Mentally killed my son's old principle. Just Kidding, but I wanted to smack her today. This woman drives me crazy. She a nice lady but she has made it very clear that she is 100% against homeschooling. I still talk with a lot of the teachers at DS's old school and they are all cool and very supportive. However the principle always has something to negitive say about HSing. Today we went there to pick up some papers and she saw us. She makes a comment that he should be in school. I said he is. We just came from the library and we are headed home to finish our lessons. Then she looked at the clock and was said that isn't enough time. I was bad. I lost it. I asked her how does she know what time we started or how long our day is? Then I asked her how much had the kids in her school learned today. I told her that since 9:30 we had covered Math, Reading, History, a couple of specials and todayDS mastered the map of Africa. Then I reminded her that it was her school that failed the state standards test by 40 points or so and that DS was in the top percentile for not only the school but for the state as well. Then I actually said "bean dip" she asked what did bean dip have to to with anything. I said Exactly and I walked out. DH thinks it's funny but I felt kind off bad. I just get really touchy when people try to make me feel like I not doing the right thing for DS. Just a rant, I feel much better now.
I agree with you and you can mentally do whatever you want.....I'm mentally doing some things right now. =]
You know what.... good for you! I haven't personally run up against anyone (except my mother - who I THINK is slowly coming around - since a friend of hers has a daughter who has ALWAYS homeschooled it makes it socially acceptable).... who has given me much of an attitude and I'm not sure how I would react. LOVE the bean dip comment
On the positive side, it actually wouldn't be so good if the principal realized how much better homeschooling is, since she would no longer enjoy her job.
You know, I would have ignored her like I always do, but she just kept going on and on about it. Any other time there are always teachers around to defend HSing.This time there were about 5 people in the office and they were all looking at me like I am abusingDS. She starts talking about the socialization and yada yada. I had to stop her and explain to her that when DS went to school, there were tears and more tears. None of the kids would play with him.Now he has friends everywhere and he's halfway threw the 4th grade year while the kids at her school only just started.I told her that I would never ever put him back in her school or any Public School if he every went back. I have no idea what she's talking about but she probably won't say anything (to my face) for awhile. I just found out that when we first came in, while I was taking to the receptionist,the principle started a casual conversation with DS and then started asking him academic questions about state capitals. Once he answered all those questions she asked did he learn all that at her school. He told her no way I learned it in homeschool. I saw her talking to him but I was otherwise engaged.If I had heard that conversation I would have nipped it in right away, but DS just told me. Now I am really boiling. DH said to cut all ties with the school. But that is hard because I have a lot of teacher friends and they are all really helpful. A few have even offered to help with schooling if I ever needed it. They have given me aides, teacher passwords to certain sites, anything I need, we have even been invited to meet them at an upcoming fieldtrip. Some of my closets friends are teachers at that school. One just sent me an invited me to dinner this friday as a late birthday present. It would be me, six teachers and the principle. I want to go but I am tempted not to because I don't want to argue. Even though I will have my sidekicks there and the principle can never win when they gang up on her. But Still I just see trouble if I go. The principle is just... well I can't say here, but she is just what she is. It's ok for her not to agree with me. She's very sweet, but she just goes too far sometimes.
I would still talk to the people that you enjoy talking to and get support from, and just cut ties with the principal herself. And she's probably more mad about loosing the funding that her school gets from having your son. Since she is ultimately responsible for the make or break of that school she doesn't like knowing she is a failure at that school. And I think you held your cool, yelling at her would of been loosing it but telling her facts was not loosing your cool. I'm glad your child is doing well with hs and really enjoying it.
way to go! It is good for people to stand up to others. love it when her school can't pass the state's test but she says the child need to be in school. she has not clue!
If you've been getting grief from her for awhile, I definitely do not blame you for going off on her (not that it's my place to blame, LOL). People that grill my kids tick me off. They make me want to ask them if their six year old can read words like "transmogification" (LOL my son has a Calvin & Hobbes fetish). I'm sure they'd love it if I grilled their kids. NOT. Can you just not go to the school and still see your teacher friends? Or do you have to drop off paperwork and stuff through the year? I only have to turn stuff in at the end of the year and then the start-of-the-year paperwork...although I have to double check that (it's our first official year).
I'm not turning anything in. I'm just there. LOL. They always ask if I can drop by after school. It's really strange but as soon as I mentioned HSing this group of teachers just befriended me. Four of them are former HSers. There are also programs after school that are for students only, but because I was so active when my son went there,they allow him to join in. They have Art Club, Chess, music and some other stuff. I don't want to take that away from him. I told one of the my teacher friends about what happened. She was surprised because apparently the principle went to her today and told her that she asked DS a bunch of questions and she was surprised at how much he knew. What is interesting is that she left the part out about what I said to her. She doesn't have to be supportive. That is fine, that's her right. I just don't want her to talk to me about it. I just decided that whenever I see her and she looks like she's going to start up. I'm just going to offer her some Dip. I'm not going to stop going to the school because she hates HS.
IT'S REALLY NONE OF HER BUSINESS!!!!!!!! Why do people feel like they have the RIGHT to comment about YOUR KIDS??!!
If you could go to jail for thinking it, then I would have been in jail years ago and many times at that. I had issues with my daughters principle when she was in public school as well. The whole 4th grade descended upon the math teacher because she was failing everyone across the board because they apparently didn't know everything that she was supposed to be teaching them. The principle did absolutely nothing. The teacher tried to pass it off as my child couldn't grasp it "Sometimes they get it and sometimes they don't, and if your kid keeps thinking weird the way she does, she won't get it". Then she's like let's see how she did on the SAT last year. Yea, let's look at that - she was testing a year ahead in math - now what do you have to say you blahbadeblahblah. I know exactly what the problem is . . . . . IT'S YOU! I told my daughter let's just get through this year and next year we will homeschool - and we did. Mucho gande' better.
I think it is quite possible that a principal of a failing school has much worse encounters with parents on a regular basis. It may have seemed extremely intense to you and barely been a blip on her radar. I would keep doing what you like with your friends and not worry about her at all. I'd put a smile on my face and say hello like nothing happened the next time you see her. If she starts to quiz your kid again, I'd tell her off again, but you might actually find that she decides to leave the hs stuff alone now. My MiL is a very strong willed and sometimes pushy person. She will plow along with her opinions on things which aren't exactly tactful. What I learned from her was that you could strongly tell her, NO, you have no business saying or doing 'x', and she would actually listen. She didn't get the subtle social clues that told most people to back off. She needed a firm direct no. Amazingly enough I found that the firm negative never made her mad. Her way of being in the world was to plow firmly ahead and assume that if it bothered someone they would have the backbone to stand up loudly and say 'NO'. She was an OR nurse in WWII. I think that personality was probably necessary in that setting. Perhaps it is not uncommon for principals either. Anyway, I have a great relationship with my MIL. I just had to not worry about drawing my boundaries. It was quite refreshing actually once I got the hang of it. You've drawn your boundaries with the principal. You may find that things go much better now. If not, keep those revenge fantasies going - they can be fun too. :lol:
I joined Curves last year, and was mouthing off with one woman the difficulty I had a good number of years back with my dss's principal. Turns out, SHE was that principal!!! It had to do with them wanting to do some experimental social crap in the classroom. We found this out when we showed up at Open House. The teacher pitched us all these "brilliant" ideas, it didn't fly with the parents, so the principal came in and tried to make it all sunshine and roses. But what REALLY irritated me was when a Christian parent that knew his stuff asked straight out if this had anything to do with "Outcome Based Education". Don't know how many of you are old enough to remember, but "OBE" was one of those REAL "hot-button" issues fifteen to twenty years ago. Anyway, without batting an eye, she replied, "Oh, we've ALWAYS had Outcome Based Education in this district, because we've ALWAYS have been concerned about the outcome of our students...." And I thought that either 1) this woman has no idea of what is going on in the educational world at the time or 2) she was totally trying to avoid the question.
You should have asked her to point you in the direction of the nearest classroom so you could quiz THEIR students on state capitals. The nerve!
I say stand up for yourself. ........... tell people homeschoolers don't go by a clock..... they are always learning!
I say, good for you. I also have issues with the principle at my son's school. That is why I am homeschooling him this year. Fortunately she doesn't stick her nose into the homeschooling, she just messed him up last year. We are playing catch up on 4th grade. Then we are going to start 5th grade. It might mean he will be doing homeschooling into his summer. He is all right with this. I know I will be doing this again next year for sure since it would be that same school and principle he would go back to. I actually am hoping that this grows on me!
