School woes

We moved the kids to a new school this year. I was super excited for this school, it had a STEM focus curriculum. That stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. What an awesome focus for a couple of boys who love stuff like that.

Here they are on their first day of school:  

 It was bright out. But, we've also reached the age where smiling is NOT cool. And gym shorts are. Every. Single. Day. I just roll with it.

 This kid was so excited to be the "New Kid" because "everybody loves the new kid"

They were scared to death and so brave. I was so proud of them.

I originally heard about this school about a year ago, and toyed with the idea of switching the boys there just because of the STEM program. They work with the nearby community college, they do major science type projects, I could just picture all the awesome learning that must be going on there!  So,when we moved into our current neighborhood and that was the school they were assigned to, I was totally stoked! I requested that they be put in the STEM program and they happily obliged.   That's when the fun started...

At teacher orientation this RUDE parent walks in and butts into my personal conversation I was having with the teacher.  This particular teacher was new, and the parent wanted assurance that her daughter would not fall behind and that they would still be doing 7th grade work. SAY WHAT?? This is 6th grade, and my son has not yet learned 6th grade things. Like math. How does one just skip a whole year of math?  One doesn't. One is very very confused when this happens.  Then we go to meet the 3rd grade teacher. We address our new concerns with her. Will he be learning 4th grade math?  Yes, turns out he will. Turns out, STEM is a highly advanced class, that you typically have to test into. SAY WHAT??

Basically, I just threw my boys into a pool of sharks, tossed in a fresh, juicy raw steak and said "Have a nice day!"

We tried, we tried really hard for 6 weeks. Then the boys brought home progress reports. C's, D's, and even an F.  I knew they were both having a rough go of it. But the progress reports shocked me. What was worse was that they were a total shock to me. Not a single teacher had reached out and said, Hey you, Your kids are drowning here! Not a single one. Not once had I received any kind of "This is what we're working on" notes or emails (that's what the old school did). They never had homework, so I never even knew what they were learning. To say we were frustrated was an understatement.

I marched my butt over to the old school and was prepared to beg for my boys spots back, turns out, no begging was required and they said they could start tomorrow.  I took two happy boys to school today. Happy to see old friends, happy to talk to teachers who are willing to work with me. Happy. They are HAPPY for the first time in 6 weeks.

Several times over the last 6 weeks, I've asked myself what am I supposed to learn here?  Today, I thought of a story told my (I believe) Elder Holland. He tells of a trip with his son, where they came to a fork in the road and didn't know which road to take. They prayed and both felt strongly to take the path on the left. After just a few minutes, they came to a clear dead end. They turned around and instead went down the right path. His son asked him, why would the Lord clearly tell us to go down the wrong path?  After some thought, Elder Holland said that he thought the Lord sent them down the wrong path first so that they knew for certain that the right path was in fact the RIGHT path. If I would have kept them at the old school, I would have always been wondering what they could miss out on at this fancy, science-y, school. I would have always wondered what potential they were missing out on. But instead, I now know that they are in the right place, and any doubts I would have ever felt, will now be replaced with assurances.

My boys have not missed an opportunity to tell me that I should have listened to them from the beginning. Being the very mature parent that I am, I stick my tongue out at them and kindly tell them to shut it.