Gottta love a public education....sigh.

[Cheryl]

Eric (my 1st grader) brought home a test he'd taken some time ago; he must of cleared out his cubby at school. (he's working on "housekeeping" :mrgreen: ) It was a social studies test that he must of taken in December before the winter break. One of the questions was: Draw a picture of a holiday you learned about and tell why we celebrate it. My son drew a picture of a Christmas tree and wrote, "Jesus is about Christmas".

He got the answer wrong. The teacher underlined this: "...you learned about..." I understand why she marked it wrong - they didn't discuss the Christian view of the holiday in class so he didn't "learn about it" in class so that wasn't one of the acceptable answers (they discussed every other way to celebrate in December, but not Jesus' birthday!) It just made me sad that he actually gets what the holiday is about, but got the answer wrong on a school test! In a way, it seems like he's taking a stand for Christ and already getting judged by the world. [sadashamed]

Which leads me to my next ponderance in my stream of thinking.....how I wish we could swing the $7,000 a year for a Christian education! Is it worth it for me to be at home full time or would it be better for me to be working full time to afford that private, Christian education? I guess this is more of a rhetorical question, because I don't expect you all to be able to answer that for me!

P.S. - I have a friend in Pennsylvania whose daughter didn't have a Valentine's party this year; apparently the school district determined that Valentine is a Saint, which is religious, and that's a taboo in public schools. So they had a friendship party instead, where they presumably handed out cards that said "Happy Valentine's Day". How long will it take the card manufacturer's to come up with Happy Friendship Day cards?? [whatthink]

[JoyLynn]

There's always homeschool! :wink: shshshshsh...[shhh]... You didn't hear that from me. I'd neeeeever try to sway someone in the direction of homeschool just cuz I love it! [lovesmile] LOL!!! heehee!

I hear you, though, my friend. That's got to be a little disheartening. *sigh* Praying God leads you in what's best for you and your family.

*hugs*

XOXOXOXO

Joy [welcomewave]

[~Tara~]

*huddled in the corner whispering with Joy*

:giggle:

So sorry your little guy is having to deal with that sort of thing already. But...at the same time...Hallelujah that he is and that he IS taking that stand! Good for him!!
Stinks though that he has to provide a 'politically correct' answer..at that age..geesh!

[ChamomileFriend]

Ugh, that is awful that it starts so young. ITA with the homeschooling whispers, BUT I know that is not for everyone. I think it is still best that you are working in the home rather than outside it; you will still be there to make sure he is strong when he goes out into the world.

[kalihi76]

I'm so sorry that happened. I would talk to the teacher as I think it's highly unfair & out of line to do what she did.

"Draw a picture of a holiday you learned about and tell why we celebrate it. "
That is a very unclear direction & I don't see how your son got the question wrong... First of all what holidays did they learn about in school??? Second, "tell why WE celebrate it" , who's "we"??? Surely, she's not going to suggest that everyone at school is to celebrate whatever the school celebrates?

Your child is expressing what holiday is important to him & why HE celebrates it. All children have the right to express their own beliefs..

I'm sorry, it almost seems like the teacher was setting kids up to answer this way .....
I'd definately have a talk with her (or him). I'm so mad for your little boy... it's just heartbreaking.

[gamommyto4girls]

That would make me mad too, IMO this whole PC thing has gone way, way to far. Agreeing with the others about homeschooling. Prior to being at home myself I taught 4th grade for three years in public school and pre-k for three years in a christian school. My dh is a career hs teacher in public school also. We have many, many scary stories.
I feel so much more at peace with having my girls at home now, but agree that it's a calling and not the best solution for every family.
I relate to your thread a lot though, the final straws for us this past year were a Kindergarten unit that included death, divorce, and a bit of homosexuality; a Christmas concert for my fourth grader which included a Kwanza song, and a Hannuakah song, and a Santa Claus song (but not a Christian song); and a sex-ed class for our sixth grader that included contraception info. We pulled the plug when the last issue came up!

Kudos to your little guy for knowing the real answer! I'd speak with the teacher if I were you, but know that can be hard and frustrating.

I hope someday that people at large will realize that we don't live in a vacumn, we can't take God out of the schools without letting something else seep in. Unfortunately that's been atheism and humanism. It's sad!

[babylove]

Well, I would say Homeschool as well. Even though it is a choice, it is something that is so worthwhile, and so important? Worthwhile not only to your son, but your whole family. If you can you should seriously consider it.

[tobikay]

As president of the board of education of a pubic school, I am going to comment here. I agree with homeschooling, if you feel that you are called and able to do it. I have been so discouraged by parents who think that homeschooling is easy and jump in and do a very bad job of it.

Public school is such a battle ground, not just for our chidren but also for the brave souls who teach there everyday. No matter what they do, they are going to be wrong in someone's eyes. I hear everyday (why did you have a school delay this morning? Why didn't you close school? Why didn't my child pass ISTEP? Why does my child have to take remedial classes instead of band? Why, Why Why.)

Here is my advice for parents (and the only way I can get through this myself), be very very involved in your child's education. Know the teacher and what she (he) teaches, suppliment or clarify at home with your own belief as necessary. Be sure you your children understand that situations, such as discribed above, happen, and it doesn't mean that their teacher is condoming their beliefs, and please, feel free to write about Jesus any time you can.

That is all I have to say about that. ;)
tobi

[Madre]

Here is my advice for parents (and the only way I can get through this myself), be very very involved in your child's education. Know the teacher and what she (he) teaches, suppliment or clarify at home with your own belief as necessary. Be sure you your children understand that situations, such as discribed above, happen, and it doesn't mean that their teacher is condoming their beliefs, and please, feel free to write about Jesus any time you can.

That is all I have to say about that. ;)
tobi

I agree. My children have mostly attended public school (except for 3 1/2 years at a private Christian school). I would say that involvement, especially at the primary levels, is very important. You have to be a squeaky wheel. Again, I would stress what Tobi said about reinforcing what you believe when they are at home so they're better prepared when they get to school. Ask them about school i.e. how was the day, what did you learn, what went on, etc. Cheryl, your little guy is just learning that there is a difference between his home and the world and that not everyone is receptive to hearing about the Lord.

[BlessedMommy]

Which leads me to my next ponderance in my stream of thinking.....how I wish we could swing the $7,000 a year for a Christian education! Is it worth it for me to be at home full time or would it be better for me to be working full time to afford that private, Christian education? I guess this is more of a rhetorical question, because I don't expect you all to be able to answer that for me!
[whatthink]

$7,000 a year? That sounds pretty steep.

My local church school runs more like $1,500 to $2,000 a year. I would check out all the options available before assuming that it's not affordable.

I'm so sorry that your little boy got that treatment.

(BTW, if you want any help locating a more affordable private school, PM me and I might be able to help. :))

[BlessedMommy]

$7,000 a year? That sounds pretty steep.

My local church school runs more like $1,500 to $2,000 a year. I would check out all the options available before assuming that it's not affordable.

I'm so sorry that your little boy got that treatment.

(BTW, if you want any help locating a more affordable private school, PM me and I might be able to help. :))

And in addition to being that cheap, our church school also offers Worthy Student assistance to those families who can't afford it. Just wanted to throw that out there. :)

[momofweewerfs]

also you may want to look in to a scholarship program named ( i think) children first. we have it in Canada. if you make under certain amounts you qualify for 50 % of tuition costs up to a total of $3500. they pick so many students a year lottery style. our kids attend a private christian school, and we are paying around that 7000 mark for 1 child full 5 days (grade 2) and 1 child in jk (3 days) and he has one day of extra help with the tutoring program

[Cheryl]

Thank you all for you words of support! Years ago I thought homeschooling sounded like the way to go (like 10 years before I had kids, lol). I even have a degree in education. But teaching my kids at home? I can barely get Eric to do his homework at home without losing patience with his attitude; how would I ever get through an entire year of teaching him (and Charlotte, since she's 4.5 years old)? I have a friend who homeschools her 5 boys. I'm in awe of all she accomplishes! That is something I would definitely need to discuss with God and DH. How did you all know homeschooling was right for you (for those who have taken the plunge?)

And I would talk to the teacher about this, but this was a test taken nearly 3 mos ago that just found it's way home (likely buried in Eric's cubby at his desk.) Seems kind of pointless to bring it up now. I do need to talk to him about it though to reinforce that his answer was correct as far as I'm concerned. I do volunteer in Eric's classroom and his teacher is nice; we spend time chatting while I'm there (while the kids are in PE). I realize that she is limited in what she can talk about. To her credit, there was a brainstorming list on butcher paper that was displayed in the room. The list must of been WINTER or some such topic. On the list was Jesus. I smiled when I saw that and was glad that whoever gave that answer got to see it added to the list along with Santa, snow, et al.

[Timmys mom]

yeah, that was just wrong. It didn't say something he learned about in class. Just said something he learned about, which I'm sure he did learn about that. So wrong... anyway, since it was so long ago, I would probably let it go too, but be keeping an eye out for other similar instances that might arise.