Back To School
It has begun. We got the back to work email from our principal this past week. You are seeing back to school commercials from the various stores that sell school supplies and back to school fashions. Officially my return date is August 2nd, so I have less than a week and a half of summer vacation left. As we see more and more controversy over curriculum, school policies, what is available in the school library. It’s high time for a talk with an actual teacher to help us sort through these issues.
Hold off on the school supplies
Believe it or not, most campuses are going with tablets or laptop computers. Textbooks are online or not used at all. Traditional school supplies are limited. Our local elementary did a great thing when the PTA sponsored a packet of supplies you could purchase in advance and avoid the rush of the stores. People will go out and buy pens, pencils, notebooks, backpacks, folders, and numerous other supplies they may not even need. As bad as it seems, wait until you hear back from the teacher. Also, your teacher will help you if you help him or her. They will give needy students writing utensils, notebooks, paper, and folders for those that just can’t get those items.
Just Ask your teacher
It never ceases to me amaze me how many people are convinced we are grooming kids, teaching them CRT, or whatever else their cousin Jethro told them on the YouTubes. If you want to know what we are teaching your child please ask us. Many districts ask their elementary and junior high teachers to send home weekly notices outlining what will be covered that week and how their kid’s grade will be calculated. We don’t have that kind of time in high school, but if you reach out to us we will take the time to give you all the information you need.
Your kids won’t tell you the full truth
I know this is shocking. It isn’t lying per se. Many students leave out the part of the story that makes them look bad. Others will be as honest as they can be, but don’t understand the context. Our daughter did this dozens of times. My teacher did this or my teacher told us that. We either wrote it off or sent a note to the teacher to ask them their side of the story. So many parents come in guns blazing and come away looking foolish. I work with between 120 and 180 students in a given year. I don’t have time to single out your kid and treat them badly. It would be wrong to say that I don’t think about them away from work. However, I’m invested in their success. I can’t say every single teacher thinks of things that way, but the vast majority do.
We are trained to accommodate different needs
Don’t ban the book from your kid’s library. Call up or email the school librarian. Give them a list of books you don’t want your kid to check out. I’m positive they will help you. The age of reading a specific novel or play is coming to an end. Many teachers utilize lit circles where they give their students a choice of what to read. I’m sure those teachers will work with you if you object to the choices they have. We are working on analytical skills. We want students to read and analyze what they are reading. Even if you brought in your own book that you wanted your child to read I’m sure their teacher will work with you. Again, the end goal is to build skills they will use later in life.
If you have discovered anything you have discovered a general theme across the board. We want parental involvement. We want to communicate with our students’ parents. We want you to be curious about what we are doing. It creates some work on the front end, but it makes life on the back end so much easier. So, if you have a question ask us. Just don’t assume your cousin Jethro has all the answers.
You know inn a way I pity poor cousin Jethro.
1It might be more accurate to say, in most cases, that cousin Jethro doesn’t have any of the answers…
And Nick, please don’t use “utilize”. It originated as “management analyst speak” with the goal of impressing the client with all the big words the analysts (with an emphasis on anal) knew, i.e. BS.
2Nick, as far as I’m concerned, you’re a pretty good example of the fact that real teachers that care oughta be told what we tell all who serve.
3Thank you for your service.
In the UK, the summer holiday has just started .
4By far the two most important things we teach are media literacy and how to determine if a source is credible. Unfortunately, neither of those concepts are tested on the state test, so we can only go so far in covering those two topics.
What we have effectively seen is a simultaneous take down of experts for reasons that I just can’t fathom along with a couple of generations that grew up with the card catalog in the library and can’t/won’t learn to navigate the world of new media. It’s a dangerous combination.
I get it on some level. My doctor tells me to eat my vegetables. I don’t like vegetables, so instead of swallowing hard and eating my vegetables anyway, I manage to convince myself that my doctor doesn’t really know anything. She didn’t go to medical school for nearly a decade. She didn’t continue studying latest trends for another 10-15 years after medical school. So, my choice is to either ignore all doctors or doctor shop until I find one that will approve of my steak and starch diet.
Throw in climate science and any other science you might imagine. I don’t want to limit my carbon footprint. I don’t want to buy an EV. I don’t want to bike, walk, or ride the bus/train. So, it is a lot easier to say that climate science is all BS anyway.
5Nick @5: Climate science deniers aside, many people want to reduce their carbon footprint, but so many factors get in the way. I keep my house temperatures as high as I can stand in the summer and as low as I can stand in the winter. The solar consultant we had in advised us to cut down the large oak trees that shade our house because our roof did not get enough sun. I drive old gas-powered vehicles because I can’t afford a newer yet. Even then, I likely won’t buy an EV, because they are so much more expensive and because the charging infrastructure is not available or reliable everywhere I need it to be. I will at least get a hybrid. I live in Texas. Many areas don’t have sidewalks. Towns were planned around vehicles, so any walk to a store could involve 2 or more miles. Not an option in the heat. Towns around our area opted out of public transportation because … God knows why, but it likely involves the fear that minorities would move in, which, of course, happened anyway. Before I retired I rode either an express bus or the train to work. Both options involved having to drive 8 miles to the station, but it saved driving 15 miles into the city in godawful traffic. I don’t ride my bike on any road around here – drivers would as soon mow you down as not – they’re all armed anyway, so I sure don’t want to provoke anything. The large city I commuted to has one of the highest pedestrian fatality rates in the country. A lot of issues need to be addressed before all of us can reduce our carbon footprint as much as we’d like to.
6The big thing is the why and not the what. I could do a lot more than what I do as well. I think the difference is that intelligent people acknowledge the science. I can acknowledge that my doctor is right about my diet. I can acknowledge that climate scientists are right as well. I can acknowledge the basic facts that any number of experts espouse without necessarily following their recommendations 100 percent of the time.
I have to be intellectually honest. I have to acknowledge that I don’t follow their recommendations because there are either outside factors that prevent me from doing so or I just don’t want to do it. I just find it too hard. What I can’t do (and remain intellectually honest) is act like they are wrong and don’t know what they are talking about. That’s just a bunch of crap and that’s the problem.
7