Homeschooling Next Year

Ian is excited about going to a public school next year. He'd like to play lacrosse. I don't think he knows what lacrosse is. He'd also like to learn how to box.They don't have boxing in school but he found out through the wonderful world of online research, that there is a boxing club in Bend. He found this out through the newspaper article that talked about brain damage suffered by a boxer at this boxing club and how he's still going to box. What a guy. What a stupid guy. He is also excited about the numerous skate parks in Bend.

I'm a little concerned about Ian returning to public school. This year in homeschooling not only have we caught back up after the five years of poor schooling in the public schools here, but we may have also developed some bad habits. For example, waking up when you feel like it, or racing through subjects you don't like (he may have picked up this bad habit from me). I've talked to Mike about him taking over homeschooling next year but his idea of homeschooling is to take him skiing everyday.

So Ian and I have been online looking at the different schools in Bend. Ian thinks he'd like to go to a boarding school. The bad mom in me says yippee, (not out loud) the good mom says that's not happening. He doesn't want to go to a school that has uniforms. He doesn't want to go to a school that he has to ride a bus to. Basically Ian's rules for school next year are: lacrosse, boxing, no uniforms, no bus.

I'm trying to figure out how to pick the best area to live in according to the schools and I'm doing that by going online. However, I become distracted by how "pretty" the website it, or how easy the website it to navigate around in. I look at the class offerings, which look fine. I look at pictures of the teachers online and except for the guy who has a huge white mustache whom I'm convinced is hiding a scar he incurred while in a bar in Mexico, they all look fine....well, there is also the woman who is not smiling and looks like she may also have a mustache, although hers is probably not hiding a scar.

I'm thinking of contacting teachers online and asking them. Maybe pretending I'm one of those Secret Shoppers. I could ask her/him questions like: Do you think your school is performing to the best of its abilities? Do you believe your students are completely engaged in learning? Do you think the guy running the detention room is having an affair with the teacher's aide? Do you think the woman who never eats lunch in the faculty room is an alcoholic? Do you think the principal is really that stupid?

Sometimes I think it would be much easier if I knew nothing about education (like most parents) and blithely sent my child to school everyday believing that the teachers were doing a great job. I hate being the parent who goes to school board meetings and argues with the superintendent (although maybe not as much as the superintendent hates me being there) I hate being the parent who calls the teachers and wants to know why, if parents are supposed to check online for homework, is the homework not online? I hate being the parent who meets with the principal and tells him that if  a "policy" is not in the handbook, than it's not a "policy" and no, I'm not doing this (you should have seen Ian's principal when I told him this, he's overweight and I thought he was going to have a heart-attack.)

There is some validity to the saying "Ignorance is bliss." I wish I could be that parent. But I'll probably end up in Bend going to the school board meetings, talking to the teachers and when that doesn't work, talking to the principals, etc., etc., etc. My vow when I move is to not make any waves, okay, not too many waves, okay, not as many waves as I did here.

Wish me luck.