High School & Hypocrisy

Facebook is an interesting place. Although I live in the same town in which I grew up, I 'see' more school chums on Facebook than around town, even when they still live here, too. Since it's been nearly 20 years since my graduating class graduated without me, these virtual relationships bring surprises. One good high school friend, for instance, persists in refusing to speak to me just because I got pregnant during senior year. Seriously. And it's fun to see who married whom, who has kids, etc.

All this to say that this week a 'friend' un-friended me all because I dared criticize our high school!

For those who don't know, Nate attends two classes at the same high school I attended (German and French). He's been very blessed in the instructors he's been assigned. However, he's still in a public school two hours a day, with all that entails. This week it entailed something that his mother found irresponsible, unnecessary and above all, not educational in the least. And I posted about it on Facebook. No-Longer-Friend answered that she thought the same thing happened when we attended. In answering this No-Longer-Friend's answer to my complaint, I pointed out that in Washington State, an average of ten thousand dollars in tax money is used for each student, far more than private school tuition, but the results of the education are far less impressive. In fact, at this particular high school, less than half of 10th graders pass the 10th grade Math exam, and only slightly more than half pass the Science exam. The way I figure it, if they are taking this money, but not getting the job done, then the last thing they need to do is waste class time and administrative power on non-essentials such as a school-sponsored electronic dating service (no, I am not making this up).

Anyway, fast forward to where I am called a hypocrite for daring to repeat the above. Well, thank you, No-Longer-Friend, for pointing out yet another area in which our alma mater failed us: The use of a dictionary!

Hypocrite n.
1.
a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.

How does pointing out flaws in a school at which I attended (not by choice, even) make me a hypocrite? I didn't like the school then, didn't feel it was giving me a good education or preparing me for life, and I feel the same way now, only more strongly. Apparently I am a hypocrite for hoping my son and sister make better choices and have better opportunities than I did?

Shall we assume, then, that No-Longer-Friend is going to encourage her daughters to take their mom's romance novels with them to middle school and read the naughty parts aloud to their lunch table? I ask because this is my earliest memory of No-Longer-Friend. Or is it just possible that growing up, we gain wisdom and learning? Actually, Nate and I often have a conversation that begins with me saying I wish I had been more like him at his age and him pointing out that if that had been the case he would not exist.

It is never hypocrisy to learn from your mistakes, or even from the mistakes of others. It isn't hypocrisy to change your mind. It isn't hypocrisy to have rules for your kids that you didn't follow when you were a kid. And it definitely isn't hypocrisy to point out the flaws in an entity that you were once a part of. Some might even call it progress in the making.

The Principal of the Thing

No, I did not use the wrong homonym...read on:

I was reading this story on CNN, which has many facets that I will not explore. The facet I would like to explore is from this quote:

Bayer [the school principal] also removed her from Advanced Placement classes and assigned her to regular classes.

That's right...this student was punished by banning her from learning!

As someone who was yanked out of AP classes as punishment ("If you aren't going to get good grades in advanced classes, you will have to go back to regular ones!"--which then caused me to be bored out of my skull until I finally dropped out, and which really didn't address the root of the issue as I learned what they wanted me to learn but simply refused to perform the way they wanted me to perform--seriously, can you tell yet why I homeschool?), I am appalled. Ninety percent of the students in school feel like knowledge is being shoved down their throats (I made that statistic up) and you take on of the tiny fraction who are hungry for knowledge and take it away? That should seriously be illegal. Clearly this principal doesn't actually have her students' education at the top of her list of priorities. Oh, no, it's all about conformity of thought...and here I could digress into areas that are best left untouched today.

Hanging On To Dreams

This morning Nate and I were chatting with a bright young man who is in the midst of filling out scholarship applications, as he begins college next year. Somehow this segued into Nate discussing what he wants to study and the limitations of local opportunities for a child of his age (Nate will be 14 in two weeks). After getting over the 'what grade are you in' hump (um...all of the above?), the bright young man asked Nate what he wanted to be when he grew up.

"I want to be in the FBI."

I winced. I feel awful about it, but it's true. I winced. Until that moment, Nate appeared intelligent, mature, older than his years...and then out came his childhood dream. Nate has wanted to be in the FBI since he was about six, except for a short period in the middle where he didn't think he could shoot to kill. Even though he is seriously considering going into the Navy, his career goal is still the FBI (or possibly NCIS, but he says very few people get into the NCIS).

This evening, while he's gone at youth group and I am sitting in the quiet with nothing to do but be circumspect, I have been pondering my reaction to his announcement. I guess part of me considers it a childish, impossible dream, and figures other people will hear him say that and *boom* think he's 10 years old. Finally it dawned on me. The FBI is real. There are real FBI agents. They did not get there by accident! Clearly, some people hold on to that childhood dream, and thank goodness they do!

Nate comes by his dream honestly enough, with law enforcement on both sides of the family. When he talks about his career goals, he talks about double government pensions. He is not a little boy any longer, and I guess it's about time his mother realized he's serious about this FBI business. So here's to hanging on to the dream!

The End and the Means

Nate decided yesterday that he wants to take German at the local high school. He has wanted to learn German for a while now and I have balked at spending nearly $600 on Rosetta Stone and he has refused to consider another program (for lack of speech recognition software) and so we have been at a stalemate. Well, last night Li'l Sis said she was taking German at the high school next year because they apparently take 8th graders for that class. Nate jumped on this, figuring it was the best of all worlds-he and Li'l Sis could speak German with one another, I wouldn't have to spend any money, etc. So now I have to figure out how to get the school to let him into that class. They are required to do things like that but when I called it became pass-the-homeschooling-buck time. I am still waiting for a return call.

In the meantime I discussed with Nate the things he didn't want to hear. Like, you have to get up and go every morning. No more traveling on school days. No more working for mastery, you are stuck with your first score on homework and exams. Can't work at your own pace, so it'll take a whole two years to get two years in, have to take notes and write things by hand in class, etc.

Nate asked how long each class was and I said it was about one hour. He answered, "Well, no wonder it takes the whole year!" LOL

I don't think this is best for him but since I don't think it is bad for him, I'll let him do it. If nothing else it'll teach him a few things, and I don't mean German.

Where's Aretha Franklin When You Need Her?

I was reading the local letters to the editor this morning when I came across this gem. Clearly something has been left off the curriculum during this child's education.

It is actually quite ironic...Waaahhhh! Quit treating us like babies! (where's my blanky?)

Bulletin board to all substitute teachers: Don't tell us what to do. You're just
a substitute.

Oh...as opposed to the lofty 'senior class' who, I dunno...earned their authority by ageing four years? Without finding out what a bulletin board is?

This is a prime example of why I am not enamored with public education. Although, just for the record, my fave teacher ever was one Mr. Wyatt, substitute for the first three months of my fourth grade year. That man had a way of capturing kids' attention and R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

I Heart Numb3rs

Do you love the TV show Numb3rs? We do! And guess what I found? Texas Instruments (another fave of ours) has math activities to go along with the first four seasons of the show. Check 'em out! Definitely educational programming.

Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land

When I was in public school, this was my favorite film. They showed it every other year. At least it didn't make me cry like The Velveteen Rabbit. Anyway, I made Nate watch it today and thought my readers might want to torture their children likewise, so here you go:

Part 1
Part 2

I had never heard of Teacher Tube before searching for that movie, but it looks neat.

Lisa, Saying What I'm Thinking

Lisa has a blog post that is not only funny and informative, but also encouraging to those of us better-late-than-early folk. Everyone should read her blog regardless of their educational viewpoint anyway, simply to stand in awe that a mother of six daughters under the age of 18 can accomplish as much as she accomplishes!

Way Cool Math Site

My mom found this link while looking for parabolic equation help for Brandon. He didn't find it terribly useful, but I think it's way cool!

Interactive Math

Subtitled: Where you learn math by playing with it!

What Brandon is Doing in School

Yes, he is rendering rubber duckies. I will have that song going through my head the rest of the day. He is also rendering flashlights, but they aren't nearly so cute.

Feeling Old

Nate is reading my college Computer Sci. text again. He keeps saying, 'way back then' and it is bothering me. Then he said I was positively ANCIENT in computer years. Forget dog years, apparently computer years whiz by much faster, and that is what I am to be judged against.

The other day I forgot how old I was.

This morning I registered my BABY, who also turned 16 today, btw, at the same high school that I went to (ironically enough, when I was pregnant with that same baby). Thankfully, some of the teachers I had are still there, so I can't be THAT old, right? Poor teachers. My dad went to the same high school. I'm amazed it's still standing now that it's on the third generation of our family. Dad's picture is still hanging in the gym. Mine might be hanging in the theater, but I haven't checked in a while.

I didn't realize how miserable I was at that school until I had to go back in today. I practically had flashbacks, PTSD-style.

Tuesday

It is dreary, wet and cold today. It's also a holiday of sorts (I can't figure out what is running and what isn't today. The college is in, but the schools are not? No mail or library but the gov't employees at the plant have to work? Who makes all the rules and why are they falling down on the job?) and one would think we could take the day off schoolwork and do something holiday-ish, but that's not how it's going to work. We didn't get nearly enough done yesterday, and Nate is about to take his final-final-last-ever Key to... end-of-book test. I don't want him to break right before a test, for obvious reasons, even though no one but me will ever see the score. And even though Teaching Textbooks Math 7, which he is also working through, is about to review the same subject matter.

Fortunately, Nate and I found a Geometry book that will last him a couple months, since the thought of doing only one math program at a time is a bit foreign to him, and he keeps saying he needs more challenge. This Geometry book is very hands-on, no proofs or anything, just fun with shapes. I want that for him before he goes on to in-depth Geometry. He is considering doing TT Algebra and TT Geometry at the same time, and Mr. Pevensie, who was once a PS math teacher, said that is perfectly acceptable. Nate will begin TT Algebra in Feb. according to our current schedule. I already have that program, since we used it with Brandon, so I would only have to buy Geometry with tax refund money.

I loved Geometry when I was in high school. My teacher, Mr. Presto (is that a cool name or what?), had a great policy. You could choose to be graded in one of two ways: 100% of your grade from the test scores, or 50% from test scores and 50% from homework. Quite a progressive PS teacher, IMO. Since I thought homework was basically useless and I always got good test grades, I went with the first option. Mr. Presto stuck me in the back corner of the room with the following year's math book and left me to myself. He was a really thoughtful guy. We had an assignment to draw a pictures using only a straight edge and a compass. I still think it was the best piece of art I ever produced. He hung all the pictures on the wall without names and had the class line up and go from picture to picture rating them on a 1 to 10 scale. I got a 10. I would NEVER have been given a 10 if the kids had known whose picture it was, but he did it in a way that mostly avoided popularity as a grade.

Mr. Presto also let my mom sit in on his Alg. 1 class when she decided to go back to college. I thought that was a very brave thing for her to do. Only two problems--my boyfriend at the time was in the same class (and boy did I give him strict instructions to behave!) and Mr. Presto called me by my mom's name for the rest of the year.

So, I think schoolwork, hot cocoa, and maybe a movie is on the list for today. And maybe I will grab Nate's straight edge, compass and box of colored pencils and make some memories.

Just WHAT do they teach teachers?

Many people wonder why on earth I homeschool my kids, and those who have heard me say it usually wonder why I feel that my kids would be better off completely uneducated (if I were unable to educate them) than they would be in a public school. http://http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/treasurecoast/sfl-flpkindergartner0525pnmay25,0,2574622.story Well, there is one of my reasons! How on earth can we expect bullying in schools to go away when the teachers ARE the bullies?! I have witnessed my share of teachers-to-be taking ridiculous classes that have little to do with teaching kids, but I never figured they were taught how to humiliate and crush the poor little kids entrusted to their care by naive parents. And if this teacher was NOT taught this nice, democratic way of bullying, how on earth did she become this thing of children's nightmares without anyone noticing? A teacher doesn't go from a kind-hearted graduate student who wants to nurture small children (let's assume that is why people become teachers) to being cold and cruel overnight or due to only one student. Could it be the public school environment that fosters this type of attitude? It would certainly explain some things.

Here's hoping this mom brings her little boy home to heal and learn the way he was made to.