If you have read my previous blogs you are aware of some of
the issues we had this last year via the public school. For one of the bullying blogs
see the entry in June labeled “(Missing blog summary #1) Bullying in Public
school”. What I didn’t mention previously is that we also had issues with some
teachers.
The band teacher went off on the whole class, yelling “Who the hell
do you think you all are” and using the s-word (as my kids call it). At the beginning of the year my son
couldn’t wait for band because he had wanted lessons forever but we hadn’t been
able to afford them. He came home after that and wanted to quit band immediately.
He refused to enroll in band for the next year…and he wasn’t the only one. From
what I understand 75% of the 8th grade band refused to take band the next
year. It is such a shame that one teacher can ruin a child’s love for a class
in such a way. (And yes I went to the school about this but they did nothing.
The teacher did apologize to the class but it was too late at that point).
The school’s policy for make-up work is the number of days
you missed plus one. So if you missed 2 days of school you have 3 days to get
caught up with all your assignments. We had one teacher who did not follow this
at all. She expected my son to take 6 tests (voc and spelling) in 3 days! Because
she had put him off for so long and it was the end of the grading period so she
had to enter a grade for the tests. She also tried to dock him for 2
assignments that he “had to be present the day of to pass” (which is not what
the policy says).
We had
another teacher who did not return emails and phone calls for 3 weeks!
Literally. Then when she did reply her response was “I didn’t know your email
required a response”!! Hello---I only asked about 4 questions in my email!
Overall our experience was horrible!
So I was hoping my son would decide to go back to
homeschooling. And yes I was leaving that decision up to him. He wants to play
soccer and he made the JV team last year. In our area there just isn’t a lot offered
for high school age kids as far as competitive sports go. I was willing to
fight the school, the bad teachers, and the bullies for another year for him…if
he decided he wanted to stay in public school.
The end of July I get a call
from him (he was visiting his grandparents out of state). He had given
homeschooling a lot of thought and decided he really wanted to be homeschooled
again, but that he wanted a different math program (we were using Saxon, which
he HATED)…and then he made an off-handed remark about having more free time to
do whatever he wanted to do (such as play his xbox). So I was somewhat excited
but the last comment gave me pause. Was he serious about homeschooling or did
he just pick it cause he thinks he can play the xbox all the time? Plus I had
not looked at ANY curriculum at all! And it was close to the deadline to file
with the county that we were homeschooling. So I thought about and talked to some friends. I
decided we would go pick his schedule up from the high school. He did not want
to do this at all, which really surprised me. I thought he would at least want to go see some friends, say hi, whatever. But he was not happy about
going to get that schedule. However I wanted to see what he had been assigned. Imagine my surprise
when he had ALL honors classes! Last year I made them put him in honors English.
But now he was in honors science and history as well! I guess, even though he
didn’t get straight A’s, the teachers must have really liked him and thought he
had potential for honors classes. After I got over that shock we looked at his
electives. Sure enough he had an engineering class and a technology class (like
woodshop but more advanced). I asked him if he wanted to take those classes
because that is not something I could easily offer him at home. Of course he
did. So we visited the guidance office and then called the school board office
and then went back to the guidance office again! After all that run around we
finally have him enrolled part-time at the high school. He will be taking the
engineering and technology classes, plus a graphic design and geometry class.
He agreed to stay in the geometry class because the teacher is the husband of
his old tutor. (long story for a different time!) I will be teaching him English/reading,
history, and science at home. He will have half a day at the school and half a
day at home. :-) I am hoping this will eliminate some of the bullying issues.
And so far I like the teachers, especially the one who told me that he
would be contacting me. He believes in parent involvement. That just made my
day. LOL
Now all I have to do is write an “Intent to Homeschool”
letter to the school board office and we will be set for the year….WAIT! I still have
to buy his curriculum! Ebay here I come! :-)
