The Sweetest Sound
I was looking at the calendar today and noticed that there are only seven weeks before the start of the new school year. This isn’t something I normally care about, but this year is different. My oldest will heading off to middle school this year. I have mixed feelings about it.
As her mom I want her to go and be successful. But a small part of me hopes that sixth grade dropout will be added to her résumé. I’ll never forget the day she dropped out of first grade. “I’ve thought about it, Mom, and I’m dropping out of school. It’s wasting my time. If you won’t teach me, I’ll teach myself.” She’s never been a boring child.
I’ve gone through the all the steps and got her registered. They required a test to determine her instructional level before she started. After she finished the test she was a little upset.
“I didn’t answer all the questions and I forgot what perimeter was. Then I remembered, but I forgot how to add. I’ll probably have to be in a stupid class”
I assured her that she wouldn’t be in a “stupid” class and told her I had no problems embarrassing her by bothering the counselor until she put her in the right class. We moved on and haven’t thought about it much since.
Then a letter from the school board came. I was a little slow to open it. In the last four years, my daughter has not spent one day being taught by a certified teacher. Her teacher doesn’t even have a college degree. She hasn’t used a true curriculum for three years and she spends most of her day playing. This didn’t bother me in the least until I sat there with that unopened letter.
“I’m sorry, Oldest. You know how I told you I would bother your counselor until she put you in right class? Well, it’s not going work out.”
“Is the class already full?”
“Nope. I can’t go and bother your counselor because they already put you in an advanced class. It’s a one-year acceleration. You little smarty-pants. You don’t let me have any fun. I was looking forward to fussing at your counselor!”
She sat there smiling and giggling. It was the sweetest sound. I’m going to be missing it in a few weeks.
Tags: accelerated, advanced, dropout, middle school, school, stupid class, wasting time
Good luck to her! I sympathize with your ambivalence. In some ways, middle school is the best time to keep kids OUT of school.
Rattling the Kettles last blog post..Hillary Will Never Give Up. Ever.
It’s the little smarty-pantses who need to always keep a hand on the light switch.
Good luck!
So who is more proud right now? Her for making it to the advanced class or you for getting her to the advanced class? That’s some good news. Congrats to both of you.
RTK – I know a few kids that have gone back in middle school and they’ve done well. Our middle school is new and it was designed so the 6th graders aren’t around the older kids. I think that helps (me). We’ll see how it goes.
Amelia – I might attach a light switch to her left shoulder.
Ed – Thank you. She is in full pre-teen mode right now and she pretends it doesn’t matter. She is very competitive though, so I’m sure she’s proud. I feel more vindicated in my decision to homeschool. Maybe a little like I just got a very good performance review. :)
Now *that* is the ultimate performance review – not just where she landed after the testing, but her drive and the pride she takes in giving her best. And she sounds like a sweetie to boot. Ya did good, mama!
Yay for homeschooling! I was homeschooled for three years (2-5) and entered sixth grade with excellent skills. Although I work in public education, I have stayed away from having a classroom with 20-some-odd children. I respect and admire those who do that; I just value one-on-one and small group teaching more and get a lot more satisfaction from it as a teacher.
Good luck to your daughter when she starts school. And please don’t mention again how many weeks are left ’til then. Or else.
Carol – Thanks. She’s a great kid. My job was easy. I’m looking forward to hearing all about her day. Before I was always there so there were no surprises.
Beloved – Thank you for the well wishes. I was planning a weekly back-to-school countdown but I’m scared now and cancelling my plans. :) I agree one-on-one teaching works well. I don’t know how teachers with 20+ kids manage to teach anything. I couldn’t do it.
You can come teach my kids. Are you okay with dirt?
Whits last blog post..Of Sore Feet and Heavy Hearts
Dirt is good.