Public School - Am I out of line?

reply to post by ReluctantBlossom


I will admit, I do have a bit of stubbornness on this. But this is my view. In some instances I do not mind informing the school of things. But regardless, if I tell my child to get off at the right stop and then walk the opposite direction from where he is, according to the school supposed to be going is ok as he is no longer on the bus anymore. If the schools responsibility stops the moment he steps foot off the bus and some kidnapper is sitting waiting for the bus to leave really does not seem to make much difference where he steps off of the bus. It just seems to be a little nit picky and just extending their control as far as they can.

I do not mind meeting them in the middle as long as I get done what I need done, and sometimes the call to go somewhere else is not known until the very last minute. But according to the administration, it is their way or no way.

I do not mind conceding my views on this, but not until I am satisfied I am not giving some group of people control over what I do and do not do and allowing the proverbial foot in the door to happen. And I do not send my child to school to be babysitted, I send him to school to learn, which does not exactly happen either.

As a parent of school aged children, I will always take the 30 seconds it takes to notify the school(by writing the note or calling in) of a change of drop off location. You take the time to notify your child, why not pick up the phone call the school(which should be on speed dial if you have it) and tell them both(School and Child) at the same time? I don't care how busy I am, the safety of my children comes first.

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Got the point?

Are you out of line? IMO way out there. It is set up for the safety of YOUR child. If the safety of your child is not important enough to take the 30 seconds it takes then I don't think you deserve to be a parent.

reply to post by Agarta


Because quite frankly I hold the school system in complete utter contempt. If I cannot trust them to do what they are charged to do, such as educating, how can I trust them with the other things. I am not sure what the public school system is like where you are but here they are nothing but bureaucrats and only concerned with their own ass, everything else takes the back seat.

I acknowledge that I may have the wrong view this time, but when I hear the default answer of "its for your safety" my BS meter kicks into overdrive. Maybe if I could trust that they would actually educate my child, then I would be more likely to pass some of my responsibility off to them to handle when the situation calls for it. After all, we are still in the same community and must work together, but it is a two way street.

not giving in to your special requirments is sort of discrimination.

If your child had a sensitivity toi sunlight and burned easy, would they be in trouble for waring a hat all the time, even if the schools policy is not hats?!

No ofc they wouldnt they would make a special exception, if it dxoesnt cost the school money, and theres no way they could be blamed for an incident caused by the exception, why be difficult? right?

The problem with schools is they're far too big so there's no room for indivudual preferences. I understand the OP's point of view and I think I'd be frustrated too. The notes are a good idea. Let the school know about them and write a pile in advance. It'll take you a second to sign and date them as you use them.

I've just had a weird conversation with my daughter and don't know if I'm over-reacting to something innocent or not.

She just told me that every morning when Teach does the register, instead of answering "here" like most kids do, they have to answer with an answer to a question that was put just a few minutes before.

So the teacher asks, "what time did you go to bed last night?" then calls the names and they reply with the time. Then they'll get a discussion about how many hours sleep a child needs. Other questions have been "what did you have for tea last night?" or "what did you have for breakfast this morning?" and "if you're going home for lunch, what are you having?"

She might just be having an innocent conversation with them but I think it might be a naughty way of gathering information. Can't say that to them though, they'll think I've something to hide. That's how these things work, isn't it?

reply to post by wigit


I think you are overreacting on this one, a little bit.

Show and tell being a classic example of how teachers can help connect with their class, and the students with each other if they know a little about some things.

It might be a good idea to ask your daughter each day, what the question was and how the discussion went after the register.

reply to post by wigit


Sounds innocent enough. It seems to be a memory and paying attention exercise.

Although, it could be used for other purposes also, keep a watchful eye on it none the less.

reply to post by Biigs


I think you're probably right. I am over-reacting. She was home-schooled till 1 year ago so I think I'm just being over-protective. She loves her teachers too, so I might just be a tad jealous as well. Or maybe just confused, I hated school myself



Thanks guys, I've calmed down now.

reply to post by Skewed


I agree with you on the state of affairs of the school system and its bureaucracy, but might I remind you that this is not the subject of your rant. Your rant is about why you need to contact the school for changes in drop off locations. Obviously, you are not happy about the situation, so might I recommend removing them from the system and home schooling them or setting up a tutoring program. That way they can be educated to your standards without the bureaucracy.

If you had a birthday party for your child and you were taking the kids home and a child tells you something different than where the adult told you would you drop them off were the child said or the parent. What would happen if you followed the childs statement and something happened to that child who do you think the Parent of that child would come after? Its about your responsibility as a parent to ensure the safety of your child through communication.

reply to post by Agarta


It is too late in the game to switch now, the damage is already done, only a couple of years left. However, we are working on something that will accelerate things and hopefully if it goes as planned we can be done with the public system once and for all after his first semester of his junior year.

reply to post by Skewed


I hear you...I'm afraid I came off harder than I really meant to. I have heard some of the lamest excuses for everything from people who's only apparent motive is be contrary and, just by posting, you are showing that you give a damn about whether or not you should feel the way you do, and I'm sorry.

I don't think there is anything to worry about as far as letting them know about changes in routine...You aren't asking their permission or anything, and it allows them to make sure everything is as it should be...They do that not only to protect themselves, but I have noticed that the majority of school staff actually care about what they do and are concerned about the children in their care. They don't report the information to anyone but maybe the teacher and the bus driver. Try and relax a bit--I know sometimes I get a little self protective after awhile on this site...lol But I really don't think they care where your kid gets off the bus as long as they know YOU know it's ok.

reply to post by ReluctantBlossom


I do not debate the fact that the administration does indeed have legitimate concerns and they are mostly well placed. I am sometimes very rough, but fair, with the administration and as individuals they do mostly care. I hold nothing personal against the staff, as I know they ultimately are only the messengers. However, when we as parents are not exactly able to reach the people that are responsible then my only choice is to vent my frustrations upon the school staff. If I come off the wrong way, then they need to get thicker skin or otherwise provide me with a direct path to the powers that actually make the decisions. Until then, and while they themselves are part of the system, they are also responsible for carrying that ball as well and be willing to accept my wraith when I come down on them. Which could be taken as, if the school administration wants me off their ass, then put me in direct contact with the people that are and quit hiding behind their desk and technology, and I will then leave the school staff alone. I am just waiting for them to give an excuse that it is the computers fault.

It is these cases where the staff fails when I vent or whatever else about procedures. It should be their responsibility to ensure my concerns are passed up the chain and make things be known from first hand experience as the results start coming in from decisions that are made higher up, coming from a school administrator should at least carry more weight than what I would have with the decision makers. Instead, their answer is always, "well, thats the way it is, I do not make the rules", but sit there and agree with me at the same time. That does not sit very well with me, especially when I try to instill in my children to always stand up for their beliefs, but instead I usually receive some canned reply to my issue. Which in the end is basically saying, we do not care what you think, this is the way we are doing it, get over it.

For me and this issue, I think it boils down to infringing upon my principals.