APS and Moving Dirt

Goodbye APS

Tonight was “Math Night” at Corrales Elementary. Basically, it is a reason to get together to do math games outside of school and eat pizza. Ideally it promotes community, love of math, and the local pizza joint. Realistically, it’s pretty fun if you have one child and can spend all your time in their grade room, and have nothing else to do on Wednesday night.

Backstory:  Wednesday is short day for APS (Albuquerque Public Schools). Years ago, ‘They’ shortened the school day on Wednesday so the teachers could have a dedicated length of time for planning and continuing ed. ‘They’ also lengthened the other days. So my kids go to school from 8:45 to 3:50 4 days a week and 8:45 to 12:20 on Wednesday. Note that they are in school for less than 4 hours on Wednesday. This includes a lunch and recess. Every Wednesday I ask myself, “What’s the point?” Bake in there 15 minutes on the bus both ways too.

Normally, I’m the Math Night attendance kind of parent. But I had other things I wanted to do today, like go to the zoo. It’s getting down to the last few weeks here and Lindsay wanted to say good-bye to Sheila the Cockatoo. Karl wanted to see the reptiles. Billy wanted to ride the train. When I picked up Karl and Lindsay at the bus stop (snacks packed, hats ready), both announced that they would get a bye on their homework if they went to Math Night.

Did I mention that Lindsay gets a 16-page packet of homework every week? She gets two extra worksheets since she’s in the advanced math group. Karl gets math and spelling each night. They get home at 4 pm. We eat between 5:30 and 6:00. We do other stuff like BSF and soccer and guitar and scouts. And shower. We go to bed pretty early. Everyone is already stressed about moving. Getting homework done on a regular basis is difficult at best. Getting it done this month is beyond difficult.

So we had a lovely time at the zoo.

Lindsay looks over to see if Billy is smiling

He's not, so she takes matters into her own hands

Which gives Billy full license to grab Karl

And so the circle continues

Now they aren't even in their seats

Sigh.

And when I announced at 5 pm we would be missing Math Night, our evening came crashing down.

Why do teachers do this? Why do they think that the kids are in charge of going to extracurricular school events? In fact, I feel the same way about agenda signing, reading logs, and a 16-page homework packet. They make the 2^nd grader in charge and punish the 2^nd grader when it doesn’t happen. Home responsibility doesn’t trickle up, people. That’s inane.

Let me just interject here with a statement that I do believe they should gain independence and responsibility through school. I do think a 5^th grader should have to figure out how to get the current events assignment in on time with limited guidance. But I do not think a 5^th grader needs a signed reading log, especially if said 5^th grader has his nose stuck in a book all day long. And I do not think that a 5^th grader whose parents do not sign the reading log ONE NIGHT should be made to stay in for recess. That’s my fault. Don’t punish him. In fact, I think recess should NEVER be taken away. Ever. Let me also interject that I don’t think all teachers are this way. We’ve had some gems, too. And truly, I feel for them. They get it from me, the principal, the president, the kids. And they are vastly underpaid. And the curriculum is decidedly not good. And, I firmly believe in respecting the adult who is responsible. We make every effort to follow the rules and guidelines handed out by the teacher.

But DO NOT BRIBE MY OCD-PRONE KID WITH NO HOMEWORK IN EXCHANGE FOR ATTENDING AN EVENT IN WHICH THEY HAVE NO CONTROL OVER ATTENDING. Please.

During the middle of my dinner-prep rant about this, Gerry threw out this gem, “What if the Portland schools are no better?” Sigh. This is one of the many, many reasons people home school.

Moving Dirt

Book Club is at my house this Friday. I am so, so, so excited.  I looked around at dinner tonight to evaluate what needed to be cleaned before then, and realized that nothing needed to be cleaned. Maybe one of the reasons my house isn’t selling is because God is trying to teach me to be a better house keeper.  I actually make time to pick up. The kids have lists and responsibilities. The laundry gets put away the day it is washed. There’s no clutter. Pretty soon I’ll have been doing this for 40 days. That’s enough time to make it a habit. And I have to say I’m pretty happy about that. I’ve always wanted to be neater, but have lacked the desire to actually do it on my own. It’s hard.

On the other hand, I am so tired of fluffing pillows and dusting and tucking in the bed covers just so. I want to leave the popcorn droppings where they lay. I hide all kinds of things in the desk I inherited from my grandmother. But she used to do that too, so I don’t feel so bad.

My sister told me this story that her friend Brandy told her when her house was for sale. I’ve looked all over the internet for it, but can’t find it. Sorry if I butchered it. But I got the message I was supposed to get.

One day a monk went to a monastery to devote his life to God. The senior monk welcomed him and asked him to shovel and move a pile of dirt from one side of the chapel to the other. It took him a long time to do the chore. When he was finished, the senior monk asked him to move the pile of dirt back to its original spot. And so it went, day after day, week after week. Finally the novice monk became fed up. He complained that he was just moving dirt back and forth. It was pointless. He wanted to do more for God. And the senior monk explained to him that it wasn’t about the dirt. It was about bringing glory to God in his every day, mundane work.

That’s me, moving dirt. God is at work, even when I do laundry and hide the kitchen counter-top gadgets in the pantry.