Facebook Help or Hindrance inOur Social Lives. . .

A dear friend of mine from high school teaches third grade right here in my backyard.  We had found each other on the almighty Facebook but we had not physically seen each other since high school graduation (I could tell you how long ago that was but I want bore you with dinosaur history)  That is sad. Facebook can connect us to people far and wide but we lose that physical connection to those closest to us.
My very sweet friend reached out via Facebook and asked her friends and family to adopt her third grade class and supply each child with a book and a note of encouragement for that first day of school and prayers throughout the year.   I was thrilled to sign up for that since bringing snacks and surprises for the kids is frowned upon for the Sophomore year of high school.
We decided to schedule a lunch date so that we could catch up and I could bring her some goodies for the class.  It was great to see my friend and find out how she wound up here and to tell her how I wound up here, funny thing was, they were very similar love stories. 
We laughed and cried telling each other our terrific love stories.   We have vowed to keep in touch personally and not just with Facebook.
So back to my title of this post.  Is Facebook a help or a hindrance?  I think it is a hindrance, we like a post and comment here and there and you think you are keeping up with your relationship with that friend.  I think Facebook is driving a wedge between friends and family with all of the political nonsense and all the hate that is publicized that before Facebook we would not have heard about.  I do not delete people for their posts but I might hide a post or two if it is offensive to me.  I have been deleted before and I am not really sure why this person deleted me, I am not political and I do not argue with anyone on Facebook because that is useless.  Arguing with someone on Facebook is like arguing with my Basil, there is no point.
So what do you think about Facebook, help or hindrance? 

Stay tuned, prepping this week for taking Sprat to school. . . .

Coaches and Their Responsibility. . .

Please forgive my rant this morning.   I am so sick and tired of coaches that think it is ok to put a student down in front of other students or to the student themselves.  I really wish people would grow up and act like adults instead of middle school playground bullies.  I posted earlier this year that Sprat was not going to be playing football in his senior year due mostly to the coaches and how they acted to the players.  In my dear son's words "they sucked the fun out of football."  We have always told our kids when a sport becomes more of a job than a sport and they are no longer having fun participating, it is time to move on.  Sprat made this decision on his own and has moved on to Lacrosse.  He is absolutely loving lacrosse and loves his coaches.  He comes home every night with a smile on his face and bruised from head to toe, but he is loving this sport.  I am so thankful for the men and the other students that are helping to coach this team, they are wonderful!!  
Now as for football I am beyond done and so is Sprat.  The football coach had to open the locker room the other day for the lacrosse team to get in.  This coach saw Sprat and called him by name in front of his peers and asked if he was going to sit the bench in this sport too.  I cannot tell you the restraint that it took as a mom to not go and have a prayer meeting with this two bit you know what. My son being the amazing kid that he is replied in true fashion of our family,  "that is a real knee slapper coach."  I cannot tell you how proud of my son I am because he repeatedly deals with this two bit you know what and he repeatedly proves that he is the better person and more of an adult than this two bit you know what will ever be in his wildest dreams.    Yesterday one of Sprat's teammates told him what another football coach said to him about my son.  Why is this coach talking to another student about my kid when he is not even involved in lacrosse or involved in any fashion with my son.  Can we please grow up and quit acting like children and start setting a better example for our kids.  Why would a "teacher," and I use that term very loosely, talk to anther student like that?
Now I am going to rave over the coaches that are working with this lacrosse team.  They are wonderful and they are setting a great example on how to be a man.  Again, I cannot say enough how thankful I am for these men and Lacrosse.  This sport has come at a time when my child needed someone and something to shoot for.  He said the other night that how much he is loving this sport and he even said how much he likes his coaches and how supportive they have been of him.  He has never played this sport before and with their encouragement and support and help he is doing really well.  He has also taken on the very difficult position of goalie and usually nobody wants to play goalie because you get his with balls coming at you at 90+ miles an hour.   My poor baby has the bruises to prove it, but he is very proud of everyone of his bruises.
If you are reading this and you are a coach please take what I have said to heart.  No matter what you think of a player do not, I repeat, do not talk about them to another player or anyone else for that matter unless you are raving about how good they are.  It will get back to them and their parents and their mom may not have as much restraint as I.  

A little frustrated today. . .

School seems to be going ok.  Big T has a substitute, his teacher is still employed by another county so she cannot come to her position here until that is filled.  I think that is a load of garbage.  Let them get the sub till they find a teacher.  We have had to deal with long term subs before and he does not do well with them.  He is a little boy that needs routine, when he does not get that routine he does not do well.  I am very concerned since this is his 5th grade year and this is a very important year for him.  He will go to middle school next year.  We have been assured that his teacher will be in place no later than a few weeks.  Well, that is a nice vague  answer.  I am working with him at home with his multiplication tables because I know those are going to be a big deal this year.  Please keep us in your prayers as we battle this change and lack of consideration from our school system.

It's Monday. . .

It is Monday and my kids are driving me nuts!!!  It's Monday!!!!!!  I am in count down mode for school to start, although, I am a little apprehensive this year.  This is going to be a pivotal year for both of my boys, this is Sprats' last year of middle school and Big Ts' last year of elementary school.  I hope and pray they both have a good year and that they get teachers that will be a good fit for each of them.  I am sure I will be on my knees during most of this year in prayer for my boys and their teachers.  I worry a lot about this "core curriculum" stuff.  The state does not know all they need to know about this and yet they are quick like a bunny to institute it.  I think a little more research should have been done before they dove head first into the shallow end of the pool.  Sprat took the social studies test last year and the whole test was on government and finance, they only spent a max of three days on this in school.  Now, my question is, how can you test a kids knowledge on the subject of social studies on only three days of work?  Our school systems have gone completely away from teaching our kids to using our kids as means to judge the teachers.  Our teachers are so concerned with how the kids are going to test they have forgotten about teaching for the sake of education.   Big T learned more last year about North Carolina history from his teaching assistant during her time with the kids.  I am amazed every day with the information he has retained about North Carolina history and our North Carolina lighthouses.  He was never tested on this information.
I will be praying for all of the kids this year, and their teachers.  At some point, I hope before it is too late, people will realize that it is the teachers and the teacher assistants that we need.   We do not need more suits and do nothing executives cutting the budgets of our school systems.

Common Core testing. . .

The middle school started the common core testing yesterday.  I asked my oldest how things went, he was not very happy.  This kid routinely does very well on tests.  He drives me nuts because he does not study and prepare ahead of time.  I have tried to tell him he needs to start actually opening a book and studying but he insist he knows the information.  He has done well thus far so I really cannot punish him for not studying.  I asked him why he was upset about the test.  He said it was mostly on government.  Now this is a new test for our area.  This is the first year we have used the common core curriculum and supposedly this test grade is going to go toward their end of year grade in this course.  This was his Social Studies test he took yesterday.  I have seen the work they completed in class and some of the tests they have taken this year and I have to say I do not remember seeing anything on government.  He said they spent maybe a couple of days on government.  The work I have seen has been on Africa, Asia, and their government and geography.  I guess my question is how can you hod a student accountable for information that was not taught?  I don't always believe my kids when they tell me they did or did not go over something in class because I know my kids have a selective memory.   Kids also seem to stretch the truth in their favor too.  I am just curious what others have to say about this test.  I would love to know your thoughts.