Last Day of PUBLIC School

So today is the kids last day of PUBLIC school...   I thought about letting them just stay home, but I also have this need to make sure that they do what they are suppose to. 

Calahan is finishing up his Sophomore year, which he completely and utterly failed. 

Why did he fail?

1. He didn't turn in work.
2. He has a lot of trouble asking for help.
3. He has major anxiety.
4. The School was not following his I.E.P. 
5. He stopped caring.
6. He was uncomfortable at school
7. There was some bullying. 
8. He had a lot of absences

So yeah, there are a lot of reasons - some in his control, some not.  Regardless - my biggest concern is that they aren't following his IEP.  I brought it up - and the first thing out of the counselors mouth was "are you reminding your teachers?"

I realize that a lot is piled on top of teachers these days... they are over worked, over stressed, and have to use a lot of their own money to make sure their classes are fun and interesting.... 

But since when is it the CHILD'S responsibility to make sure their I.E.P. is followed??? 

So we are certain we're going to allow Calahan to Homeschool/On-line School this coming fall.

Noah did really well this year... 

He "finished" 4th Grade, and by finished, I mean he made it through the school year.  He is at a 1st or 2nd grade level academically and they just keep pushing him forward even though I don't feel it's doing any good.  I have asked repeatedly that they hold him back a year.  I was told "no, we feel it's more important to keep him with his peers then giving him the stigma of being held back" .... Thanks No Child Left Behind Act ..... but let me ask you this....  How do you think it makes him feel to be pulled out of the class and exposed to the fact that he isn't at the same academic level as the other students in his class? 

When we moved here and decided to give the school district a try here ... I asked them to hold him back a year then, to make things a little easier on him.  They wouldn't.   So this past year, he was pulled out of class a lot, he couldn't work with his classmates because he wasn't at their level...  he was allowed to not do work because he couldn't... because it wasn't at his level.  When things were too hard in class, he had a folder of work (at his level) he could do ...  so he would pull that out and work on that while the class worked on something else.  Which is great, he showed initiative on pulling out work he could do... but ...  I don't think it's fair to him.  What exactly is he learning by this?

And then, he expressed to me one day - he doesn't feel smart because he can't do the same work as the other kids.

This broke my heart....

............ broke it....

So DB and I discussed it - and we're going to give it a chance through the summer and see if he'll listen to me and do his work, if he does - we're going to homeschool him, if he doesn't ... then I have no choice but to put him back in public school next year.  

Noah is a whiner - he whines at me all the time not to do stuff.  I still make him do it but it's a chore and hard  ... he doesn't act like this at school.  He listens, he's good, he's behaved....  I wish I had that Noah more often. 

In addition to that - we found out that Noah has Dyslexia - which I suspected and Calahan has something called Dysgraphia.   I actually wrote a blog about the Dysgraphia recently ...  check it out. 

I'm giving both kids a week off - one because it's my birthday on Monday - ha ha - and I don't want to start then.  But I think we're going to start the following week, on July 2nd.   That'll give me some time to get a plan in place. 

As for the babies ..... we'll see.  Nathan *hates* going to school - he cries everyday.   Kaedyn LOVES going to school ...    Nathan gets services through school like Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy ...  which are important.  And he needs to be exposed to a structured social environment right now, due to his Autism.  So we feel it is important to at least *try* to get him to like school.  He's starting a new school next year, and Kaedyn will be returning to the same pre-school.  We have no idea how this is going to go over since they were in school together this past year, and next year, they aren't even at the same school.  

So we're going to start off with the older two, and see how it goes with the younger ones..I'm excited!!

Banned Books Week ~ Sept 26 - Oct 3

We're coming to the end of the Banned Books Week.  I have been meaning to get this up all week.  I found it quite interesting to look at all the books that people have issues with and why.  It amazes me.

Most of the books I read (was assigned to read) in school are on the list for one reason or another.  The top five books of all time that have been "banned" or are on the "challenged" list ...

1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Seriously?  Here is the list if you want to read it for yourself.   Banned and Challenged Classics   There are huge surprises on there, at least to me .... like.... Charlotte's Web and Winnie-the-Pooh

So some of the more recent lists are of course equally if not more interesting...  100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999  ...  I found a lot of surprises on here.  Several Judy Blume books, I laughed at home many Stephan King books are on the list, and the one that made me shake my head the most was Where’s Waldo?, by Martin Hanford and A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein .... Seriously?  There are ones that I'm not surprised by, of course, Harry Potter is on there.   Apparently anything having to do with magic, ghosts, or witches is bad bad bad.  If it has to do with gay/lesbian issues, like having 2 Mommies or 2 Daddies... that's bad bad bad.  And if it has to do with learning about puberty or sex, it's equally as bad.  However, I have some issues with that.   There are some titles on there like Sex, by Madonna and Private Parts, by Howard Stern, ... I mean seriously, if your children are getting ahold of these books, YOU have a problem as a parent.  I have seen that some of these issues revolve around them being on public library shelves.  Last I knew, libraries were a public place (er.. yeah... PUBLIC libraries) where people of differences can find books of different interests to learn or research and learn more about other peoples beliefs or lifestyles.   So in my opinion if you have issues with these books, then don't let your children see them in the public library, don't buy the books for your house, etc.   But it amazes me that even books that have to do with learning about puberty, changes in a young child's body, and understanding how babies are made (sex) are banned/challenged.  I can understand that some parents don't want their children to just have this sort of thing, but a lot of parents (like me) would rather have their children educated about the changes so they don't worry about things, rather then having them scared and confused.  We as parents have this choice and if others don't like it, then don't buy the books.  Again, don't let your children find or check them out at the library.  Stay by your children in the library.  It's not that difficult.  

Fact is, as children grow older, you can't control their actions at all times, our children have minds of their own, and all we can do is let them make their mistakes, and hope that we have taught them correctly so they will grow to be good humans.  


It really bothers me that people out there try to "ban" books based on their opinions.  We, as a country, are not robots.  We have freedoms, and rights.  Freedom of speech with both spoken word and written word.  Freedoms of religion.  Freedoms of sexuality.  A lot of these books that are challenged or banned have a great educational value to them in some way.  As homeschoolers, you know, you can learn something from ANYTHING.  Everything is a learning experience.  Even if it's about learning a lesson of what not to do.

I honestly look at some of these books and just think it's sad that people are so worried about something "turning" their child from their beliefs, or un-educated about thing that they fear it.

  2008-2009 Challenged and Banned Books w/ reasons (pdf link)  ... 

Recently, I had a relative spend some time in my home ... we love Harry Potter, we read Twilight, we love scary stories and educational ones...  magic is allowed in our house in whatever form - because reading, to us, is magic.  Allowing us into another's world.   This relative got so excited we had the Harry Potter books because her parents don't allow them (mind you she's over 18 but living at home) ... so she sat down to read.  Yet, it just struck me as funny because she is a huge Twilight fan and that IS allowed.  It just posed a question in my head, why is a Witch or Warlock not allowed in the house, but Vampires are?   I just have to laugh.  I love these relatives, and of course I believe parents have the rights to do that sort of thing if they so choose.  However she is an adult now and I think that is what bothered me the most.

I also have major issues with the label of "satanism/occult" for anything that has to do with magic.  Just because it's magic, doesn't make it satanism.  It blows my mind really.  Everyone has their religious beliefs and rights of choice... however, that's awful close minded in my opinion. 

Calahan and I had a long discussion yesterday about how books are banned and why.  Why he thought it was wrong, why he thought people felt the need to do it.