Online Schooling is Definitely NOT for me

          I have a friend whose husband is a recruiting officer for one of those online schools. He sits at a desk while the automatic dialer spins out call after call of potential students.  If/When one picks up, he introduces himself and states the purpose of his call. 

          I am certain that over 50% of their “potential students” are not potential at all.  They were victims of online job hunting believing that they were filling out an application for the a job that would hopefully tie them over and entered info on those pop-ups designed to retrieve information to so sucker you into going to their schools.

          I know as I have been a victim of this “potential” marketing myself.  I am livid at the method of “solicitation” – if I wanted to go to school, I would search out for the school – I don’t need someone contacting me to try to “sell” me a product that is going to put me further in debt than I already am. Thank you very much!

          Their biggest selling point (that I see) is that it works to the students convenience because he or she can choose his/her own hours and doesn’t have to be on a set schedule as with the campus schools.  They don’t clue you in as how the hours can literally swallow so much of your time.  But perhaps many really don’t know how time consuming it is. 

The recruiters are expected to have so many starts in any given month.  If they don’t make the quota, they are invited to leave.  That’s not really fair – given the circumstances that most of the “students” who are contacted are not interested in being called let alone making a commitment – which a large percentage don’t.

          The online schools don’t have near as much to offer in career choices as campus schools.  There haven’t been any that have appealed to me personally.  I prefer a hands-on – one on one if possible.  I like having a live instructor that can communicate to me without the benefit of a computer. Oh, don’t get me wrong – I value my computer – but not to the point of replacing an education the “old fashion” way.

          After a year or so with the company (I don’t actually know how long) my friend’s husband was entitled to take the online courses for free (provided he work with the online school for the next three years or come up with the finances on his own) for either himself or a family member.

          As he currently has only one child who would qualify – and that child wants to go into medicine (which is not an online program) and my friend isn’t all that thrilled about the programs offered either, her husband has decided to further educate himself – which is all well and good – but it is sooo time consuming.  His greatest sacrifice (in my opinion) has been giving up several hours of sleep.

          I’ve been to her house a few times when her husband has been trying to fulfill assignments.  It appears to be so frustrating. My friend has had to physically remove her children from the environment so that he is able to stay more focused.  But she is never gone long enough.  What is suppose to be “two hours any given four days in the week” turns into eight. 

She says that often he doesn’t get to bed until after 2:00 and then he needs to be up by 6:00.  Perhaps his body has adjusted to needing only four hours per night (uh, morning) but my friend says that he comes home physically and mentally exhausted.  And she is worried about him.

Right now he is an A student. It will be another three years before he “graduates” – and then what?  Will having his degree or certificate or whatever it is help him to land a better job?  Will all those hours he spent at the computer, giving up sleep (not to mention a few family moments) be worth it?

I can receive an education online without getting credit for it.  There is tons of information to learn and so much right at our fingertips (literally) but I have to go at my own pace – which is not a part of the schooling education

For some people, online schooling really is an ideal thing – particularly if they are only working part time and have inherited a good chunk of money – and single – without children – without interruptions . . . perhaps it for some it has its perks.  But it’s not for me personally.  I can actually understand why the drop-out ratio is so high.

I don’t think Jenna would survive Charter School

I had looked into a Charter school while Jenna was still in kindergarten (which I referred to in this post)   She needed to be challenged, and just wasn’t getting that in our assigned public school.  I am still on the waiting list.

          If she had started APA  in the first grade, I don’t think she would have ever questioned it.  She would have loved it in all the ways that I would have not, had it been available to me when I was a youth.  But after two more years of public school?  I think she would totally freak out and hate it even more than the school I was trying to get her away from.

          Jenna is very smart academically.  But organizational skills and prioritizing is not in her nature at this time (something that we will be working on this summer) and I don’t think she will adjust well going from free spirit to uniform and structure.  She tends to misplace things – which is NOT acceptable at APA (from what I understand)

          For example: on May 15^th Jenna brought some papers into me.  They were dated for March.  One was for the talent show that I remember her telling me about – but I didn’t see the form until six weeks after the fact.

          The other was about my scheduled conference with her teachers.  I was wondering where it had been. 

          I would prefer that she was more organized and cared more about her appearance and had more respect for belongings – but such a drastic transition (should the opportunity ever occur) would only discourage her – whereas she would have not even questioned it two years ago.

          And while there are things that I really like about the charter school, there are also things that I don’t like.  I would love to have her do more with music, but in the long run I think there will be more value in having her learn a second language.

The Most Awesome Principal Ever

When I was a youth, the only children that knew the principal were the ones who misbehaved during class.  And the only parents who knew the principal were the parents of the children who acted up.  I never knew my principal.  I knew his name.  I knew what he looked like.  But because the only children, who actually knew him personally, were the “bad” children, I had taught myself to be afraid of my principal. 

Growing up, the principals were always male.  A female principal was unheard of.  As I have checked out schools in ours and surrounding  districts,  I am finding that it is rare to have a male principal – at least over the elementary schools.

Two of the female principals I’ve encountered seem to have sticks up their butts, artificial smiles, and dagger themed tones to their voices.  Not pleasant.  But the principal at Jenna’s present school is so so different from any principal I have ever encountered in my life.

Actually the principal of my elementary school may have been a loving man and didn’t fit the horrifying profile at all – but my thoughts were so much different from being a child than it is today.  It’s too bad that I never understood him or saw him as a person and could only see the terminator that the “bad” children saw.

One thing that I really do like at Jenna’s school is the atmosphere.  I don’t notice tension among the teachers or constant ruthlessness among the children or fear.  I’m not saying it doesn’t exist.  As with other schools, Vantana has had its share of bullying and discipline.  But it’s not just the “bad” children who get to know the principal. 

Mrs. Randolf makes it a point to get to know each and every student in her school.  But not just the students, but every parent as well.  What a challenge!  And yet she really does seem to be able to place over thousands of names to the faces.  And she is such a pleasant woman!

Every Monday at lunch hour “good” and honored students are given the privilege to have lunch with her in the library.  They call this event “bug lunch” though I don’t know why.  How great it is for students to look forward for getting to eat lunch with the principal!  They see her as a human being – someone they can joke with, but can also turn to for serious matters.  I admire that!

So thank you, Mrs. Randolf.  Thank you for all that you do for our children and for the teachers and for the PTO.

Education in the Pod

          The elementary school that I attended opened the year before I started kindergarten.  At the time the school was designed with rooms that catered to entire grades – not just class sizes. 

          Three modular walls separated each group of students as there were four instructors assigned to each grade.  Each student was assigned a homeroom teacher.  But the homeroom teacher was not necessarily the same teacher assigned for math or reading or science, etc.  All of the students were taught by all of the teachers for that grade. It was actually a very good system.

          I did not appreciate it then.  Nor did I realize that it wasn’t the normal procedure for an elementary school to function in that manner.  Most every person that I know has had only one teacher per grade during his or her years at elementary school.  As I look back on it now, I appreciate having had the opportunities that I did for having been exposed to a variety of teachers and not just one.

          I have never thought it fair to either teacher or student to have to teach all subjects at every level.  Although Dick, Jane, Sally and Michael may be in the same grade does not mean that they are on the same level.  Dick may be exceptionally smart in math while Michael excels in reading.  Sally may struggle with science and Jane may struggle with spelling.

          The four teachers would teach the same subjects, but at different levels.  Mrs. Cleaver may have taught the gifted students math and taught the no so gifted Science and the average students reading. And Mr. Jones may have also taught an average reading class but taught a math class for students who were struggling.  Therefore Dick would have been in Mrs. Cleaver’s math class but may have had Mr. Jones for another subject.

          I was always in the “less gifted” class- sometimes average.  I was never put in with the gifted students.  For the most part I struggled.

          Backpacks were for camping back then.  The idea of taking one to school was unheard of. Each student had a tote tray with his or her name on it.  At the indicated time we would move our tote trays from one desk to another – walking passed the modular walls from one classroom to another.  We didn’t have to walk through the halls to get from one room to another.  The group of classes was called a pod and all our transitions were made inside of the pod.

          I know that some of the charter schools use the method of sending students to different teachers according to that level.  I would like to see it done in the public schools.  It makes more sense to me.

          I am grateful for having had the opportunity to learn from a variety of teachers. I’m grateful that Jenna has the opportunity for having at least two instructors per grade level while she is elementary school.  I am also grateful that she has a better grasp on education than I did.  I pray that she will continue to endure.

A much needed miracle: continuing education

         We were on the waiting list with a couple of charter schools.  I had even looked into homeschooling – which is probably what I would have ended up doing if someone hadn’t pointed out the dual immersion program.

          The dual immersion program allows students to learn a language in addition to English.  Students have two teachers, one who teaches in English for half of the day. The other will teach in a foreign language with math as the prime subject and will touch on the other subjects.

At the time there were only eight schools within this district that offered this dual immersion program.  Two offered Chinese, two offered French and four offered Spanish.  The school closest to where we are living teaches Spanish – which seemed to be the most logical of the three languages as we have contact with almost as many Spanish speaking people as English speaking.  Roland’s family members also speak Spanish – well, some of them anyway.

          I applied two months after the deadline and was put on yet another waiting list.  Within a week we received an acceptance letter.  We were in!  There is no question in my mind that it wasn’t meant to be.

          She may not have wanted to learn Spanish, but I figured she’d at least be learning.  So much seems to just come to her naturally that she needed a challenge.  She no longer takes the bus.  I have to drive her the two miles south each morning.

          So when Jenna started first grade, she had been in three different schools.  She is now in second grade at the same school. The grading system used in this district rates from 1-5 – 5 being the highest.  Thus far all of Jenna’s subjects have received 4s and 5s except for being able to spell words in Spanish.  She only received a 2.  It is something to strive for – which is a good thing.

          I still do volunteer work at the school.  I LOVE the opportunities that Jenna has – though she may not fully understand or appreciate them now.  She is still doing well – though she doesn’t love it near as much as her first school.  Her current school is actually my favorite of the three.

         

First school: p & k

          When Jenna was three, we would walk hand in hand over to the public school twice a week for a preschool class that was offered.  At age four she went for four days.  At age five we enrolled her in kindergarten.  All day kindergarten to be exact. We were also in year round school.

          I would volunteer in the class room once a week. We were both happy. She loved learning.  I loved her teachers. I never had any reason to look into another school.

          Her preschool teacher was great.  She loved those she taught.  And Jenna was forever learning – and socializing.  Jenna was quite popular in her class. Holding hands with Paul the first day of school.  Soaking things in like a sponge.

          Her kindergarten teacher was amazing.  She could teach every child at his or her own level without taking away from another.  Jenna was assigned to a group with two other girls; they were the top three students in the class. 

          She would bring home a packet each day and we would work on the assignments and she would get credit each day for each assignment.  Jenna LOVED school.  To her, there wasn’t much that was more important than school. 

          Having Jenna love school was so awesome.  It was never a struggle having to get her up.  She was always up and ready and eager to go.  The few times I kept her home due to illness, she cried.  I would still continue to educate her and we would have a session at home.

I love that Jenna loves to learn.