Back to the Real World
*sigh*
Spring break officially ends tomorrow and the kids will back at school. Most mothers jump for joy when vacations end but not me… I always want to extend them.
Perhaps it is because I am a part time WAHM and I work during the school hours then pick up the kids from school and then assist with homework, rip and run to after-school activities and then on top of that work from home in the late afternoons and evenings. I loved the 6 full weekdays of no homework, pick ups/drop offs, no rigidly scheduled homework time before activities and then a mad dash for the bed because we have to get up at the crack of dawn and do it all over again.
Isreal, my 11th grader is fine. She is in the *ZONE* As we call it and is on the fast track to college. But Isaac on the other hand is another story. Part of me really wants to home-school my youngest son Isaac. He is in the 3rd grade and it my experience with his public school sucks hasn’t been a picnic. On top of the daily 1-1.5hrs of homework for this 8yo each evening, can you believe that during his Spring break, he had a Spring Break Homework BINDER. Yes, you read that, binder. It consisted of 137 pagesof work (front and pack). Oh don’t worry, the teacher neatly hole punched each page and carefully placed them into a nice pretty blue binder with Tabs for the days of the week that the pages were to be done on. I guess the beautiful presentation was supposed to stifle our SHOCK that the poor child would be traumatized for a darn week. Uhhh I thought spring break meant BREAK?!
My husband and I are pulling him out of his current school after this year and we are currently on a MISSION to find another school for him. I approached him (my husband) with the idea of me homeschooling Isaac next year and hubby wasn’t fond of the idea at all. I think part of it was/is because homeschooling is just foreign to him and the other part is, well quite frankly, he will loose his Office manager at his Pest Control Company (where I currently work from 9-3).
I guess I am just unloading here - getting thoughts out of my head and onto paper the computer. I guess the good thing is that as hard as the school pushes him, I make sure to turn the pressure off. Of course Isaac didn’t finish each and every one of those 137 pages. If you do the math that works out to be about 18 pages of work a DAY. I doubt the teacher did 18 pages of work a day over HER break, so why should we Isaac.
March 30th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Wow a 137-page binder for homework during March Break. What about all the kids that go away for vacation with their families during the Break - that wouldn’t be very fair, be cause they wouldn’t be doing it and they’d be penalized. You have every right to vent. We home schooled Hannah for a while when she was in Grade 5 and that made all the difference. I say “we” but it was really my mom who home schooled her as she had just retired.
I don’t know what to tell you about your husband because I doubt he’d ever be able to replace an top notch manager like you (sorry!). Good luck with that objective! In the meantime maybe there are some other school choices in the neighborhood?
March 30th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Wow, I can’t believe an 8 year old would have 1 1/2 hours of homework - my 8 year old nephew has maybe a half hours worth two to three times a week. And that much work over spring break! That’s crazy!
I do love homeschooling my DD (and DS, unofficially since he’s 4 LOL) and there is a part of me that wants to keep doing it for a while - but DH wants them back in school this fall. We shall see!
March 30th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Thanks Ladies!! I appreciate your comments
March 30th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
I hear you. I treasure the days off and am consistently amazed by the amount of homework that my kids get. They even have required work over the summer. I’m sure that it is mostly valuable, but kids need a break. I want my girls to have time to be kids, too. I hate seeing them fall asleep on their books at night and wake up so exhausted that they miss breakfast and sleep on the school bus. I even love snow days. My dd’s science teacher assigned “The Short History of Nearly Everything” this past summer - 624 pages of deep reading. She had to summarize each chapter and highlight for her, so the teacher didn’t have to read all of their reports. For fun, I attempted one chapter and it was so far over my head I gave up, LOL. She had no room to read for pleasure - what a sad thing for her.
There are days when homeschooling sounds dreamy, but I know I can’t possibly provide the stimulation, well-rounded curriculum, and extra-curriculars while working full time. I know we are fortunate to be in a good school system.
Treece
March 30th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
I really do feel your pain.
Just last year we pulled our children out of a school that was “academically driven”. IMHO, I thought it was a fantastic school that had my kids working well above grade level, until I realized a few things.
We were driving 2 hours each day to take our children to and from school. Forget the normal after school rush from this activity to the next running, I was running TWO hours a day just to get them to school and home! Have you seen the gas pump prices?!? Not cool!! I loved summer, spring, and mid-winter break!
Oh, and then there was the whole social retardation thing . . . frankly, my kids were never allowed to socialize during school. In the beginning I thought “GOOD! They’re there to learn!” But, in the end, I also realized that they were being taught to be rude and ignorant of the people around them. Having 2 special needs daughters - one with social anxiety and the other with asperger’s - this was really a bad move on my part (leaving them there so long).
And, we were experiencing the same things you are . . . binders of work over break. 3 hours of homework each night for my 7th grader (at the time) and 2 hours of homework for my 3rd grader, and an HOUR for my first grader. Wait . . . what?!?
Anyhow, we chose to pull them, and I’ve never looked back. We had homeschooled before this school and I loved it. My girls begged me to go back to homeschooling, as they loved it, but it’s not practical for us now. Besides, my oldest is about to start high school, and I’m not qualified to teach her and my dh is working too many hours a week right now to do it. We found a closer less rigourous school. I cannot tell you how much of a positive change it has made for our family. My oldest daughter is struggling with her grades (it’s not as hard, but it’s less guided and she has more responsibility for managing her workload), but socially she is SO much happier.
Well, that’s my novel.
I know you’ll be able to find a good solution. Try not to stress too hard, it will come to you.
March 30th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
That is totally out of control!! Especially since this is not the first break when this has happened.
I don’t blame you for being angry. Have you spoken to the principal about this? What about the other 3rd grade teachers…did they all hand out binders???
March 31st, 2008 at 9:19 am
[…] My children return back to school today after a nice long Spring Break. I am dealing with some importantant changes that will have to take place regarding my youngest son Isaac (8) and his school sitution. You can read more about it in my post ‘Back To The Real World‘ […]
March 31st, 2008 at 9:48 am
This is the same teacher that flogged him over the Christmas break, right? That’s really disturbing that she did it again, especially after speaking with you on the last issue. I hope you find a better schooling solution. That reeks!
March 31st, 2008 at 10:06 am
Oh my gosh, Aurelia!! That is just awful! Will you please give your little guy a hug for me?? Dang!!!
March 31st, 2008 at 10:22 am
That’s AWFUL!!!
I am the pain in the rear end mom, I would have called and complained to the principal and the teacher. Poor kid getting homework over vacation time.
Almost as bad as my son’s principal calling me the other day and asking me to bring my sick child to school for a few hours so he could participate in standardized testing. She won’t be making that mistake again
March 31st, 2008 at 10:45 am
We homeschool our kids, have for 12 years now, and wouldn’t have it any other way. The boys did go to school at one point and they spent their entire nights and weekends doing homework. Our oldest really struggled with school and then to sit there all night struggling even more broke my heart. He had moved beyond learning and was just surviving. And for a 3rd grader I couldn’t do it to him. We tailored his learning around him. He does well in math and science and the more we stressed those the better he did.
It has to be a family decision. I know it isn’t for everyone. Finding the right fit for your child may be some bumps in the road, but I know you will find a solution that is right for all of you!