I am scared to death of school.
Not ME going to school… I was always rather irritatingly good at school.
No, what worries me is the thought of having a child in the public school system. And I keep reading things that reinforce my fears.
You see, there’s a few things that I cannot stand.
- Small-minded people who make rash and uninformed decisions and then refusing to back down on them, just because they can.
- Mean kids
- Loss of control
And it seems like, when you send your precious child into the great void of schooling, suddenly issues in these three areas start to pop up like dandelions in my newly planted lawn.
How does a parent survive? How do you keep your cool in the face of stupidity? How do you be involved without obsessing?
What do you do when the principal suddenly starts to enforce a random and unpublished dress code?
How do you respond when you find out your child is being bullied?
HOW am I ever going to survive this parent thing?!
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xo Jen
May 22, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Those kind of questions haunt me as well. Mostly because I don’t have even the tiniest, weest little bit of a clue of how to handle those and other issues.
I’ll have to check back here and see what wisdom is dispensed in comment form.
May 22, 2007 at 5:18 pm
I’m right there with you. I see and hear so many horror stories. Am I really ready to turn my sweet little 5 year old over to the system???
May 22, 2007 at 5:33 pm
I think about this all the time and I am a teacher. I must believe in the public schools though…I must!
I am not suited to homeschool…so we better move to a great school district.
May 22, 2007 at 6:35 pm
To all interested moms:
I would like to invite you to participate in a research study of parenting views and practices. Dr. Kim White-Mills and Dr. Catherine Dobris of IUPUI (both are moms) are interested in understanding what sources parents find useful in their parenting practices, how parents use different parenting information, and what views parents across the country hold regarding parenting issues.
To access this survey, go to http://www.iupui.edu/~momviews/
May 22, 2007 at 6:46 pm
My wife and I had a discussion on this recently. Part of the discussion was related to whether tattling was okay or not. I drew the line on whether or not the information was something I would act on or want to know about if I heard about it.
Bullying is definitely something I would want to know about and would act on asap. If I had a coworker that was threating to beat me up, I would damn sure let my boss know about it and make sure something was done. If worst came to worst, I would get the police involved. If I was worried about someone following me home from work because they might hurt me, it is obvious that as an adult we sure the heck would get the police involved.
For children, who are still learning what is right and wrong, going straight to the police is overkill, but I would get the school involved right away. I would make sure I was kept up to date on what was done.
I was bullied as a child. One of them lived across the street and was a year older. I don’t think his parents would have done anything to stop him though. I tell you what though, if the school or parents would not do anything to stop their children, I might consider getting the police involved, or the courts. Times have changed though from the 70s and 80s. I can’t imagine it getting to that, at least in my neighborhood.
Growing up is hard enough without being afraid of going to lunch, walking home, or going out to play.
May 22, 2007 at 8:00 pm
I completely agree. Sorry for such a lame comment, but I have nothing else to say, except that I agree. Scares me to death.
May 22, 2007 at 11:56 pm
Oh my tale gets even better. Better go fix yourself some popcorn in preparation for my next post.
I wish I could answer your question. But, I’m just a K5 parent getting their feet wet with this whole school thing and someone else being with my kid for the majority of the day.
YAY FOR THE END OF SCHOOL!
May 23, 2007 at 12:21 am
I don’t know the answers to your questions. So PLEASE figure them out so in a few short years, I will be ready!
May 23, 2007 at 1:41 am
Tell me about it! Please let me know when you find the perfect school. I’ll be your neighbor and CJ and Nicholas can be classmates!
May 23, 2007 at 2:09 am
Bullying scares me to death. Yes, it can (and does) happen to lots of kids. But kids who are different and quirky are SO at-risk. I get sick to my stomach just thinking about it.
May 23, 2007 at 2:14 pm
I have four kids and next year all of them will be in school and our oldest going into 6th grade, I go thru everything with him first. Its stressful and if he gets picked on, even if its twice in the whole school year, I get all sick and nervous by proxy. You just want to stick your kids in a bubble and smack anyone who hurts their feelings!
I hear you, its a tough path to navigate.
May 24, 2007 at 6:04 pm
You have NO idea how many times I have had these exact same thoughts/worries/fears. I don’t have any answers for you, but if you find some please let me know!