martinzoo

GB is having a Spring Break this week. So I thought I’d post an un-homeshool-ish post.

We talk a lot about ratings in this family. GB is sorta obsessed with tv and movie ratings. He always wants to know WHY a movie or tv show has a certain rating. So it gets discussed a lot. Everything is rated these days. Even our music has ratings.

So, when I was composing an email to my book club this evening, I had to pause and ponder about whether books should have ratings too. One of the ladies in my club was curious as to whether her students (high school English) would find the book, ‘Water for Elephants’ objectionable.

I believe that I am of two minds on the topic. As a mother, I sure would like to know any thing that could be interpreted as objectionable. Especially if I’m going to recommend it.

A good example of one such occasion occurred a few months ago during one of our book club meetings.  One mom had just spent a glorious week in NYC with her husband and kids. They had all gone to see the play, ‘Wicked’. And her twelve year old daughter was now obsessed with the music from the play. At the time of our meeting, that mom was deciding whether she should get the book for her daughter’s birthday. I’m not sure how many of you have read this book. I loved it! BUT (huge BUT) I would never let my 12 yo read that book. Just about every depraved thing that occurs in our society is hidden within the many layers of this book. Stress the word ‘depraved.’

On the other hand, sometimes it’s just so daggum hard to get kids to read. And it would be a shame to discourage them from reading. Don’t you think? So I worry that  rating books would involve some sort of censorship. And to me, that just means lost opportunities for reading.

I remember when the Harry Potter books came out. So many parents were depriving their kids from reading these wonderful books because they believed them to be anti-Christian and full of paganism. And lets face it, there is an awful lot of darkness and adult themes in the HP books. I just read online this morning that JK Rowling suffered from depression in her twenties, to the point of suicidal thoughts. She included aspects of this part of her life within her books by creating the dementors - creatures who literally suck the joy and happiness out of you.

But on the flip side, just look at what JK Rowling has done for reading. More kids read now than they did before. And there is a lot more selection for boys at the bookstore. If we were to rate HP books, we’d have to include child abuse, cursing, extreme violence, and many others.

Would the HP books have been as successful if they had included ratings?

Is it possible that by putting ratings on books you would be encouraging kids to read books that they are not ready for? I know that sometimes that forbidden fruit seems awfully enticing!

Questions for pondering …. How do you feel about a rating system? Do you all have any thoughts on the subject?

It started with a question: How can we inspire people to take action on climate change?

The answer: Ask the people of Sydney to turn off their lights for one hour.

On March 31, 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour. If the greenhouse reduction achieved in the Sydney CBD during Earth Hour was sustained for a year, it would be equivalent to taking 48,616 cars off the road for a year.

With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off, and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice.

Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.

Have you got 60 minutes for our Earth?

Let’s get dark! Turn off your lights for Earth Hour on March 29th, from 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

So how much email have you received about this California case?

I would say that at least half of my inbox lately has had something to do with the case. Either well-meaning friends asking if I had heard about it, or messages on my support forums discussing the worries that people have over it. Everybody seems so concerned that if it could happen in California, it could happen where we all live.

But I don’t think so.

You know, I used to worry about folks wanting to hear justification for my son being “out” of school whenever we went places during typical school hours - or even when he was out in the yard. But nowadays I find so much more acceptance from everyone: museum guides, store clerks, and especially the elderly (who used to be so skeptical).
Most of them tell me wonderful experiences that they’ve had with homeschoolers. And talk about how much they admire the dedication it takes for parents who decide to homeschool.
Even my parents and in-laws have come around……. Shocking!
So, I’m thinking that there is no way that this California case is going to have the impact that people worry about. I think homeschooling has become such an accepted form of education that state and local governments will really try to provide MORE for homeschoolers, not less.

And here comes the cynic in me: I only worry that by signing these petitions, we are creating a Nationwide master list of homeschooling families. Not that I want to be secretive about my homeschooling adventure. Because, obviously my blog is an open window into our lives. But I also would hate for this list to come back and bite us in the butt.  What do you all think?

My friend, Dana, from School for Us, has been having some trouble with her daughter. She doesn’t know if her daughter appreciates how good it is to be homeschooled since she has never been to public school. I think Dana also worries, like a lot of us, about whether she is providing a quality education that would stand up to what the public schoolers get.

GB did go to public school for kindergarten and first grade. So we have an advantage in that area. He never asks to go back to public school. He has very negative feelings toward public schools. And his memories are still vivid. So after reading one of Dana’s emails, I asked GB what he specifically did NOT like about being in public school. And I thought I’d post his list because maybe other kids would share his opinions or like to know what his opinions are about ps. Plus, I thought it could help some of the blogging moms whose kids constantly pester them about going off to school like the other kids.

This list is from my email to Dana:

1- He hated waiting for everybody to finish their work before they could start something new, because he always got in trouble while waiting. He just couldn’t stay quiet and still.

2- Every time something outside the classroom was happening (like resource, lunch or recess), they had to clean up, get in a line and then stay in that line while they walked to the activity. Kids would push, or whisper, or fall out of line and then get in trouble for that. **GB always felt like a bad kid in school because the teacher was always punishing the kids.

3- He hated silent lunch. One hundred fifty kids per grade level is a lot of noise, so the cafeteria ladies always wanted silent lunch until 5 minutes before the bell. I got pretty peaved when I went to the school to eat lunch with my child and I was not even allowed to talk to him.

4. GB eats slow, so he hated the fact that lunch was only 20 minutes.

5. Public school kids are gone ALL day. Our kids leave at 8:40, which means you have to get up around 7:30, and they don’t get home from school until 4:20.

6. They have homework, which is supposed to take 5 minutes, per subject, per grade - for example: GB is in 4th grade, so 5 minutes X 4th grade = 20 minutes per subject. That is what is assigned, but if it takes you longer, you still have to do it. And with GB’s disgraphia, he has a hard time with his writing assignments. So that’s a minimum of one more hour of school work. If they have after-school sports, it leaves no time for playing with toys, video games, or just watching a favorite TV show.

7. They move from subject to subject whether you are ready or not. Since GB writes so slowly, he would often miss recess because he hadn’t finished writing. OR he would have to take it home and add it to his homework assignments. OR he would cheat and do crappy work just so he could be done with the writing.

8. If he was really interested in a subject, he wanted to keep talking about it. But the teacher wanted to move on to the next subject. I can understand this from the teacher’s perspective because it’s hard if all the kids want to have a say in what they discuss. But from GB’s perspective, he likes focusing on ONE subject until he gets tired of it. He’s kind of the opposite of ADD…LOL!

9. He did not like it when the teacher would decide what they would play during recess. She would tell them that they were going to play kick ball, then divide the teams herself. GB would have preferred to chose his own recess, like playing Star Wars or something. Sometimes he just wanted to play by himself. That’s the kind of kid he was then.

10. He hated the bus! It smelled terrible, it was too bouncy and he got a stomach ache each day, and the big kids picked on the little kids. And the bus driver ignored it all. GB got his head smashed against the bus window when a kid swung his back-pack up to the front of the bus. The bus driver never noticed.

11. He hated having a music class! He despises singing and got in trouble each week that singing was required because he would refuse to sing….. even in first grade! He’s THAT stubborn. I really got tired of them acting like he was a bad kid because he wouldn’t just do what they told him to do, like singing. And you can forget him dancing, too! That just cracks me up to think about! With homeschooling, we just skip the singing stuff. I’m hoping some day that he’ll enjoy music more.

12. GB did not feel safe in school. He was victimized by bullies (yes! even in first grade!), and felt like the teachers and principal could not be relied upon for help.

Dana and I are hoping to hear from other moms who have taken their kids out of ps. And out of curiosity, I’m wondering about families whose children never went to ps.

So…. Questions….

1) If your child has ever attended public school, did they like it, or dislike it?

2) If your child has never been to public/private school, do they want to go?

3) If they’ve never been to school, do they understand the differences between the educational approaches?

4) Do you think your children are satisfied with the opportunities they’ve been given.

I can tell you positively that GB is much happier as a homeschooled child. And I’m much happier having him home. I wish I’d done it for my older kids.

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In another post I’d like to address how I felt while my kids were in school, and the interactions I had with the public schools and my children’s teachers. Because that’s a whole other ballgame.