getting into the swing of things-
Trying to get back into the swing of school is difficult. There's all the supplies (that just keep coming) and then getting up in the mornings at 5:30 again. Trying to make sure my son takes his pill for both his ADHD and the antibiotic. Making sure DD#2 doesn't go out of the house in some outlandish outfit.
But, along with that, getting used to the time I can be alone in the house again (at least until DH comes back from his trips) and the endless opportunity to fill the hours previously filled with kids bickering and begging for something as all kids tend to do at the end of summer.
Then, too, all the other activities that start again along with school. Like the PSR classes and 4-H meetings.
My new calendar (based on the school year, not actual year) is beginning to fill with dates I must remember. I have a potential job in the middle of Sept down, always hoping my background check is done by then. The craft show in Nov. And all my art classes. We must attend the Crane Broiler festival and work the 4-H booth. I'm meeting with the leader to hand off gift certificates and get 4-H materials for my kids on Monday.
My son brought home the "freshman reading list" and I have issues.
First of all, the books are listed by author, title, Point values and reading levels. There are books listed that have a reading level of 4.1! (that's 4th grade people!) My son's level is 7.0 and above, which knocks out most of the reading list not to mention most of the adult novels in the world.
For those of you who might not know what AR reading is... It was created by a company who assigns a reading level and a point value for several books. The children take a test on a computer about the book. They are awarded with points. They have to collect a certain amount each quarter. This way, they are reading what they want to read from a vast library of titles and improving their reading while still being accountable for comprehension. Check out the books available here:
http://www.renlearn.com/store/quiz_home.asp?c=MA+52%3A22%3A21+20%2F41%2F4

Makes sense when they are little kids. At the HS level, if they can't read at a 6th grade level, they need to be in a reading program! There's a point where it doesn't matter what level the book is written on, the content is more important. Most of Steven King's novels are written too low for my son to read for example and when my BIL was writing manuals for IBM he was told to keep them at a 6th gr. Reading level. So, clearly, we are past the need for a level.
For the past two years, the kids my son's age have not taken AR tests because they found the kids cheating. Since the tests tend to be from 10-20 questions, one kid would write the answers (a,b,c,d,) and share among the others. The computers were in the library and the librarian wasn't watching them. Anyway, no AR tests. They had a list of books from the teacher that the teacher had made up a test for and that's what they read. When my son wanted to read something else, I offered to make up a test for it. The teacher was fine with it as long as he didn't have to do it. It's so much easier to keep working with the same books because the teachers don't have time to read the newer books and make new tests.
So, what's stopping them from doing that cheating again? Also, while the company might list that they have a test for a book, that doesn't mean the school does. If our middle school buys the test, the intermediate school can't use it. Each school has to buy their own copy of the test. Since our district decided to build more buildings rather than a larger one, we have 3 elementary graded buildings. (k-1,2-4,5-6) Each one of those schools have to buy their own copy of the test. Seeing that even at HS you have a reading level of 4.1 still, you can see the problem.
I had that issue when DD#1 was in 4th grade. I ended up taking her to the middle school to do tests on books she was enjoying but her school couldn't buy tests for. (The series of unfortunate events. Reading level 6.2-7.3 depending on the book) When you have a school 2-4, very few students will have a reading level that high, therefore you need to spend your money on books the majority of kids would be reading. I can't blame the librarian at all.
What I do fault is that there's no exceptions to the rules, no allowances for those out of the nor. I was able to do it just because I subbed at the MS and the librarian there overheard me talking and offered to give her the tests. Her teacher went along with it but the PRINCIPAL told me I'd have to do it when there was no instruction time going on!!!! I took her on field day. But why would I have to do that? It was their stupid rules that made it necessary anyway.
It was their reading program that set her that high and their lack of tests that made us pursue other options.
This whole thing needs to be addressed in our school system.