The Suspense. It Burns.
There is very little about Alexis' grade school experience that matches mine. I went to a tiny school with just 34 kids per grade, which means everybody knew everything about everybody no matter what. Cliques were formed early, bus rides were long, and you always knew what to expect as the new year started.
Alexis, on the other hand, lives a life full of suspense. There are four classes for her grade and she doesn't find out who her teacher will be until a few days before the year starts. Once that teacher assignment is confirmed, it's a mad dash to find out who else will be in the class. There are always a few familiar faces, but there's also sure to be a new face or two.
The whole process leaves me sitting atop a fence. Half of me hates the whole thing because ZOMG JUST SEND THE STUPID TEACHER ASSIGNMENTS. I'm relatively certain there's no honorable reason they withhold them until the week before school begins. I'd bet it's so people don't have time to complain and demand a change. Which, whatever. It's not like the teacher assignment is what determines what the school supply list will be. Who needs a supply list before school starts?
Oh, people who like walking into a store where things are readily available and on sale, that's who. Last year I ended up paying $$$$$$ for a stupid binder because everybody was sold out of them except the office supply store who knew I'd pay five times what I should have.
Not that I'm bitter.
(I am. Very.)
The good news is that the supply lists get shorter as kids get older. At least that's what I'm telling myself.
Back to that fence ... while I hate that we can't know who will be in class together and what they will need in time to buy it, I am a bit jealous of that whole suspense thing. It's kind of fun watching Alexis furiously rip open that teacher assignment letter each year, which is only possible since it doesn't show up until the last minute. It's even more fun watching her take to social media to try to piece together her classmate list. There's a lot of cheering and jeering as names fall into place. It always works out no matter what, so as far as I'm concerned, it's fine.
Alexis hates it. Alexis hate it with the fire of 2462432 suns. She hates it so much that I'm gaining confidence that it's the reason she hates surprises. She used to like it when we would pile in the car and wind up somewhere fun without warning, but now she gets mad. Very mad. She wants to know all of the details as soon as possible.
So when the therapy bills start coming in when Alexis is older, remind me that it's not my fault that Alexis hates surprises. It's her school district. The school district who can't seem to figure out teacher assignments until the bell has already started to ring.
(Is this last second thing just our district? Or do other districts do it, too? I have no idea. North Dakota schools sure didn't do it.)
Monday, August 22, 2016
Reader Comments (10)
In Our school district it varies. Elementary schools get a postcard in the mail the week before school starts. Meet the Teacher night is the Thursday before school starts the following Monday.
Middle School (6th-8th grades) and high school don't get their schedules/teachers until the first day of school. This annoyed me quite a bit but I expect I will get used to it since I have no choice. Charlie was just fine with finding out at school today. Lockers are assigned tomorrow.
We also found out our next year's home room assignments on our final report card of the year. This was for elementary and high school. I went to Catholic school and for elementary school there were two classes for each grade (16 kids each class). High school we were bigger (330 total) but we still knew our schedules and home room with the final report card. In high school home room was alphabetical so I was with the D through Gs for four years.
When I was in elementary school (same school my kids go to) we found out on the last day of school. Now we get an electronic notification followed by a letter about 2 weeks before school starts. I found out yesterday. I've been told it is because of new kids coming into the school and people leaving. It is easier to make changes then let everyone know. We are a large district though so that might have more of an impact.
Middle School students don't find out their homeroom until 4pm the day before school starts. They will get their full schedule when they get to school the first day. This actually annoys me more.
We got a generic list for both kids which I have done in addition to generic additional things that were purchased cheap. I am sure next Thursday I will be driving around getting the more specific things the Middle Schooler needs or placing an Amazon order. :)
I don't know about our school district and how it will be for my kids but I learned of what class I'd be in on the first day of school in elementary school but on the last day of the previous year in junior high school, and we didn't have homeroom in high school so you picked up your schedule in the morning on Day 1 and as you went from class to class you learned who is in those classes with you (that was in Brooklyn, NY)
I'm Canadian, and I don't know if it's the same across the country, but here our kids go back to their old classrooms for a couple of days before moving to their new classroom on the Thursday or Friday. Our kids don't go back to school until the Tuesday after Labour Day as well - though our last day is usually the last Wednesday in June, so it all evens out.
I'm very jealous of all who know their teachers before the year starts :)
We will (hopefully) find out this weekend who we have as our teacher for the fall. School starts a week from Thursday. Meet the teacher is Tuesday.
I'm waiting with baited breath to find out class sizes. Because as of right now....they are supposed to be over 30 per class for fifth grade. Which is a little ridiculous (we're a school of 350 kids) to me. I don't really care which teacher we get, but I do wish it were possible to know fellow classmates; as there is a kid we DON'T want in our class.
Mine was the same as Alexis' except in elementary we found out the teacher by going to school and reading lists by the main doors. In high school we were sent a schedule and had to make our own based on required classes plus electives and we went to the school at some point in the summer (I forget how long before classes started) and spent the day trying to best everyone else in the various lines to sign up for that spot and to see it over an hour to buy your parking spot. If you were lazy and showed up later in the process your preferred schedule was screwed and no parking spot.
Beat not best. Urgh. Not sure how I got "see it" instead of sit for over an hour. My new phone makes some odd corrections though.
If it's the same district with a football field named after a Principal/Truancy Officer and auditorium named for the music teacher who taught generations, then yes, it is typical and has not changed since I went to school there.
At my kids' the class lists are not posted until 5PM the day before the first day of school which given the mad jockeying after is to slow down the mad jockeying of parents trying to manipulate what classrooms their precious snowflakes are in and what teachers they end up having.
It's all so maddening. I'm with you release the lists, let the parents of the precious snowflakes fight it out gladiator style in Joe D.'s stadium while you and I hit all the good back to school sales to fulfill our kids' class school supplies lists.
Good luck to you and Alexis!
Never underestimate the power of trying to avoid parent complaints ;) my district recently switched to having the same supply list across the DISTRICT not just school as a way to combat just this issue.