It was a pleasure to meet with his teachers as they all had positive things to say (you hear that public school? Yes, they had POSITIVE things to say about Charlie Schiess! Put that in your pipe and smoke it why don't you!) And while you're at it, run your fingers through the flame and ...
But I digress.
The one repetitive commentary we heard time and again was "he is an extremely bright young man." Why, yes he is! I knew that! I did! But we still have a lot more work to do to remove the programming he received the past two years where it was instilled in him that he was not worthy of the air in the room to breathe.
If you do nothing for your children but remove them from the public school system, you will have done more than you can imagine! It seems harsh and it would seem that I might just be a little over the top, but I truly believe that I have a pretty good grasp on the detrimental effects of a culture steeped in negativity -- a focus on what has been done wrong versus cultivating strong work ethics within the minds of children -- and I had three guinea pigs that I offered up to the great experiment that is our failed public school systems.
Three different learners -- all who suffered. Of course there are schools where there are good teachers. But even a good teacher will eventually get beaten down by the stupidity, negativity and overall general apathy that they deal with on a daily basis. Who wouldn't?
The last time I met with teachers on behalf of Charlie, they sat at a conference table and told me how horrible my son was. Only two of them had some positive feedback; but one was the art teacher and the other the home economics teacher -- both classes where it was more hands-on. Did the other teachers realize that perhaps Charlie's learning style might not fit into their cookie-cutter approach? Well, they didn't care! They didn't have time to care. They dealt with the situation at face-value and boy, did they let us know how horrible the kid was.
So now, thousands upon thousands (upon thousands) of dollars later; I met with all of Charlie's teachers and they all had positive things to say. ALL of them. Here is a pure case of "you get what you pay for!" And how! Despite his rotten middle school experience and a seemingly all-school attempt to thwart him from getting into a school -- he did and he is thriving!
Open minds and hearts -- that's really all it takes. Then the rest just follows.
So now I have to let it all go. Forever. The past is the past and while it would be fun to bash those people into the ground (and truly, it would, I won't lie) I can take repeated deep breaths and know that my gut is always right.
Always.
Since everything happens for a reason, I keep trying to figure out exactly what the lesson has been in all of this. I didn't need to learn that the public school system was broken ... maybe it was just about having faith in myself and Charlie. Or keeping that in perspective: That while others might believe the opinion of others, there is never any reason that that opinion should become fact. Ever.
And to trust the sequence of events -- not try to control it. Charlie ended up at the school that he was supposed to, even if it didn't feel like it at the time. Both the ski coach and the theatre director want him next term; the former because he is anxious to have an Eastern skier on his team and the latter because he is thrilled to have someone with such a beautiful singing voice on his cast.
These are good "problems" to have, and while it is going to be very challenging for Charlie to take on both while at the same time upping his academic contributions to meet his potential, I have no doubt of his capability.
How exciting it is to be tapping into his endless source of talents and skills instead of constantly showcasing his shortcomings.
Life is, indeed, very good.
Happy Birthday Charlie! May your 14th year be the beginning of a very successful academic career.
2 comments:
The public school system here in NC is terrific so they aren't ALL bad. The public school system I went to in Connecticut before moving to NH was terrific,too. Kearsarge wasn't too bad, either, if not way to easy.
Your situation was horrific, no doubt. I'm glad Charlie is finally being treated well.
No, of course they're not all bad; I just have no experience with any good ones! And I hear a lot of stories from people in many other school systems -- both good and bad of course, but a lot that corroborates my own experiences. My oldest daughter went skipping off to first grade with the biggest smile on her face and returned that afternoon very unhappy. At Kearsarge it started with her, first day, first grade. It's been a loooooooooooooooooong haul.
But it is O V E R!
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