Here We Go AGAIN....

What the heck is wrong with this world?! 

The first week of school is not even completed and already we parents are in uproar. Judson ISD Transportation - you are in for a rude awakening. Tomorrow morning, the local Kens5 News crew is coming to investigate the injustices our kids are enduring on the bus system. And they will be met by a bunch of angry parents in the process. 

Always changing something that worked to something ridiculous. 

I have been trying to get in touch with someone about the bus route. This year, they have the stop in a dangerous spot. Kids have to cross the street in front of the bus to enter its doors. With cars that don't often want to stop or have a tendency to try to turn around to avoid waiting for the loading and unloading. Moving cars and kids in the same street = danger, in my opinion. 

They are riding a different bus nearly everyday, but all of them have little to no AC and they are not letting the windows down due to "liability" and "dust" issues (depending on who you talk to). Don't know about you, but my kids, in 100+ degree weather, in what could be described as a giant metal can on wheels makes my blood boil within me. 

Thus the bullying returns.

Then, today, my son tells me that he is being bullied by a "big kid". Guess which Mama is going onto the bus tomorrow? I did it last year and I will do it again this year. Touch my kids - you answer to me! 
This is a healthy reminder to all parents. Watch, listen and be ready to act. Our kids depend on us. We have to stand up for them at times. And for those other times... well, let's just say that I'm going to be teaching my kids how to handle unwanted touching. And if someone else's kid gets hurt - they gonna learn to keep their hands to themselves. I've had a lot on my plate this week, physically and mentally speaking, and this is the straw breaking this camels back. Tomorrow is gonna start with changes.

Be The Observant Parent, Not the Passive One

Tonight I write of a frightening event that I found out about today. A boy in my sons class brought a knife to school. Second grade. Little boy. With a knife?! What is going on with today's kids?? Since when do kids do these types of things? What was he thinking? This comes right after the kids heard about the Houston high school shooting. And the school sent home a letter in all the kids' backpack that it has been taken care of. Which according to the little boy that is in my sons class and lives across from us, means that the boy was kicked out of school for the rest of the year. Which is a little under 2 weeks. The letter also stated that no one was in danger. Who do you think you are kidding?! A sharp kitchen knife can be just as dangerous as a gun in the wrong hands. Maybe even more so! After all, it's a far less noisy killer. How many kids could have been stabbed before someone realized what was going on?? 

I'm infuriated. I fear for my kids going to school. Maybe I'm overreacting to some parents. I admit to being overprotective. I love my babies and I do everything I can to protect them, while knowing I can't protect them all the time. 

After talking to the parent of the child who clued us in to more of what happened today, she was telling me of a game that is becoming quite popular. Bendy and the Ink Machine. At first glance, it looks a little weird, but okay. Then you read the description and it talks about the character facing his demons. Sounds a little more mature... Then I watched the game play with my husband of the first chapter. My impression? Not worthy of a child's eyes. One room has a cartoon character strapped to a movable table that looks like his chest cavity has been ripped open or something burst out of it. A scary apparition of some sort jumped out and you see this witches circle pentagram on the floor. Sadly, most parents that allow their kids to play this one probably don't even realize what is in it. It is a free download on Steam. Anyone can fake their age on there and get what they are wanting to download. 

I don't believe that video games are the reason there is more violence in the world. Not entirely. Take Minecraft. Yes, you have to kill zombies or creepers or even a giant spider from time to time. But I happily allow my kids to play it and join in their game. It's a building game. And so mild that anyone can play without fear of nightmares. They play Plants vs Zombies too. First person shooter, but it is really plants killing zombies or vice versa depending on which team you want to be on. Mario Kart is racing. Love it! So many games can be played without giving way to anger or hatred. It is the attitude and the upbringing that can lead to more violence than these games. My husband and I love playing Black Ops, 7 Days to Die and Battlefield. Don't see us raging and wanting to kill. 

Parents - pay attention. Don't be the parent that finds out their child has major issues. Not if you can help it. Play an active role in your kids life. You only have one shot. Make it count.

Reaching the Breaking Point

Tonight I have reached my limit of patience. Tonight I have come to the last straw. Tonight... I'm completely past taking a breath and letting it go. 

What has my knickers in a twist? My boys' homework math sheet. They are learning to tell time. Second graders, they both are. The same exact homework, they both have. Yet, it is not in the same way. My younger sons teacher sends home a front and back page to do each day. She also removes and checks his homework daily. My older sons teacher must not be able to get the same amount of paper the other teachers get. She tries to cram 4 pages onto a front and back sheet. So everything is shrunken and harder to reader. Try reading the minute lines on a clock the size  of a quarter some time. 

Tonight, however, it climaxed my wrath. I've kept the grammar nazi at bay when I saw spelling and grammatical errors. I have adjusted the errors to show my kids how it should be done properly. I have dealt with multiple choice questions where they try to trip up the kids with a couple answers that are ultimately the "right" answer and when I confronted the teachers about it, I got - "We want them to find the best answer." I have squashed the urge to scream every time my eldest sons teacher says he didn't bring in a particular homework assignment. How does she know? She never takes his homework from his folder! And where did it go if not to her?! I do homework with all my kids EVERY SINGLE DAY. Monday to Thursday. And on Friday, he has all his assignments crammed in the folder, exactly how I placed them there. I am the one removing them and trashing them on Friday afternoons. Tonight... tonight was a whole new story. Tonight they had a clock with the time showing 6:32. But none of the three answers corresponded. My younger son chose a time that was closer - 6:37. I had to tell him, that was incorrect. And that the correct answer is not any of the options available to him. 

Honestly! How can you expect children to learn to read properly if they are reading work pages that are filled with errors? How can they learn to tell time when the clocks are so tiny and the answers provided are all wrong? You can't! You are setting them up to fail. 

Then, my older son tells me that his teacher needs more pencils. I already donated a hefty stack to her class. He tells me no one has erasers. ?#!#%$#%^$$! 

 Only this time, there is no bee!

Then came the greatest problem. The bully from earlier this year is still antagonizing my children. And cursing worse than a sailor. Guess who is going to throw down with that girls parents in the morning? Final warning before I get the police involved and show them what real parenting is all about. 

So it looks like I will have to cancel my plans to go to the store tomorrow morning. Instead, I shall be at the kids' school. Voicing my grievances. And laying into the principle. I have had enough! I'm writing a list of each problem I want to voice. And next year.... I think we are homeschooling. Sadly, I can't put them in the better schools because I have to share a vehicle with my husband who works over night. I can't drive them to the Science and Technology school I so badly want them in. Or the STEM school that my friends kids are in. Otherwise, they would be there in a heartbeat. I'd be enrolling them ASAP.