hi! everyone, i have this nagging question in my head for few months and just can't come to a decision. input anyone? i know there're alot of you who dealt with ps in the past or currently........thanks! i plan on senting a letter along with all the letters took place during this whole school year between us and school principal, psychologist and teacher to the school district superintendent to let him know how his staffs have failed my dd. we're moving away but just for him to know. our case with ps in a short version - they denied appropriated education when we do not medicate our dd. of course along with all the ill treatments from educators to 9yrs. old student and how they have us spending money and misguiding us the whole time. am i wasting my time/energy here to do that?
I think throwing together a quick letter and making copies wouldn't take too much time. Don't invest a lot of yourself into it though. And don't expect to improve the situation. But sending a letter like that could give yourself closure and that's important.
I would not do it just because I would be afraid I might need to come back there someday or they might send a nasty note with the records if another school requests them later on. I try not to stir up stuff whenever possible unless I think some good will come from it. I am afraid in this case they will just side with the teachers at the school no matter what you say. That being said, you do whatever feels right to you and I hope if you do send the letter it will make a difference in the future.
My only experience is preschool, so take this with as much or as little regard as you'd like. My dh put my oldest in preschool for a few months (against my will), and it was disasterous. When he left, at the encouragement of both sets of grandparents, I sent a letter to the director explaining exactly why *WE* chose to pull him out. The director was horrified, and the teacher in question was fired. Sometimes letters work. In a PS setting, it probably wouldn't, but this was a private preschool setting with a much younger child.
I agree that it most likely won't change anything, but it might help you with a sense of closure. If you do send one, be sure it is well written and edited to perfection. Be sure to tell them exactly what the issues were and how you feel they could have been resolved. Then have someone else (or 2 or 3 somebodies) read and critique the letter to make sure it says what you intended it to say. Be professional and show the school you know what you are talking about and are not just spoutin' at the mouth about stuff you know nothing about.
in my most angry moment, i want them to get more than fired for what they have done to our dd and whole family. but after cool down and rose from their level, i know nothing will fix the problem except remove our 3dds from their system. it's hopeless. that's why we arrive to the decision to homeschool our 3dds. to this date, we still have the lid over our fire. especially we see that the more we advocate for dd's education, the more her teacher picks on her. this letter thing is 1) yes. as a closure which i do not know any other way, and 2) in their lowest point in life, their conscious will remind them of their wrong doing. after whole solid year of their ill treatment to us and to dd, i have learned not to hope for any improvement from them. i have not thought of down the road, i will be in need to deal with them again. please advice how will that be, if we homeschool? even lf one day we end up going back to ps for argument sake, we still do not need to deal with them, correct? if there's other way for me to move on.....please advise. truly appreciated. godd health and happiness.
thank you, nancy sv for your respond. i remember your respond from the other thread, therefore i fully understand where you're coming from... an educator from ps, correct? just so you know, i do know what i'm talking about even tho my wording might not be 100% to the perfection. it's about my child and her education. and your words are to the perfection, i believe. i guess i'm on the wrong forum, then. do you know where's the support forum is???????????????
I'm not sure what other thread you're talking about or why you think this isn't a support forum, but I can tell you that there are several PS teachers here (self included), so please don't throw us all into the fire as if the teachers are the problem. :? The system is usually the problem. I've looked back through her threads, and I don't see anything out of line. (I wonder if this is the one you're talking about, but again, I dealt with the same sort of mess. I'm sure we all did.) Yeah, there are bad teachers. There are bad people employed in every field, and there are bad parents, but that's the world we live in. Most people really try to do their best at everything they do. I 100% agree that you should write, edit, edit, edit, and have other people proof something "to perfection" before submitting it. Don't burn bridges and don't write something that could come back to bite or haunt you in the future.
yes. that's the post. i can't say both of her replies were supported and that's what i meant about not being on the support forum. bad wording from my part? i been having so much helpful info and thankful and enjoy being here, until now. being supported to me means voting for the site i have not seen but i voted because we come here post and share like a "friend" but have not met yet. maybe that's just my thinking...... i believe i have not said anything here that referring to all ps teachers. we all share our info based on our own experience. i'm not even saying who's right and who's wrong. just like everything in life there're bad and good, and everyone knows that. i know i didn't post anything here that give the impression that i'm trashing ALL ps teachers. i started a question here asking should i even bother or can anyone suggest other way for me to move on...... whatever i said here is what my family went thru not a make up story to trash public school system. i don't think anyone should be saying thing like don't be talking/saying about thing you don't know. is teacher knows best applying, here? it's the way she replies on the other thread plus here together didn't sit well with me. and your words are very similar to hers but give different meaning and vibe. i do hope you understand what i'm explaining. good health and happiness.
Jemsmom, I've read that response several times, and I don't see anything non-supportive in her encouraging you to present your case in a letter that has been "edited to perfection". And I'm not just taking teachers' sides here, because ... well, I won't bore you with the unprofessional things done to my son in ps K-4 before we brought him home, but there were plenty. Personally, what I did was go to the school the day after school was out and say my piece directly to the principal, while I was there to pick up my son's records, and explain to him what my concerns were - and I had known most of ds's teachers since I was in school (either we grew up together, or they had been teachers already when I was a student) and thought I could trust them. By suggesting that you "edit to perfection" she's encouraging you to make sure that you have said everything you wanted to say, and not give "the professionals" any opportunity to dis you over typos or grammar/spelling errors, in case you should ever need them in the future, like if your child goes to a ps in your new location, and the new school writes to the old school for records. If there's even one mistake, you can be sure they'll pounce on it and discredit your whole letter, saying things like, "Uh! and she thinks she can homeschool! Pity the kid!" and suchlike. Those who are/have been ps teachers (or, like me, ancillary school personnel) know other ps teachers, and they know this can happen.
thank you lindina and actressdancer for reading and addressing to my question. appreciate for your kind, thorough explanation. it's definitely something to consider before i sent in my letter. thanks for the warning. good health and happiness.
I apologize if you have taken my words as a criticism of you! That was never my intention - not in any way, shape, or form. I am very glad you spoke up here and asked the question because I'm sure other parents have had that exact same question. As others have pointed out above, schools get a lot of feedback from parents - good and bad. A lot of our most vocal parents are those who a) have no clue what they're talking about or b) dropped out of high school and can barely read/write themselves. It's very hard for us (teachers in general) to take some of these parents seriously. I know you know your daughter and I know you are doing the best for her - you wouldn't be a part of a homeschool forum if you weren't. But - trust me on this one - we have some "homeschool parents" who honestly and truly don't do anything with their kids. They get mad at the school for one thing or another and yank their kids out - and let them sit at home and do nothing. I'm not joking. What I'm trying to say is this: as homeschooling parents we have to go above and beyond to let the schools know we know what we're talking about. If we send in letters that are poorly written and not well planned, it simply reinforces the idea that homeschoolers are illiterate and aren't qualified to teach their kids. I know you are angry - I don't know the specifics of what happened to your child, but you have every right to be angry. The problem now is to separate out the anger and present your case in a logical, rational manner - which is not an easy task. My sincere recommendation for you is to write a letter very clearly explaining what your complaints are and how you would have liked to have seen them resolved. It would look something like this: Dear sirs, As you know, I have pulled my children from your school in order to homeschool them. My reasons for doing so are: 1) Blah...blah...blah...blah.... This problem could have been remedied by blah...blah...blah...blah... 2) Blah...blah...blah...blah.... This problem could have been remedied by blah...blah...blah...blah... 3) Blah...blah...blah...blah.... This problem could have been remedied by blah...blah...blah...blah... Although at this point in time, we believe we will keep our children at home to further their education, I want you to be aware of these issues in the hope that other children won't have to experience what my children have had to endure. Thank you for your consideration, I hope this helps! I don't mean to sound preachy or "teacher knows best" or anything like that. It's just that I've spent 21 years in schools and I know how things are done. I know what teachers/principals see on a daily basis and how to best get things done in that setting. I'm hoping this advice can help you resolve your issues.
nancy, i appreciate you coming back here to clarify your previous post. if i was blinded with my anger, there be no need for me to post my question in the first place. we all can't assume others situation based on our own experience. such as - not all parents are like those you mentioned who can't write/read with ill manner nor not all teachers are like the one we dealt with educated and with ill manner. i understand anger got in the way therefore even educators will return the same ill manner as the one who is uneducated. but anyway, i was just simply asking should i or shouldn't i sent in a letter to the superintendent to express how they have failed our dd. or i should just move on. thank you for your example letter (didn't expected) and advice. they're helpful. good health and happiness.
Honestly, I think you should. Not only would it help you identify where you feel the school failed, it would help you identify where you want to go. And if it helps the school figure out some weak links, that's an added bonus.
