Every time I think I've seen or heard it all, something else happens that changes everything.
I realize that things are different now than they were when I was in school, but the basics remain the same. Teach kids to respect themselves and others and give them a base of knowledge they can use to advance in life. Discipline when necessary and help them learn from mistakes. But the public school system has really gone out of control.
A pep rally for the CRCT test and a song to the tune of "YMCA", numerous standardized tests and teaching so they pass the test, multiple forms to fill out just to change the way my child gets home in the afternoon, REQUIRING that I be involved in their homework.. (Don't get me wrong. I am VERY involved with my kids' homework. I know what they are studying and I make sure that they get their homework done and encourage them to study and work hard.) Now they are requiring that I sign off on how many minutes they read each week. I now have sign that I've seen my 2nd grader's work that comes home on Fridays. They also want me to sign the back of each spelling word index card to show that we studied it. Maybe that is why so many kids/teens/adults today lack personal responsibility is because someone else is always held responsible instead of making the student do it themselves. Again, I'm all for helping, but I don't feel I should have to sign something to prove to the teacher that I helped him. The teacher should deal with the school aspect, I will deal with the home aspect. I don't make her sign things to prove that she taught it to my son in the first place.
The kicker came last week when my son spent the day in ISS (in school suspension) for something that he didn't do, where no rules were broken and no one was injured. He was accused of pulling a chair out from underneath someone and causing them to fall on the floor. (How many times did you and your friends do that in school to be funny? Did you ever get in trouble for it? I did it plenty of times!) However, he didn't do it. He admits to jokingly pulling the chair away from the other student because he wanted to sit there. But he let go when the other student put his hand on the chair to stop it. My son then walked away.
The other student must have misjudged the chair when he went to sit down because he fell and the chair flipped. The student told the teacher that my son pulled it out from under him. My son says he was several steps away . (He has proven himself truthful over the years so I believe him.) The teacher claims she saw my son's hand on the chair and the student on the floor. If the chair flipped, how could his hand be on the chair? If he had pulled it out from under the other student, it wouldn't have flipped! But the teacher (a sub, retired from previous years with a reputation for being mean) asked my son point blank if he pulled the chair away. My son, being the literal person he is, said YES because he did pull the chair, but not so as to cause the student to fall. He was immediately sent to the office where he was questioned and required to write a statement of what happened. He was given ISS and was cited as breaking a rule that was something about "Intimidating or intending to cause harm", neither of which he did. I called the school after talking with my son about it further and stated that the punishment was severe considering he didn't break any rules and has never been in trouble at school in his life. The administrator basically told me that my son was lying to me because he didn't want to disappoint me and the punishment would stand. Because he admitted to moving the chair and signed the statement, I allowed him to serve the ISS, where he behaved and did exactly what he was supposed to do, unlike the others that were in there. We chalked it up to a life lesson. That was Friday.
Today, the same son comes home (again, never been in trouble EVER) telling me that he spend time in the office again being accused of inappropriate language. Granted, my son slips and uses profane words at times, but what teenager hasn't? He was accused of homosexual slurs. Seriously?????? Of all the things my son would say, that would NOT be one of them. Again, 1 lone student said that it was my son that said it so the school overreacts and takes him to the office. This one he will NOT get punished for. The school hasn't called me yet. I emailed the teacher that sent him to the office and stated that I would like to be informed if my son is being accused of something. We'll see what happens. They will have to get security footage and show it to me before I believe any of that. He now feels that the school is out to get him. He is very upset and can't understand why this is happening to him. I prayed for him today, and for all of us, as we seem to be under some sort of attack. (Again, no rules have been broken here and it's he said, she said.)
By the way, my 2nd grader has to design an experiment showing an object changing from one stage of matter to the next. Seriously? He's 7!
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