Damn!

[gategrrl]

Busy busy day today, and I am pooped. I drove about 110 miles today total, give or take.

1. Attended a 10am parent orientation for a very good charter school in the Valley for an hour and a half. I hope hope hope Mermaid is chosen to attend through the lottery. It's in March, so we won't hear anything until then. In the meantime, I'm going to be investigating other avenues. I hear there are some excellent online schools. I don't know if she'd go for that, though.

2. Went home to eat lunch and pick up the directions to the community college I take online courses from.

3. Drove ~42 miles there, the professor figured out I need new cables to get my steno machine to talk to the steno program on my computer. Then drove ~45 miles back (I got a little lost).

4. Got home, sluffed off for an hour, then went out with Mermaid to get her some cold weather snow gear for when the Guy takes her and Little Guy up to see and play in snow--hopefully next weekend. We'll see if they last the two nights he's thinking of, but I will be home enjoying the peace and quiet of HIM taking the kids somewhere for a weekend, for once.

5. Got home after three hours of library hopping, shopping, and am ready to take a nap, yes I am. However, I am going to finish that darned Heineken Light beer sitting here by my right hand. Good beer. Mommy loves you, yes she does! Mmmmm.

Comments

[gategrrl.livejournal.com]

This particular charter is equivalent to a private school in its education. It's more well-rounded. There are about the same (or *slightly* fewer kids per class BUT they aren't beholden to the state/LAUSD district and the teachers have MUCH more freedom to teach how they want to teach. They also focus on teaching the kids real world skills, especially in business and money handling (ie, check book balancing, etc). They do not accept grades lower than a C, and there's a TON of communication with the teachers. If the kid is in danger of dropping below a C in any class, they make sure the parents know.

However, there were *hundreds* of people at their orientation. I think the state is squeezing the life out of the kids in school and not teaching them much that's worthwhile, since all the teachers say their hands are tied behind their back with subject matter, scheduling, and testing. I think it's killing education here. And it used to be so good (like in MA).

I've no idea how many spots will open up in the 8th grade next year. There were at least ten children represented at the orientation by their parents...and applications are accepted until early March, when they close it and start the lottery system. I'm investigating other avenues, including an online charter public school one of the other parents mentioned their children (all four of them) had schooled with. If we end up doing that, and combining it with tutoring, then that's what we'll do, and I'll put my stenography classes on hold until that's straightened out.

So, to summarize: I'm not crazy about the overwhelmed public school system here. I think many of the teachers are *passionate* about the kids and teaching, but I think they're hobbled and I think there are too few schools in the area. They're huge. My daughter has said she does NOT want to go to the local high school she'd be assigned to, and we don't want her going there, either. The gang activity there is horrible, particularly between the hispanic students and the black students. It's even spread to the middle school on occasion.

Blarg, sorry about the novel. It's very frustrating.

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

I'm really interested in this subject as a future educator. If you have a few minutes and want to talk about it further, then I'm around.