So, we are re-evaluating.  Since he's still a young 'un, we're going to focus more on exposing him to things he'll learn about.  He CAN write, we just have to get him to do it.  Big Guy got him to write me a note while I was at work and left him alone to do it.  I came home to, "I miss you mommy."  We took advantage of Museum Day and took him to the Studebaker Museum and the Center for History. 

To be fair, that word can give lots of people trouble.

We're going to try things while we can and find something that works.  He's got a head start on his peer group; I want to keep him ahead and, more importantly, interested in learning. 

An Open Letter to Bad Students

Yes. I teach a super-basic English course. I teach you how to correctly put words into sentences, how to put sentences into paragraphs and how to put paragraphs into an essay. I've been doing this for a long time. Longer than you've been here, and I will probably still be doing it long after you've gone, whenever and however that may be. I work hard to make a very dry and usually boring subject somewhat interesting. I know you think this is a stupid, easy, fluff course, but you would not be in this class if you didn't need it. You took a test for placement and failed badly enough that you are mine. 

And so here we are. You on your side of the desk and me on mine. And guess what? No matter what, I win. For the time you are in my class, I am the most important person in your world. Or at least you should act that way. Why? Because teachers aren't stupid. When we're in the lab and you're tap-tapping away on your keyboard or clicking away at your mouse, I KNOW you aren't paying attention to me. And believe me, I know who you are and I will call you out on it. If you're sitting there, slack-jawed with your book closed next to you as I am lecturing about a chapter, I know it's not English you're thinking about. And it adds up. 

You start as a blank slate in my class. By the end of the first day of class, I have identified the students who are going to be most difficult. You know who you are. You are the student who thinks you're so damn wonderful that you can be all cute with the teacher and she'll fall all over herself to give you an A because you're just that amazing. If you think that, think again. Because, in conjunction with me being the most important person in your world while you are in my room, I also have little to no patience for your "cuteness". Your cuteness is not awesome, it is not amazing, and your winning personality will not get you an A. I don't care if you know this; I don't care if you don't want to do the assignment. If you want your grade, you have to earn it. You do not pay my salary. I earn it. You pay for the amazing opportunity to be in my class.

You are also the student who keeps a notebook of excuses. I'll let you in on a secret... I don't care if your dog's uncle's cat's brother ate your homework. I don't care if your car caught fire and burned all your books inside it. If you didn't call me, email me, or leave me a message, it's an excuse. And, if you do this at least once per class session, I probably don't believe you anymore. If you cared about my course, you'd find a way to make those excuses nonexistent. 

My patience is wearing thin. I've explained something just to have to re-explain it five minutes later because a student was doodling flowers in her notebook and is now lost, and I've done that 5 times in half an hour. When a "cute" student ignores me for the better part of a class only to interrupt me five times as I'm trying to explain the assignment, it makes me want to stab my eyes out with a pen. When I'm trying to explain a concept and a student full of excuses is interrupting me to answer a question on the lab assignment that they are doing instead of listening to me, it makes me want to unplug the computer and throw it through the window. Even worse, it causes a deep wellspring of pity for the students who do care and are trying to learn. Because while I am stuck with them for a month or two (or three), these guys will work with them in all their other courses.

I'm sorry, smart, conscientious students. I am sorry that there seems to be such a vast chasm between you and your peers. Do not fall into their trap. Do not think that because they passed, you do not need to work as hard as you do. Because, at the end of the day (or college career) you can come to me for a letter of recommendation and I will give it. I will not be "too busy" for you. If you need help understanding something in another course, I will be more than happy to sit down with you or act as a go between for you and your instructor. You have fostered that trust and you have earned your place. And it is nothing to be ashamed of, so do not fall into their trap.

The bad students are a swampy morass of helplessness and entitlement. They don't know anything, don't want to really improve their lot if it means work, and don't think they should have to do anything anyhow. They pay their money, they should get a degree. That's not how life works. And, by God, that will not be how my class works. So go ahead. Yell at me. Roll your eyes at me. Grumble beneath your breath about these "stupid assignments" and complain just in earshot about how worthless you think they are. I don't care, and in fact, it makes me giggle a bit on the inside because you'll be doing them again when you fail. Tell me how your cat ate your car and that's why you missed 3 classes in a row. It makes no difference to me. You'll take the course again and I will still get paid. I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart. Get used to it.



Love

An English Teacher on the Edge

Potty Watch and Midterms

I'm taking advantage of the silence this morning to sit down and write this entry.  Little Guy is still asleep and so my busy day hasn't started yet.  I watched my Orange County Housewives reunion show and ate a bagel.  I'm enjoying the silence so far. 

Yesterday was full of screaming and wailing as I put the kibosh on fun times unless potty time was implemented.  By the end of the day yesterday, I was more than ready to close the day with a seriously strong drink.  I am realizing that my son is more than capable of holding his own line, even in the face of an upset mommy and daddy.  However, because of that, I spent a lot of time with an angry, screaming, whining 4 year old who could not understand why mommy would not help him or give him what he wanted. 

Tonight is the midterm night for this month's class and they have a paper due tonight as well.  I am still scrambling to finish up the papers from the first week, and I have almost finished.  However, a comment from a student threw me into a tizzy and now I am trying to decide how or even if to approach it with the students who were upset by it.  Right now, I am leaning towards getting a feel for the emotions of the class today, a full 48 hours after "the incident" and seeing if it needs to be addressed or not.

In the meantime, I'll get back to grading.  Ugh.   And here's Little Guy...  Time for another day of potty drama and cuteness! 

Back on the potty

Now that the weather has been warming up and our house isn't so cold, I am getting Little Guy back on the potty training train.  He's not happy about it but we've got to get this done.  I never thought I would have an untrained 4 year old, but he hates having to sit and take the time to go to the bathroom.  Of course, he also hates it when we have to take the time to change his diaper. 

Today, however, I tried a new trick.  There was no playing on Starfall or watching of TV in the front room until he used the potty.  There was definite wailing, gnashing of teeth, and overall unhappiness but the stubborness finally broke about 10 minutes ago when we had pee in the potty.  After a bit of celebratory yays and dancing, I flipped the breaker back on (because he knows how to turn on the computer and  the TV), and he is now happily playing away on Starfall. 

I've also told him that if he tells me when he has to go potty and doesn't use his diaper, then I will leave it on.  We'll see if this works.  I'm not so keen on using his education as an incentive to use the potty, but we're running out of ideas and this is something he cares enough about to work. My goal is not to break his spirit and give him enough encouragement to do this on his own, but I  have to get him to use the potty. 

A lot of the sites I've read say that this is something that kids have to choose to do on their own because this is the first choice they really have any influence over.  I just wish he'd choose to do what I want him to do.  I am really looking forward to his choice to use the potty. Wish us luck! 
  

Looking at getting out

Big Guy and I are looking at houses to move into. Between the school issues and other things, we're just not comfortable here anymore and need to get out. The hope is to find a house that someone is willing to sell on a land contract. We talked last night and decided that this is our last year on the lease here.

Our idea is to make a list of what we want in our ideal house and then decide what we are willing to compromise on for a rental. Somewhere in all of this, we'll sort out what needs sorting out and figure out what will make us happy. We went and looked at a rental last night which really cemented our need to get out of here. However, Big Guy doesn't think that we should apply for this particular house and I can see why he feels this way. I've told him that I recognize my impulsivity and I am willing to defer to a less emotion-filled decision maker. But, I also told him I felt we SHOULD apply for the house. I am not going to push that issue though.

With the end of the month approaching, I am grading and preparing for the end of this class. Next month, I am scheduled for Comp II. I'm relieved that this year seems to be going so well, but we do have a few financial details to take care of. Once we do that, my hope is to go back to school for a Master's degree and increase my marketability. I love teaching English at a college level but I need more money and more reliability in this.

Tonight, however, is finals night for my class. I'll be grading and submitting grades tonight, and then I'll hopefully be going home. With class next month, we are going to start figuring out how to improve our situation.  Then we're going to do it. 

OMG U need 2 care 2 teach

Big Guy and I take education rather seriously.  Both of us have college degrees and recognize the necessity to have one in today's world.  While we do struggle financially, I can only imagine how much harder it would be without the education to back us up.  One of the things I have learned while teaching, however, is that there are schools that are not doing what kids need to prepare for the outside world. 

A while ago, I was told by a neighbor that the local high school allows students to write papers in "text speak".  Big Guy did not believe the story until I had it confirmed by a student in my class this month.  When I asked for the name of the teacher, she looked at me blankly and asked: "Which ONE?"  After that, Big Guy was much more amenable to the idea of homeschooling.  We've narrowed down which districts we are willing to send Little Guy to school in and which districts are absolutely a no-go due to their lack of concern or ability regarding education. 

I can understand being burned out.  I'm sure we have all been at a point in our jobs where going for just one more day seems impossible.  However, in a job where you have a direct impact on people, as in teaching, you need to force your way through it.  Allowing children to write papers in text speak is nothing short of criminal and reeks of sheer indifference.  When jobs are looking for workers that can communicate effectively, encouraging laziness in kids and their writing does no one a service. 

This month, several of my students have exhibited frustration that no one called them on their writing ability, that no one corrected their writing in the English classes.  Admittedly, in high school, you don't learn the writing structure.  However, you do have to write papers and your teachers should care enough to correct your mistakes.  By allowing the students to get away with using shortened speech is not doing your job as a teacher.  It may be easier rather than hearing the complaints, it may be simpler rather than fighting with them, but being a good teacher, just like being a good parent, means doing the difficult things. 

The Top and Bottom 3 worries of this parent

Today's blog prompt is sponsored by JuiceboxJungle and Kodak.  They asked what the top and bottom three things are that I worry about as a mom.  I had to think about all the things that I worry about (and there were a great many) and then I had to organize them by sheer amount of worry.  It was not an easy job and it took some time, but I think I have it figured out.

Top Three Things
1 - Health

We are one of the families that exist without insurance. The cost for insurance through Big Guy's business was just too much. Because we are forced to operate without insurance, I am always paranoid that he's going to get sick or injured and I watch carefully for those situations.  Luckily, I also try to feed him a steady diet of fruit, vegetables, and vitamins.  I also tend to hover to make sure that he doesn't put himself in a situation that could lead to bodily injury. 

2 - Money
Big Guy and I work very hard at our respective jobs, but money is always tight and there is usually very little left over at the end of the month. When we buy gifts, they are planned out well in advance and Big Guy and I have become expert bargain hunters.  I frequent Freecycle for clothes and we tend to shop for household goods and apparel.  If we're in the market for games, books or movies, I keep an eye on half.com and will keep watch on particular items for weeks at a time to ensure I get the best price. In fact, my birthday gift this year is particularly notable because I am getting it brand new on release. 

3 - Education
I exist in an almost perpetual state of terror that my child will be the one left behind.  Because of that, I push him beyond his normal age range in subjects such as reading and math.  Admittedly, he is much smarter than I give him credit for and this should probably fall in the bottom three things, but he is both my and Big Guy's son and that means I need to worry to ensure I push him enough to succeed or else he's likely to try and get away from studying. 

The Bottom Three Things

This was probably harder than the top three items.  What do I worry about least with this child of mine?  These items aren't really worries because I have evidence of my success everyday. 

1 - Happiness

I don't worry about Little Guy's level of happiness.  His laughter rings throughout the house regularly every day and he still laughs himself to breathlessness at least once every 12 hours.  I have seen him collapse with the giggles over something his dad or I have said that is just silly...  It's wonderful. 

2 - Self-esteem
If there is one thing that my son does not lack, it's self-esteem. If you were to ask him if he has self-esteem issues, he will tell you no, he doesn't.  He doesn't seem to comprehend that there may be people out there who don't want to spend time with him or who may not like him.  He is a friendly, cheerful, gregarious child who is firmly convinced that everyone loves him and he is in charge. 

3 - His View of Relationships

I am nearly certain that my son will have successful relationships as he grows because of how hard Big Guy and I work to ensure that our own relationship is a success.  We've attended marital therapy and will readily say that it was one of the best things we could have done for our marriage.  We had a strong relationship before we went, but the therapy improved our communication skills and provided a safe haven to learn to deal with issues that would come up and serve to temper our strongly-forged relationship.  If we can continue to provide an example of a well-honed relationship, our son will b able to emulate the better aspects of our relationship and hopefully avoid the mistakes that his father and I made in previous relationships.

Attempting to narrow down worries into only six was a difficult task, but was actually helpful to me as a parent.  I can see where my focus is and measure how I am doing over all.  It also helped reassure me that I am a good mother to this amazing child.  He is happy, mostly healthy, somewhat sane, and has been sheltered from the worst of the events that we've dealt with.  He's confident, brave, headstrong, willful, smart and imaginative.  He expresses love freely and accepts affection as a matter of course.  How lucky I am to have him. 

An English Teacher's Lament

I began re-working on one of my projects last night while Big Guy played his Valentine's day gift.  It was a good gift, apparently.  I told him I was glad that my gift giving streak was still in effect.  He's been playing the game pretty much non-stop since Friday.  In the meantime, I was able to work on my blog, work on class prep, and prepare for the week ahead.  My class this month is about to have a change from classes in previous months, namely a vocab section. 

I work hard on class prep and doing what I think will best help the students.  I must admit, though, finding things that will improve their ability to write is difficult since the most vocal complain that they don't understand why they must know how to write nor do they wish to learn.  For someone like me, who adores English and the twists and turns it takes, it is horribly depressing and demoralizing. 

It is unfortunate that I have not yet had a student come to my class and say: "I can't wait!  I love English/Writing/Literature."  It is also not surprising.  Schools don't stress the importance of the ability to write properly and do not encourage students to do so.  When the kids were visiting, I was perpetually amazed and dismayed at how little the schools stressed proper style and grammar.  It was more that the teachers were relieved if the students spelled approximately half of the words correctly.  One of the most horrifying things I discovered about the school in our area, and a driving force behind my desire NOT to send Little Guy into this system, was the painful discovery that the high school students were allowed to write papers in text speech.  Of course, then they end up in my classroom, in a college level basics class.

And I am left with disenchanted students who are in school because they have no place left to go and want to get college over with quickly so they can get a better job.  I do what I can to make the subject matter interesting for them, but a great deal of the work has to be done by them.  One thing I am going to start mentioning on the first day of class is that their success depends almost entirely on them.  If they choose to come and not work, not be engaged with the material, not communicate with the class, then they will not pass.  If they come to class, ready to talk, work, ask questions, and learn, they will likely pass not only this class, but also the other English classes with flying colors.  Once they gain a comprehension of English, it will make their major classes easier as well as give them access to better jobs. 

Of course, then the question becomes, how do you engage and encourage students who hate the subject matter? In this particular class, I put together powerpoint presentations to make the discussion slightly less snooze-worthy.  I also have them watch Schoolhouse Rock.  The catchy music and the songs that get stuck in their heads seems to actually make a difference.  I was unable to use both those tricks last month and I noticed a big difference in the attitude of the students towards the subject.  Amusingly, after talking with a couple of other teachers about the Schoolhouse Rock trick, it's become a "done thing" now.  I'm glad that others are seeing it works too, I just wish I could get some recognition for the idea.  LOL

In the end, though, I love my subject matter and I am passionate about it.  I think that has affected more students then their dislike of the subject.  I still have students coming up to me months later asking if I will be teaching a particular level of class next month.  They seem to have left my class with an enjoyment and, hopefully, an appreciation of their language.

Homeschooling Discussions

Big Guy and I had a "discussion" on my way into work yesterday.  We're currently at odds on the whole schooling thing with Little Guy, and I don't foresee these discussions going any better the closer Little Guy gets to attending school. 

I am on the side of homeschooling and will argue vehemently for that.  My reasons are sound, and, until recently, I thought Big Guy and I were in agreement on schooling.  I do not approve of the schools in the area where we live.  I do not believe they will be able to educate my son appropriately.  I do not hold the teachers at fault, but the area we live in was one of the hardest hit by the economic downturn because many of the people in the area are blue collar, factory workers.  Many of the people around here do not value education or what it can accomplish and I do not want my child growing up with that attitude. 

Big Guy has gone from agreement with me to saying, now, that Little Guy should go to the local schools.  He argues that we will not be able to educate him properly because we lack the money to buy the homeschooling books.  He says that Little Guy will do fine as long as we support his education in the school.  A lot of this started because a friend of ours, who teaches high school, made the comment that homeschooling was going to be bad for Little Guy because we would not be able to give him the social interaction he needed, no matter how hard we tried.

Now, Big Guy has gone from the "It's OK to homeschool" camp to "NO".  I'm frustrated and irritated because the normally smooth ground my marriage exists on has become somewhat bumpy.  Both of us are absolutely convinced of our position's correctness and these positions are diametrically opposed!  Our view of what's important plays a big part in our difficulties right now.  He sees social activities as an important part of school, while I view the quality of education as more important than socialization. 

Honestly, I hated the social aspects of school.  I was never good at playing the social games and never felt comfortable in the social groups.  I wasn't a band geek, I wasn't a jock, I was more aligned with the smart kids, but not really...  My group of friends referred to ourselves as "The Outcasts" because we were different.  Amusingly, we were all drastically different from each other as well.  But, the social strata was different in a much more condensed way.  It was a small parochial school; therefore, things were going to be difficult. 

Who knows what we'll do.  Big Guy doesn't think it's worth arguing about because we have a year and a half before Little Guy goes to school.  To me, that means a year and a half of more fighting until we come to an agreement.  I'm concerned that if I give in on the unimportant years, the earliest ones where they go over the basics, then I will lose ground later on where the difference in educational quality will become noticeable.  

 

He's not smart after all - How I've ruined my son

The snow has restarted in earnest around here.  Leaving class last night, it appeared as the the wind and snow was conspiring to make a blizzard.  Coming home, I could see the little whirling snow rivers created by our passage highlighted by the headlights of the car behind us.  This is the kind of weather I can support.  Of course, the fact that we regularly get weather like this makes me look askance at those southern folk.  I guess when you don't get weather, it's hard to know what to do when you get it. 

 Little Guy and I were working on his letters and numbers yesterday, and I praised him to the heavens, just like any other parent.  Then I read an interesting article (Don't Call My Kid Smart) that has me rethinking how I approach this.  Jeff Weinstock writes that we shouldn't call our kids "smart".  By labeling them as "smart" and attributing their success to natural talent, we set them up for failure and, even worse, we set them up not to try. 

I can see some of this emerging now.  I have called Little Guy smart ever since he started exhibiting advanced tendencies.  He can count to 100, how smart he must be.  He can read some of the simpler books, he is so smart.  But getting him to practice, getting him to do the stuff he's NOT good at...  Then he balks and doesn't want to try.  Why?  Because it's not easy for him and he already recognizes that he is "smart" and therefore things will come to him without having to work at it. 

As we all know, though, life does not favor the easy route.  If you want something, you have to work for it.  This is true in all things: school, work, and even relationships.  This puts me in an awkward place though.  He is smart and I know it.  He does have a high level of innate intelligence and things will come easier for him than they will for others.  He is fortunate to have that ability.  But, that doesn't mean there isn't a certain level of effort he must put forth to succeed. 

But, how should I praise him now?  Telling a 4 year old: "Great effort!" or "What a nice try!" just doesn't seem right.  Those are the phrases that you give to kids who really do mean well, but just can't quite reach that bar.  Those are lines that just seem coated with an undertone of pity that you feed to kids to ensure their self-esteem isn't too damaged by failure.  And by avoiding the use of the word "smart", are we in danger of hurting our kids' self-esteem by not acknowledging their intelligence?  No one warned me that being a parent was so dangerous.  Are we all destined to ruin our children either by over-inflating their egos or destroying their self-esteem?

After discussing the article with Big Guy last night, he's of the opinion that I read too much and worry too much.  He says that Little Guy will likely survive the fact that I call him smart and be the better for it.  He's got a point and was in a position to know.  Back when we first dated, he did audits for CPS and it truly upset him at what some of those poor children went through.  And, to a certain extent, he's right. At the same time, I do need to find ways to praise and encourage Little Guy for the work he does.  

In more amusing news, I finally found my keys while I was at school last night.  They've been missing since before Christmas and I was really getting worried that I had done something horrible with them or maybe even left them someplace.  I found them in my purse.  Yeah, I know, I know. 

Watching Jimmy Fallon last night, I realized that Little Guy's hair style is catching on.  Michael Cera has the same exact hairstyle.  I can now pass it off as intentional.  I would like to point out that my son had that hairstyle long before Michael Cera did though.  That's my boy, always on the cutting edge of fashion.  And he's super smart to boot. 

Dammit, he'll never recover from having me as a mother! 

Willful, stubborn, bullheaded and smart

I've been working with Little Guy on the fundamentals of writing.  Things like how to hold a pencil, how hard to press on paper, the basic of basics. We've been working on tracing in his workbooks and he likes to count the lines as he traces them, but he gets bored with it easily.  Yesterday, after trying to get him to trace the final group of diagonal lines, I put the workbook away and gave him some paper to draw on.  He proceeded to draw letters out on his own. 

They were a stereotypical large and childish attempt at letters, but you could see what letters they were.  And while I am proud of him, this concerns me for a number of reasons.  I am thrilled my son is smart, I am thrilled that he catches on and figures things out quickly. But his dad and I are smart too, and I recognize the dangers of things coming so easily.  Already I can see some of the more treacherous aspects coming through. 

When he tried to write a word out and realized he couldn't, he got frustrated and tried to have me do it for him.  When I told him no, HE needed to work at it, he threw the pencil down and ran out of the room.  He's learning that, because he is a smart kid, things tend to come easily to him.  Unfortunately, he's also decided, like most smart people, that because so much comes so easily he doesn't want to waste time on the things that don't come easily.

He likes to read, he likes to draw, but if he can't get it right away, he doesn't want to wait.  That, unfortunately, he gets from me; a short attention span and a severe lack of patience.  He wants it and he wants it now, and if he can't have it now, the world will pay.  It is good that he is stubborn.  It is good that he is smart.  I just wish he hadn't inherited the character flaws. 

What I need to do is buckle down and make him work.  But I am also afraid that I will turn education into a punishment and he won't find enjoyment in it.  Finding some sort of balance between needing to work and enjoying the effort is difficult with a 4 year old.  And then I worry that I push him too hard.  He can count to 100, is reading some things all on his own, knows colors, letters, sounds, can sound out words and is no slouch in the imagination department either...  Am I pushing him too hard?  Or should I feed the beast and keep him working at it?  How do I make sure it's enjoyable without scaring him off?

Being a parent of a strong-willed, stubborn child is difficult.  Finding the path through those minefields is dangerous and exhausting.  As I tell him regularly, there's a reason why animals eat their young, he's lucky he's so skinny and worth keeping around. 

We took him to breakfast and then a trip to Barnes and Noble today.  I had finished A Clash of Kings and had to pick up the remaining two books of the series.  Normally, we'd hit the Bargain Books store, but they didn't carry the series and I needed the books. Right now, while I type up this entry, Big Guy is finishing up the last book in the Temraire series and then will likely pick up the first book of A Song of Ice and Fire. 

We've forced Little Guy into nap-time.  He's getting willful and fractious and that generally means he's tired.  Small wonder, since he went to bed at 1:30 this morning and was awake and excited before 9 am.  Soon, I'll snuggle back with my book, A Storm of Swords, and undoubtedly burn my way through that one as well.  Sadness for me when I finish it.  What will I do after I finish this series?  What shall I read next? 

The school system's failures

I really do love teaching but there are times when I wonder why.  This month, I've been teaching an English Fundamentals class.  There are times when teaching this class totally eradicates my belief in the public school system. 

In Fundamentals, I teach the very basics, like nouns, verbs, and how to create a complete sentence.  As I go over these things, many of them talk about how they know they should have learned this in school.  It isn't just their fault though.  I can't help but wonder how our society has gotten to a point where we have let people escape from schooling with no concept of how to properly communication. 

I hold the bureaucracy of the system to a large part of the fault.  The other part of the fault should rest on the shoulders of the parents.  Parents need to support and encourage their kids to do better.  Parents see it as a free babysitting service to use while they are working.  How can we get our kids to acheive more when the expectations given them are so low? 

It seems to me that our school system has faltered.  Teachers should not be forced to socially promote students who haven't learned the material.  They are forced to teach to the lowest common denominator and to teach to tests that ONLY hold the students back  In Indiana, schools are required to have a certain percentage of their students pass the ISTEP or risk losing funding.  Because of this, a total of six weeks of school are devoted to the preparation and taking of this test.  Reading between the lines, we spend a total of 240 school hours teaching kids stuff they've already learned.  And we do this to take a test that supposedly measures how much they know. 

Every day I deal with the failing of the school system, people who cannot construct a proper sentence or recognize what the subject of a sentence is.  When did we abandon our children to an uncertain future?  And why do we, as parents, continue to let the system fail us and our children?