Today was my volunteer day in my son's class. I actually came back home at lunchtime because my frustration over what I witnessed and experienced was so great that I was almost in tears. The system is just so broken...

To the school's credit, they have taken steps to try to improve the math lessons by grouping the children according to their aptitude for one hour of math lessons every day. It's not a perfect solution - kids are running/walking all over the building as they switch classrooms and a fair amount of time is lost to this disruption - but at least it's a start. I was really excited to see how it all works when I went in today, and happy that my son's class moves at a much faster pace and keeps his interest much better, but that's only one subject. And the remedial students.... there's just one teacher in the room to help all two dozen of them, and they each seem to need one-on-one attention. I help out where I can, but I can't be there every day for math lessons, and the school insists that they can't provide a teacher's aide or anything because of "budgetary restrictions".

What really tried my patience today though wasn't the lesson plans or protocol - it was the way the school handled, or more accurately, refused to handle what is turning out to be a major disciplinary problem. One boy - just one - repeatedly brought the whole class to a screeching halt. No matter what the teacher did she couldn't get through to him, and eventually she asked me to take over the class while she hauled him down to the principal's office. With him gone, things went much better in the class... until he returned to the classroom to begin the process all over again. The principal decided that an apology was sufficient discipline... AN APOLOGY! Great, the kid interrupted the lesson to apologize, then proceeded to continue his outbursts for the rest of the day as if nothing had happened and he had never been reprimanded. And really... I guess he was right. Nothing HAD happened.... except that he was clearly taught that he can get away with doing anything he wants and the most that will happen is that he will have to apologize, even if he doesn't really mean it.

As irritating as this one boy was though, I think HE is what really made me sad. If he continues down the road he's on his future is a bleak one indeed. Where are his parents? Why don't they discipline him? Why has nobody ever taught him manners? Why is his teacher expected to put up with him when he behaves this way? When exactly was it that so many in society decided that the public school was the dumping ground for their kids, and that parents no longer had to teach their kids how to behave properly and treat others with respect? And WHY don't the schools hold the parents accountable for their childrens' actions anymore?

It was another 6-hour day that amounted to MAYBE 2 hours of learning. I'm finally convinced. It's time to talk with my husband and my son, and start down the path of home schooling. I will continue to volunteer my time at the school until my son's materials come in for his home schooling so that I may still be able to help some of those kids, but ultimately it is my own son's well-being that I must be most concerned with.

Tags: depression, education, school, elementary, learning, revelation, home schooling, reality check, venting, sadness

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