Thursday, June 02, 2016

May: What I Read

May kind sucked for me.

I was really, really busy at work, and I barely had any time to have fun and then I found out all the teachers at my kids' school hate me and I am not rich enough to just sell my house on a whim and move to another school district and most private schools in our town are at capacity or cost $12K PER STUDENT annually (and, I mean, we have 4 students), so we are on a waitlist at a place and are otherwise just fucked because the teachers told me they hated me AFTER all the open enrollment deadlines passed.  And I have basically been ruminating on that shit and not reading.  And I would like to give more details about this story, but I have written it a million times and I just come off as looking insane because you must be reading it and thinking that doesn't make any sense what could she have done that she is not telling us?  But I have been honest with you about hating Harry's terrible second grade teacher and yelling at aids who suck and fighting with the principal about my right to post on FB and this blog, so I have told you everything.  And some of you already hate me a little and think I am a loon, so you are just reading this with a smug face and thinking OMG we knew she was crazy and now everyone else does, too.  But I have to tell you, it is hard to be the parents of a smart kid who needs to be medicated to succeed in our fucked up public school system generally and in the school down the street specifically.  

So, anyway, I barely read in May.

6.  The Year We Turned 40 by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke:  Cute.  Sort of.

5.  The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King:  I wanted to love this book because I do love Stephen King, and he is the best when he writes short stories, but nothing here blew me away.  I did love the forward to each story that talked about how he was inspired to write it.

4.  The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty:  I love her.  This book is older and nowhere near as good as her most recent offerings, though.

3.  Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty:  The title really sums up this excellent and kind of creepy memoir.

2.  The Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard:  READ THIS!  Read Red Queen first.  And join me in looking forward to the NEXT 2 BOOKS!!

1.  You by Caroline Kepnes:  SERIOUSLY, you guys.  READ THIS, TOO.  So much creepy.

One funny book story before I go:  Harry had to miss the first day of his human growth an development unit at school because he was home with his terrible sunburn.  Yesterday, we went to the library to sign up for the summer reading program, and he made a beeline to a book on display in the teen room called Sex Is a Funny Word that is a comic strip style discussion of sex and puberty.  And he read 100 pages of it before bed last night.  He just wanted to make sure he was caught up with the rest of the class.  So, so, so funny.







8 comments:

  1. You know I'm sure a some of you guys' teachers hated me! Hell, some of my teachers hated me! The difference is that they were too polite or too repressed to tell me! I cannot believe you're going through this!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm so sorry, Sarah. I'm the worst at reading and not commenting (for years! since jack was born, I think!) but I wanted to add something. You could look into your district's policies on "transfer for cause". Something along the line of 'I don't trust the faculty or the administration to treat my children fairly and without bias after my experience this spring" (so let me enroll at another school after the open enrollment period). If they truly dislike you as you say (and are assholes,obviously) the principal might suggest to the central office that they approve your request. And I'm sorry. Again. It's an awful situation and I think getting a new start someplace would be ideal.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We got Eli a puberty comic book and he LOVES it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous11:35 PM

    I am sorry for you , Sarah ,but I am kind of in a similar situation like you , I don't know what to do tho'.
    SO I have decided to pretend like everything is fine , be shameless and continue at the same school.I do only curb pick up /drop off, my husband goes for the meetings .I definitely can't stand any of the staff but I think okay just 2 more years and she will be in Middle school ,its tough tho'.Letting go of my self respect ...I feel like a loser and feel terrible that I have to endure this .SOmetimes I feel schools in this country are like the Mafia /Gang kind of thing !

    ReplyDelete
  5. It infuriates me to read about what has happened to you at that school. I have read every single one of your blog entries and most of your Facebook posts (I decided going all the way back to your beginning on FB would truly make me a stalker). I am in awe of the way Ben and you have handled parenthood. I'm jealous that you were able to get your PhD, work, have adorable babies, and maintain a great relationship with your spouse. I adore your kids and I am frequently envious of what a great Mom they have! You're the kind of Mom kids should have but not enough do. I've read about how much you're able to volunteer at school and the time & energy Ben and you both have put into the PTO. I think the teachers & principal who engineered your public embarrassment are total asshats and must be terribly insecure to need to treat a parent that way. I know it's hard right now but I hope you don't give them the satisfaction of leaving. You bought a home right by a school so that your kids could walk & you could be a parent who is actively involved. Don't let them rob you of that.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This all makes me so mad. I am incredibly frustrated on your behalf. I had a lot of thoughts on the subject, but Holly Sisk above just laid them all out beautifully, so I'll just say "AGREED." You are the model of what a parent should be--actively involved in their children's education. It sounds like the folks at your school are OK with that level of involvement when it means helping with class parties and PTO fundraisers, but not when it leads to actively engaging in your kids' education...which is sad and ridiculous.

    Anyway. I'm sorry. This all sucks so hard.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous7:55 PM

    I am so very sorry for what you have gone through with the school. It sucks. I have been through it with my son with Aspergers. Keep your head up. They are the jerks. Hugs from Texas.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous8:04 PM

    SO sorry , my daughter has ADHD too , I have posted a comment as Anonymous but I wanted to comment again for the same post .I UNDERSTAND what you are going thru' .I do !
    I am in the same boat , school here are horrible ,so are the teachers ,they can't teach they can't be patient they are not sincere nothing .
    I come from a 3rd world country and we have better teachers there in rural areas ,education is taken very seriously there which is why so many of us work in Google and Amazon ,not because we accept low wages , but because we carry the same hard work and sincerity we saw in our teachers .

    I am tired of the crap , discourteous attitude and all , they don't even reply to thank you emails at the end of the year ,or acknowledge expensive end of the year gifts we as thank you's ( yea thank you for nothing ,actually)


    ReplyDelete