I need something positive in my kids academic life right NOW ... Today and really this week has been filled with one problem after another after another ... after another. I feel like some people care and most are just like, whatever. In fact I had one counselor tell me ... 'This is a special situation and you shouldn't expect too much.' Are you kidding me?
Maybe I should start an abbreviated version from the beginning. As many of you know Tyler is a few grades ahead in math. He is at the point where the elementary school no longer has teachers to support him so he goes to the middle school. I provide all the transportation, pay all the fees etc. All they have to do is put him into a math class and teach him. With 25 or so other kids. They had a big meeting with me, told me he would have his own locker, he would come on certain days so that he felt like he was part of the school. On the first day, no locker, no schedule, no knowledge that he was supposed to be there at all. After some phone calls and conversations people finally started to do their job and put him in the math class, gave him a locker etc. That hurdle past, I thought he would be fine. A few weeks later there was supposed to be a day where kids that need it do academic recovery and if they don't they do a community service project. After several phone calls and conversations (but no returned emails) it was decided that Tyler should just go to the elementary school and he would be marked excused for the day automatically. A few weeks later I start hearing about issues at the elementary school that Tyler is getting chastised because he didn't do this assignment or this test or whatever. He daily has to remind the teacher that he isn't in that class and so he didn't take that test or do that assignment. Apparently he was also corrected or yelled at for something else and when I asked the teacher to explain she has no recollection. AND then to top it all off... today was another one of those community service days that he was supposed to automatically be marked excused for. Guess what, I got one of those special automated calls saying that my student was unexcused from whatever class today. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Then Brooke ... has a busy schedule this week. She mentions to a teacher she is missing Tuesday for a POMS competition which will be an excused absence (for a school activity) which she should be able to make up on Wednesday but has legal right until Thursday. Well the teacher told her she has to do it on Monday. So to add stress to the poor girl, she wants this 'packet' of work done before she can take the test. So, of course, who gets the wrath of Brooke? I suggested that I could call the teacher and she told me absolutely not. She would just do whatever the teacher wanted. Sweet, this is what we are raising?
So, I know in the school system there are some people that care, and that want to do their job and see the kids succeed, there are... but then there are many (that I have been in contact with, just this week) that don't care or take the non trouble kids for granted or that don't do their job at all. And it is getting really old to have to follow them around making sure they do what they should.
In my line of work, if I have a 'special situation' like I was told that Tyler is, I feel like I would baby it along, and make sure that every detail was taken care of. Apparently in the school system each 'special situation' is looked at differently and this one has fallen through the cracks. So far at the Middle School there has only been 1 person that asked me how things were going and when I told her all the issues her face said everything, it isn't her job to fix the issues or anything so really 'what can she do?' And why should she have to pick up the pieces from her colleagues? So far at the elementary school I have not had anyone seek me out to see how things are going. In their defense I have only been at the school 1 time this year. But they were sure to call and leave a message when there was an incident that Tyler was in the vicinity of and had to tell the principal what happened. And funny, last year people asked me all the time how things were going. Apparently there is a culture change at the elementary school... I'm not too sure I love it.
Anyway ... I'm just looking for something positive ... something to tell me there are good things in this world, in the school system that I'm missing.
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