School Daze

Yes –  a Cliche as my title. Not a big surprise there but still I’m a little embarrassed by it just the same.

We’re all adjusting to the changes of back to school & my new schedule – so far super awesome fantastic on the schedule thing! I feel much less like I’m working when I work on a schedule which fits me & does not require an alarm clock to get me up at the ass crack of the morning (yes- I do consider 730 ass crack of the morning) It feels natural in general to get up have breakfast at the computer- jump in the car at 11 & go in to work.

The staying until 11 is taking a little getting used to & the hour ‘lunch’ between 445 & 545 each day is not working too well at all! (mostly because I’ve been eating my major meal of the day on work days at 130 or 2pm for 22 months now & my body expects food at that time of day) It’s benefiting my purse because I only buy one Sobee lean energy drink a day when I first get there because first break at 2pm is too late to be drinking juice (I toyed with the idea of buying one on the way out at night to have at home in the morning but decided that I don’t need any more splenda or energy than I’m getting out of one of those things)

17 is having issues of her own. She’s an artist of course & has been taking at least one or more art courses every year of high school. This year she gets to take independent art which pretty much allows her free reign of the school’s art supplies & the freedom to do almost anything she wants to do with them. So that’s scheduled for the end of the year the second semester. She had found as soon as she began a culinary arts class though- that it was so elementary that she knew all they were going to be teaching & so decided that she should have a study hall instead this semester & so among other teachers she went to the teacher who she’ll have independent art with later in the year.

The teacher somehow misunderstood & thought she meant she wanted independent art this semester. (That was not the case- 17 has been at the high school since 8th grade- she’s a senior now & in working for an advanced diploma & she has never had a study hall in all that time. So that’s all she really wanted.) The teacher went on a long rant in which she told 17 that she couldn’t do her art this semester because she had too many students at that time of day & that when she had independent art next semester she wanted to spend more time with 17 during it because she felt that 17 needed more guidance & that she needs better influences to help her change her subject matter in arts because it was too dark.

Well excuse me – but I thought that an art teacher’s focus was supposed to be to help kids learn to use the tools & mediums that were available to them to express themselves what ever form that expression may take.  I wasn’t aware that a high school art teacher was allowed to be a self appointed art critic.

I was furious (& I’m getting angry just thinking of it now) when 17 told me about it & I wanted to go to the school & discuss it with the principal. 17 however- has been under this teacher before & says that when she’s had conflicts with other kids she’s made scapegoats of them in class & 17 doesn’t want to open herself up for something like that.

She says she’s going to go to the guidance office & talk to them- try to do the whole thing subtly & possibly change art teachers too. She hasn’t done so yet & I’m hoping she’s not going to try to avoid the issue- because it’s not until January when the second semester kicks in & she’s very good at procrastinating like that. However if she waits too long she could end up having to be in that foolish- rude- opinionated woman’s class because they won’t let her change the schedule once the semester begins.

11 is doing pretty well- she doesn’t seem quite so dragged out & overwhelmed with homework as she was last year (a lot of people seem to think the teacher she had last year is a little hard on the students – 17 liked her when she had the same teacher though) 5th grade is so far not much of a challenge for 11 thank goodness.

8 is getting like his older sister- he’s been doing his homework on the bus with a fellow student so he has it ready to be signed when he gets home. Which is a lot easier than hearing a lot of ‘I’ll do it later’ ‘you’ll do it now’ talk.

Of course the # 1 thing which happens when school starts is: We start thinking about Halloween! (I wonder why my 17 year old has a ‘dark’ outlook on life…lol) Everyone is still tossing around costume ideas & the debate has ensued as to whether to have a haunted house type thing for trick or treaters & invite 11 & 8’s classmates specifically to stop by during trick or treat- thus ensuring people coming in & out all night- or for me to take 11 & 8 trick or treating & leave 17 here with the candy.