anyone out there?

Not like anyone really reads this thing, but it's good for venting.

So first rant of the day-----teacher enrichment or empowerment or whatever......for the second time within a month my high school son goes to school 3 hrs late and my elementary school daughter comes home 3 hrs early because of this crap. Which caused me to have to switch my work schedule around, again, to accommodate Cabell County schools. I don't see them adjusting to suit my work schedule. Yeah I know that's a little silly, but still.....I think it is bullshit. I think school starts at 8 am and runs till 3 pm and by God the teachers should be in their classroom, barring their one planning period, teaching the subject from the book/approved educational materials. That's what they are paid for. That's why I hoist my butt out of bed each day to ensure my kids are there on time and ready to go. That's what my property tax dollars go for, is to have teachers teaching. I don't see where these "enrichment" days or ISE days and so on are doing the students any good. They learn less, are handed more, and generally speaking seem stupider than those I graduated with 25 years ago before all this crap was mandated by the states. With the help of the teacher's unions, whose main function I believe is to keep their members from actually having to do their jobs.

And while I am on the subject, when did it become accepted practice to teach a class using popular movies? My son learned mythology by watching movies practically straight from the theater. My stepdaughter's class in child care (actually a glorified day care in the school) showed "Daddy Day Care" as a learning tool....What the hell!!! Movie time was rare when I went to school, and it was mainly documentaries that put you to sleep, but the purpose is to learn, right? Not be entertained.....

And every year I have the same conversation with my kids---the WESTEST, or any standardized test to measure learning, is a tool to see what the teachers have taught, not to measure how well the kids have learned it. Therefore, once again in the spring, I will again reiterate that they are not to stress and worry about it, as it is a reflection on their teachers, not themselves. No matter what the teachers try to tell them. Save the worry for the SAT's or ACT's......which most colleges still use as a barometer when admitting students.