So we have a African American President. I must say that I'm more surprised than I thought. But honestly, I think that most people went about their voting color-blind, voting their political beliefs, and then we all blinked and it turned out that we'd elected a symbol. Hard to believe that 40-50 years ago it was difficult for African Americans to even vote, isn't it? Having Obama as the president-elect makes me hopeful in many ways, perhaps the least of which is the obvious economic/political way. But there is also some fear... he's so young and inexperienced to be president. And I hope that the color of his skin doesn't make him a more popular target for the looneys out there. His children are really cute.
And that's all I have to say about that.
Daddy Mushroom and I decided to send the oldest to public school this year. Big mistake, I think. He's bored, he's not learning basically anything, and to top it off, he gets in trouble for talking when he's not supposed too. I think that comes from the stricter 'discipline' of a traditional classroom when what he's used to is the looser Montessori classroom. I'm so angry with the school system, his teacher, the school guidance counselor. He's ready for multiplication, he gets single-digit addition. He's ready for chapter books, he gets 'See Jane Run' . Dad and I have done more to advance his knowledge than his teacher has. We've talked to his teacher, emailed his teacher... nothing. Of course she has 25 other 6 year-olds who can barely read, write, or add to worry about, and I didn't expect much there; she's over-worked as it is. So I asked the guidance counselor to suggest our course of action. We talked once on the phone about 3 weeks ago, and the only thing we got was an 'advanced reader' folder with one extra book a week for us to 'help' him read (he doesn't need help, it's still too easy). I'm about to explode. It's not that I'm saying that K is a genius. He's just about a full grade level above what he's being asked to do, and I want him to be challenged, not bored and depressed. But no one seems to care. He's above level, which means that he won't count against them at testing time... and I guess that's all that matters. It's utterly ridiculous that to get a decent education in this state you have to spend $15,000 a year to send your child to private school, and that is pretty much the only option. Which means $45,000 for all three mushroom babies... and there goes pretty much my whole salary. sigh.
