Goddess Rambles about Charter Schools

i do see some successes in the charter schools in my area. there are populations that have been painfully under-served. in my case, Black students... yes i know there are many other students who fall into this niche, but i will only talk about what i know. the goal in the school was to give everyone a chance at a quality college-prep educational opportunity. the downside is the proposal was fought like it was the plague. we had a school, the school was empty. we were not shuffling kids about, we just wanted a place for OUR kids... and we take everyone but hear me out. We had to go grassroots to lift enrollment. we pushed in our churches and through our families and we now have to turn children away. our schools are some of the highest in the state of CA at least if not in the nation for charter schools. now that the schools are doing well, other want to sign up. i was on the waiting list for at least 3 years before my son was admitted. if we could open another school, we would be able to increase enrollment. our high and middle school are on a campus that has the ability to house roughly 2000 students, we have half that. it is almost as if we are being set up to fail because we are successful. there are other schools that have closed down. why not take them over? some points that frighten people. 1. non-union teachers 2. unconventional methods used to educate (sure they don't fit the norm, but they work for certain students and we have studies to back that up) 3. makes other schools in the district look bad (my solution to that is for the regular public schools to step up and make the changes necessary for success for ALL of their students) because a great deal of this is from the perspective of a parent of a gifted child in a public school where there was no GATE program, no instinct from teachers so overwhelmed with extremely high student numbers and lack of funding to manage their classrooms effectively (i rarely fault the educators and i don't fault them in this case either) , I felt i had no choice but to step out of the neighborhood school to help my child succeed. His teacher suggested in the 4th grade that i pull him and try to get him in charter. it is a tough call for administrators, educators, parents, and in many cases even the students. i truly believe that charter schools can be the catalyst for change in the educational system of America.
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Shut the Hell Up! It's Christmas Dammit!

There are a great many things i would like to clear out this Christmas season.... Nitpicky Grammar Nazis Jealous Lovers Whining Children Weak Drinks Want for Necessities can we put all that mess in a brown paper bag and set it afire for Christmas? the kids will be thrilled to see FIRE and the adults will be too busy putting marshmallows on sticks for the kids to roast to talk about anything but Christmas cheer. it's too damned close to Christmas to act like fools, be cheap, be without, and run around correcting folks grammar....Now if anyone wants to send a gift my way, i am sure to find some unfortunate folks in my side of the world to make happy during this holiday season of spending TIME and not necessarily MONEY on family members. Goddess
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Lose it like you're getting paid to do it!

I lose it sometimes, and I am proud.
That is not to say that I lose it for the sake of satisfaction of watching little children cower at my feet cringing at the very vibration of my soprano holler...


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I have come to realize that in order to make any attempt at raising well balanced, well rounded, self starting children who will be the adults helping you in and out of bed and on and off the bedpans in your old age, you gotta let them see your human side.
It is okay to lose your cool but you have to set the framework up for how you lose it and make sure your children are comfortable with the process.

I used to yell a great deal. Then, one day, I saw my precious child draw back at my noise level. At that point, I decided that I would stop yelling but I would not give up my release of getting angry and losing it from time to time. I think it is perfectly okay for children to see their parents half cocked and looking a bit crazy. Adds to the flavor of the food at dinnertime.

I had a friend in grade school who had parents that would crack me up when they got angry.Her mom would chew her tongue while scolding her.

Try it. I know you want to... :)

Her stepfather would point at her with his middle finger when he was scolding. It was extra hilarious to watch them both scolding her at the same time.

ah... childhood...

I am thankful to be growing up alongside a young man who sometimes loses it himself. When he has his moments, we can talk about it and how he feels because he knows that I understand because I have been there and he has been witness; willing and unwilling.


So my advice is to never be afraid to lose your cool in front of your children from time to time...

They will respect you for it.
And you will gain respect in a relationship that at times can make you want to flip your lid.


Goddess

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Exercising to get away from the kids? You Betcha!

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I don't have time to feel guilty for getting time to myself and away from my familial chaos. I find that when i have time away from the boy genius, I am more sane when he wants me to sit and play an hour of Star Wars on the Wii or Star Wars on the XBOX or just a friendly game of chess *smiles*
My thought is that he is just about to turn 8, and I had better do what I can to stay healthy and in shape as I am going to be doing this for the next 16 years (you don't see your kids leaving home for good at 18 do you?).

Now that I have confessed, there is one exercise that I would love to get to do more often by myself and that is bike ride. I have a rack on my VW that can hold two bikes but I can't seem to get myself to believe that it is okay to leave the boy and his bike at home for these riding escapades.

To me, it is like going to see a children's movie with no children.
I am most sure some of you know how I am feeling.

I have to work on that
*makes note to self*
Goddess

TV can be your savior or Satan incarnate...

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As a parent to an extremely intelligent (yes I'm biased) 7 year old, I have learned to pick my battles carefully. I have less and less control over some things as he gets older and I become more exhausted from keeping him occupied while I try to sit down and breathe for a moment, so tv has become a few and far between friend.

In the beginning, (bible study anyone?) there was Teletubbies and Baby Einstein. My son was stimulated into a coma while I ran the house single handed due to a now former husband who wanted to be a rock star more than a father.

Television gave me just enough time to get some very important things done and then the child was pulled away (sometimes kicking and screaming) to use his human power. I would order him to go play in the fresh air and find some rocks to kick around.

I remember the television of my childhood, and it usually happened on Saturdays and not for too long. By noon, my mom was swinging a broom at us yelling "go play outside!" and we obediently filed toward the door.

Well, maybe it was because of the broom...

There was no audible lock, as my mother had an "in or out" rule. If you chose to come in and out of her house too many times bringing in dirt, flies and extra neighborhood kids, you got the all expense paid trip to 'momma's world'. Playing outside was fun. besides, who the hell wants to hang out with your mom and fold sheets all day?
"Not I!" , squeaked the fly (that was the one that sneaked in the house with the annoying neighborhood kids and the dirt.)

More kids should do it.
More parents should demand it.

For my mom, there was no convenience of 24 hour television programming for children. If there was nothing on the boob tube, we were up under her feet and life was bad for everyone.

As a mother now, I prescribe to my mother's saving grace. That is to "get out, stay out and don't come back until I call for dinner or until the street lights come on!" Mind you, this was all said in love, and i think the statute of limitations has run out on a call to CPS.

At an early age, my son was taught to go outside and play.

This upholds the idea that there is a difference between school clothes and play clothes.

I would send him to the backyard at age 3 or 4 and let him have at it. He could play in the hose and make mud puddles and chase the dogs around and get into all sorts of safe trouble. I could peek out the windows and know he was okay and could feel no worse for wear at having to hose him down before bringing him into the house.

I purposely did not subscribe to cable because I wanted to be in control of what my son watched when he did sit down for his coma sessions.

We watch public television. There is so much there for his brain to be inundated with and it is good stuff too.
After he graduated from Sesame Street and Teletubbies (Boobah was all wrong for my house), he moved on to Cyberchase, where got to use his thinking skills and Dragonfly TV where he got ideas for experiments he could do at home.

Regardless what your children watch, Adult Supervision should be required for ALL programming. Your child should feel comfortable asking questions and you should be there even if the question that comes up is "why does Tinky Winky carry a bag?"

At the same time time, children should be jazzed to go ride their bikes and build forts and get dirty.
Our only requirements as parents now is to not only demand that they use; instead of sedate their brains but dig in with them as well.

Ramblingly yours,

The Goddess