There Are Campaigns, and There Are Campaigns.

It is killing me not to write a post about the election race. I have many, many opinions, and none of them are neutral, and expressing any of them would probably get me fired. 

So let me offer up a couple of PSAs, instead:

1: Pay attention to your local and congressional races too. Do you know what congressional district you live in? Can you name your congressman? Do you know who the challengers are? If you plan to vote and can't answer yes to all three of these questions, it's time to do a little homework.  You can start here.

2: Do not be fooled by campaign ads. Y'all are smart people. Don't believe it when you hear an ad saying a candidate will make such-and-such illegal, or that he absolutely will raise spending on this or that.  Presidents can't do anything singlehandedly. They can lobby, they can cajole, they can propose, they can veto. They can't create laws, they can't amend the Constitution, and they can't just sign a check that spends taxpayer dollars without a whoooole lot of back and forth with  Congress. (See PSA 1.)

3: And now for something completely different -- News flash: Bus arrival times can be unreliable!

Day 2 of kindergarten watch was ... interesting.  I was heading to the bus stop to pick up the kid, with my arrival timed to be 5 minutes before the bus's slated arrival, and I saw C., my 5th-grade neighbor, walking toward me. "The driver said to tell you she'd drop the YP off after she finished her other rounds," she says. "I offered to walk him home, but she told me no, that YOU had to be there."

I said, "Good grief. Does she show up 10 minutes early very often?"

Bless her heart, C. answers me, "About as often as she runs 10 minutes late. My mom used to allocate an hour for sitting out there when I had to be picked up. She read a lot of books."

Maybe I will set up a folding chair.

When the bus came back around, the kid was fine. I was afraid he'd be traumatized, but the driver said no, he was a little worried but then just settled in and kept up his conversation with the other kids. I apologized and told her I'd be sure to be out there earlier, and she -- didn't say she'd try to be closer to on time. But she was relatively gracious.

On the way back to the house, I asked the YP, 'Are you mad at me?' And he said, "Oh, no. But try not to let it happen again."  Oookay.

Then we discussed his day. Apparently they spent a half-hour "learning the alphabet."
(Sigh.)
"But YP, you already know the alphabet."
"I know."
"Do the other kids know the alphabet?"
"Some of them. Not all of them. And they don't say it fast, like I can."
(I bet they don't. I bet they can't name all the presidents, either. Or the 50 states.)
"Do you read at all?"
"The teacher reads. Then she gives us books to read."
(Books with words? Or picture books?)
"And do you read those?"
"Yes, but to myself. Sometimes I read two."
"Do the other kids read their books?"
"A lot of them just look at the pictures."
"Have you read for the teacher?"
"No. She only wants to read to us. She doesn't want us to read to her."
(Grrrr.)
"What about math? Do you do any of that?"
"What is math?"
"You know. Adding. Subtracting."
"Oh. No, we just count. We don't do plus or take away."
"How high do you count?"
"Oh. To 10."
"Just to 10?"
"That's all she told us to count to."
"Could all the kids do it?"
"No."
"How high can you count?"
"I don't know. 100?"
"YP, would you rather be in a class where all the kids already know the alphabet and can count?"
"Yes. And where I can learn the elements."

Serrrrriously considering the headache and tactical maneuvers required to start lobbying for my kid to skip a grade.  Apparently the principal has to recommend it, the kid has to prove intellectual ability, and then get screened for social maladjustment. I find it hard to believe my kid -- the one who hit on the 5th grader first -- would have much trouble with any of that, with the possible exception of sitting still for the time required.

On the other hand, this might throw a wrench into the whole magnet-school-that-starts-at-first-grade thing next year.  I don't know. 

Maybe I should base my decision on the bus driver's adherence to schedule.

Comments

[cosmiccamper]

It's a private journal, you should be able to write what you want... or go back to your other one and write there and lock it! It would be interesting to hear your opinions!

[mary]

I am slowly dying also of not being able to express my opinions. SO UNFAIR.

[ragingstress]

On the YP: Yeah, a total headache but I think it would be worth investigating whether he can be promoted. Sounds like he's going to get borrrreeeeeeddddddd with all this stuff he already knows.

[Matt]

Did YP really say that bit about the elements? Get that kid out of that class fast!

[average blogger]

Cosmic: It's private, but not all that private. Most of my co-workers read it -- heck, my boss reads it. And he'd probably be fine with it, but his bosses would be displeased. :)

Mary: We should start an anonymous blog! "Muzzled by Media" or something! Esp. cos I have a feeling we'd be the hannity and colmes of the blogworld. Snx. :)

Raging: Am more worried that he won't get bored, he'll enjoy showing off and not want to learn anything more!

Matt: He did say that, but it's kind of a ringer. We've been talking about planets and elements and moonrocks and that They Might Be Giants song about "The sun is a mass of incandescent gas" for literally two years. And he does already know the first 10 atomic symbols, but I'm also pretty sure that he understands nothing beyond beyond "H = hydrogen." If you asked him "what is hydrogen?" he would say, "H!" :)

[kbee]

ALL the presidents??

[modernfairie]

P.S. - I totally figured out how to get you on my friends list. Yeah -- because I'm basically amazing. ;)

At any rate - skipping a grade is NOT that big a deal, especially at that age. I did it. You don't even know the difference until you're in high school and suddenly realize that you're a year younger than everyone else. No biggie.

Send a note to his teacher requesting a parent-teacher-principal meeting. (Bring the Boy Wonder along, unbeknownst to them.)

Sit down with the two of them and then ask the teacher to explain her lesson plan for the next month. Okay: colors, numbers up to ten, looking at picture books... And then let the Young Prince preform - so to speak.

Let them quiz him on colors through Turquoise and Magenta. Let him count up into the hundreds. Have THEM pick out a book and have him read. (By them picking it out, they can be sure that he didn't memorize the words at home to fake them out.)

Once they are satisfied... ask him teacher what was on the lesson plan for next month... and if it will be enough to challenge or even EDUCATE your son. (The answer will be no.) If they still aren't satisfied... have him name off the states and the presidents. That will definitely send them over the edge.

And adding a Principal to a Parent-Teacher conference is not a big deal... and don't even mention bringing YP, or explaining why. Every parent thinks their child is brilliant and special. So... educators don't tend to get excited when someone says that their child is exceptional and should skip a grade. It's just... yours -IS- so... fight for it.

If you don't use it you loose it. Great minds need to be exercised. Don't let him become comfortable with being the "smart kid" in class, because he already knows all this. It's the teacher's job to teach - you just need to make sure he has the right one.

I'm sure they'll enjoy the surprise of having the Boy Wonder in their presence. And he didn't even brag his whole first day - about how he was smarter than everyone else. ;)

[Lori]

I think you should investigate it. I always felt like I was being held back and not challenged. On the one hand, it was nice because I had the time to explore the things that interested me on my own. But it was a pain because I was bored and irritated by the fact that my peers didn't understand the concepts as quickly as I did.

If it's recommended that he skip a grade, could he not go ahead and join the magnet school? Or are they a limited amount of space only kind of place?

I'm so sorry that your freedom of speech is being stifled! It sucks on so many levels to not be able to air your opinion about politics or events in your life without fear of censure.