Influenza has visited our home! The timing could not be worse! This week, term and semester finals are scheduled at our high school and my sophomore is down with the flu! It is never a convenient time to be sick. But, there are some times worse than others and this is one of those times!…
educational policy
Five Days to a Tailspin
This is a story about my intensity as a person and why I cannot make a run for a seat on the school board. You need to know that I wish I did not notice every little thing or have the intense desire to want change and educational reform. It is a story about letting…
Parent Teacher Conferences? Be there?
We have always viewed the education of our sons to be a team effort – between us and their teachers. But, what if a member of the team fails to show up? Today is the first parent teacher conference day for fall term at our high school. It is a time I have always enjoyed….
Still Broken: Talented & Gifted Education
A number of recent things have got me thinking about Talented and Gifted (TAG) Education services in our school district again. These thoughts started when we learned at the recent senior meeting that one of the high school counselors was now being called a career counselor and would be the contact person for TAG students,…
Have You Ever?
Have you ever done something you knew was going to irritate you, but did it anyway? I did that today. Today, I opened a folder of notes I took while meeting with a friend over coffee about a new grading policy at our high school. She knew I was a student advocate and wanted to…
Hard Copies
Earlier this week we received the packet of information that comes from our school district regarding registration for the upcoming school year. Now that I have two high schoolers (soon to be a sophomore and a senior), a single packet arrives with the materials. You can imagine what is inside – school photo forms, parking…
To Commit, or Not – That is the Question.
The postcard has laid on the shelf for a week. Just receiving it, although expected, brought up many mixed emotions for me. My response is required by today. It would mean another committment, another volunteer role, and another chance to advocate for our student body. It also would mean another possibility there might be retribution…
Has Education Become a Game? A Call for Action.
Right now, I find myself in a place where I have to stop trying to make a difference. I have realized that I cannot win this game. This year I spoke out about some teaching practices and administrative decisions that I disagreed with from my perspective as a parent and student advocate. I spoke out,…
Grades: Do they measure learning?
via Daily Prompt: Measure Having students who work hard and do well in school, I always bought into the premise that grades measure learning. With years of experience in education, and the advent of digital grading systems, where every little grade book entry can be seen 24/7, now I am not so sure. Lately, I…
Topic List for Writing
Making lists keeps my life in order. Today, I present a list of topics that have crossed my mind more than once in the last several years (not just this month of blogging for the Slice of Life Challenge). I thought I would share the list as my post for today as some might need…