Homeschool For Sage

Yes, you read it right! We will be officially withdrawing Sage from her public school next week. There have been so many problems since day 1. My last post explained the PE problems. Here's some of the other ones:

1. Sage's class has 11 boys and 6 girls. 7 of those boys have major discipline problems. The administration should have divided those kids amongst the other Kindergarten classes at the beginning of the year. Lately, the boys are looking up Sage's shirt or stepping on the back of her shoes. The teacher rarely sees them doing it. So what is she doing with her time?

2. Sage's teacher spends most of her time yelling at the kids. She actually wears a microphone to teach. (Their classroom is really small) Why she does this, I'll never know.

3. The curriculum is horrible. Sage comes home with a folder full of worksheets every day. They are using a first grade curriculum in Kindergarten. They don't give the kids enough time to catch on to a concept before moving on. They teach to meet the curriculum requirements instead of to the children's needs. It's so sad!

Those three were actually the more minor issues. Yes, it was disappointing to see Sage's Kindergarten year get ruined by poor teaching but I would have kept her there anyway.

Between the PE problem and my next set of problems, we chose to withdraw her.

It all started two weeks ago when I brought Sage to school four minutes late. This was her first time being late. The school just put up a fence surrounding the whole interior of the school grounds so that the only way on campus after the bell rings is through the front office.

We went in, I signed the papers then I wanted to walk Sage through the building to the outdoor walkway. The building is a bit of a maze if you don't know where you are going. The office staff wouldn't let me walk her to the door. I told them I wouldn't go out I just wanted to make sure she knew where to go. They refused to let me. The Assistant Principal, Mrs. Pegram then got involved. She told me that they have Rules and Procedures and I am not allowed to walk her to the door. Of course, I told her how absolutely ridiculous they were being. I would have been back in less than 30 seconds. We had a mini spat than she insisted on walking Sage out. I left furious again. They actually expected a Kindergartner to walk by herself through a building that she has never been in before. Are they insane?

Today was the last straw. This actually happened again. I purposely brought Sage in late today. She had the flu again this week. She was out of school on Wed and Thurs. Her teacher called me Thursday night asking if I would bring Sage in for school pictures. I know that Sage would love to have the group picture so I told her that I'll bring Sage in a little late so we won't have to walk in the cold. It was around 40 degrees out this morning. She suggested I pick Sage up at lunchtime because she was still sick. It turns out that last night was horrible. Every time she fell asleep, she would wake up coughing. She only slept about two hours. I didn't want her to stay until lunch. I wanted to ask the teacher for Sage's work.

We went into the office. I signed Sage in and I signed in as a visitor. The office staff signed my name tag approving me to walk onto campus. As I was leaving another office staff (you know the one who thinks she runs the school) called out to me and said I couldn't go. I told her I'd be right back I just have to talk to Sage's teacher. We were only 20 minutes late to school and the pictures were in 10 minutes so I knew I wasn't interrupting the teacher. I continued walking even though she told me to stop. I heard her contacting the administration. We got to Sage's class and as I was talking to the teacher, Mr. Mabry, the AP arrives and makes a big stink in front of the kids. I continued telling the teacher what I needed to tell her, ignoring him. When I left the class he told me I needed to go to his office. I told him that I know what he has to say and I don't agree with it. A parent should be able to visit their child's classroom whenever they need to. He followed me, and chewed me out along the way, to the front office where I signed out. I guess he figured I was going to his office. I told him it wasn't necessary. I will never agree with that rule. He followed me out to the parking lot where he started yelling at me. I couldn't believe him. I know I was rude but an administrator should never shout at a parent. Now everybody who knows me knows that I rarely lose it, but I went ballistic. I shouted at him and put him in his place. I don't always stand up for myself but let me tell you, I did a really good job. Just to backtrack, when I refused to go to his office (this is before our shouting match) he told me that he will put a restraining order on me if I don't go. In other words, just because I wanted to visit my child's teacher, I am now doing something illegal that needs a restraining order. Do you see that this isn't just some little ridiculous incident? There is something totally wrong with this school if I am not allowed to see what's going on during the day without giving them a 24 hour notice.

One more thing. They actually allow paddling at this school. I signed a waiver refusing it. If a child misbehaves, they are actually sent to the front office to get hit. Isn't that nice. I guess they are so incompetent that they can't handle poor behaviors with hitting the kids. What a bunch of morons!!!!!!

I have talked to some of the moms in my Moms Club who's kids go to other schools in the area. They don't have any of these problems. They go into their kid's classrooms whenever they want. Believe me, I enjoy my free time so I really didn't spend much time at Sage's school. It would be nice to have the access when I wanted it and to be able to volunteer once in a while. I did help a few times but the teacher doesn't need my help anymore. I think I've been outcasted!

I am trying to get her into a Charter school. There are two in the area. I plan to homeschool her until there is an opening or until next year if needed. I just hope I can handle it. I really loved my free time and it was good for Sage to be around kids, even though they weren't very well behaved. She could be such a couch potato. Our day will have to be structured and I will have to find activities for her. Maybe this will give us some quality time that we don't usually get. We spend a lot of time together but we aren't usually doing things together. She plays or watches movie while I do my own stuff. It will be nice to work together. I'll let you know how it goes.