Back At It

The time between June and September is feeling less and less like summer vacation and more and more like months spent in CPS remission. I'm shot and I've only been back at this for what, six weeks?  We've all got the homework battles going on at home, at least I think we do.  If you have one of those kids who willingly sings out "I love homework" please don't share that with your fellow parents. Much like saying, "I have a great metabolism", it’s just cruel gloating. Although you never read about it, I’m pretty sure the Chinese government is probably very good at informing its citizens of Multiple Homework Hell as a way to get them to embrace the one child law.

With the return of CPS in my life comes the return of Trailblazers math books in my home. From an actual third grade math homework assignment:  “How many corners does your kitchen table have?  How do you know that?" This is more than just an inane question from a math textbook. This is also a Trailblazer grenade once again going off in my living room. "Mom, I don’t get this! How do I know our table has four corners?  I know because I can see them right?  Is that what this means? Is this math mom, seeing corners of tables? I don’t get it and WHY ARE YOU HELPING HIM WHEN MY HOMEWORK IS HARDER?"  "Um, well, you know the table has four corners because of the angles…because, well you counted them..ugh just put down you are wearing your glasses and can see the corners."  Trailblazers is full of these "how do you know" questions.  "How do you know six times seven is forty-two?"  That's not an exaggeration.  That's in the book. How does a kid know a simple math fact?  I don't get it either, maybe because they memorized it? Last night I was trying to help my son with long division and he told me he was supposed to use the "forgiveness" method and did I know the "forgiveness" method of solving long division?  Forgiveness method? Forgive what? No honey I don't.  I guess for all these years I've been doing the eye for an eye method. So I ask my husband,"Hey, did you ever learn the forgiveness method of doing long division?"  My husband responded without hesitation.  "Forgiveness? No. I learned the take no prisoners method, but then I went to Catholic schools." Boom!  Another Trailblazers grenade detonating in my home. Like politicians with interns, I don't really care if CPS is in bed with a big publisher until I discover that the dalliance impacts my kids and requires them to answer college level theory questions and doing math with spiritual overtones, when simple rote memorization of multiplication tables would be time better spent. It was with the "how do you know a table has four corners?” question that made me face the undeniable truth.  My three-month remission was over.  My CPS had returned. 



You don’t need a “case of CPS” to battle homework, or new teachers, or new school policies.  Those skirmishes pop up in every school district. However, for those of us with kids in a Chicago Public School, a new CPS battleground surfaced this fall.  Yep.  That longer day thing. I'm still dealing with tenacious BIC remnants and now this?   My personal feeling regarding the longer day is, my kids, at least my older two, could benefit from being in school a little longer.   My youngest will be starting kindergarten next fall and again, my personal feeling is, I think a 7.5 hour day will be too long for her.  Actually when it came to kindergarten, the 5.5 hour was too long for my middle child.  She cried every single day at drop off until winter break...of first grade.  I had MANY people tell me it was separation anxiety.  Hah!  You don't know my daughter.  I've been cramping her style since she was three years old.  One of her first sentences was "Could you just GO!"  Her issue was sucking it up and being a "good" kid for five hours.  She did it, every day, but the thought of it every day was daunting for her and she would sob and cling to me and say "Take me home".  When I did pick her up at 2:45 she would pretty much make the next couple of hours a living hell for me, her brother and her sister, as she would decompress by doing her impersonation of a Tasmanian devil. My husband would be spared this daily decompression/meltdown using his excuse of holding down a full time job, which conveniently prevented him from getting home for several hours.  By the time he did get home, the house and the rest of us would look like the aftermath of Gettysburg, but my daughter would be kind and loving once again and meet her dad with hugs and kisses.  I'd get the "she seems fine to me" look from my husband as he’d swing our daughter up in the air and she’d happily recount all the things she had done in school that day. I'd turn away and look around at the devastation that had been wrought over the past couple of hours and start tending to the wounded. 

This post school meltdown scenario, which played out over and over again for a year and a half is what is on my mind as my youngest approaches the promised 7.5 hour day.  Like I said, my older two, I think, will handle a few more hours of school. They will survive. However, as I have often said with regards to CPS, there is a difference between surviving and thriving.  No doubt most kids will survive a longer school day.  It is whether or not they thrive while living through it that concerns me. Based on my experience with my one child, I’m rolling emotional bandages now in preparation for my would be kindergartener.



I'm not a fan of the day going 7.5, but that's me.  At a recent LSC meeting I said, "If my kids are going to be in school almost 40 hours a week, they should be getting a benefits package along with it." However, if you talk to a dozen different CPS parents, you'll get a dozen different reasons as to why or why not parents want 5.5, 6.0. 6.5, 7.0, or 7.5 hour school day for their kids. This isn’t surprising.  All of our kids have different needs and learning styles.  While the length of the day can and has been debated, what concerns me, and most parents, more is what is going to be going on during that school day.  Does any parent really want a longer day if the added hours are uninspired, or worse, ineffective?  Braveheart and The Right Stuff and Schindler’s List were all very long movies, and lots of people saw them and liked them. Not just because they were long, but also because they were good.  The actors were good, the plots were good, and the direction was good. Yes they were longer than most movies, but length had nothing to do with their success. They were inspiring, engaging movies and so got rave reviews and people flocked to see them.  I'm pretty sure no one said, "Hey, lets go see Braveheart.  I hear it's really, really long and long movies are always the best ones."  It was not the length that made it great, it was the content.  I'm not saying I want Mel Gibson, or Steven Spielberg to craft the Chicago Public school day...although it might be kind of interesting...I am saying whatever length the day is, it should provide kids with intriguing and engaging lessons.  The day should end with the lights coming on and spontaneous applause from the kids and a sense of "it's over already?" and "I hope there is a sequel”.  Not, "I can't believe I wasted 7.5 hours of my life on that drivel" or worse "when is this ever going to end, my butt is killing me."



So, while I know my CPS will once again go into remission this summer, I also know full well that it will come back in the Fall of 2012 longer than ever before. I’ll be facing more “how do you know multiplication actually multiples” type questions from two kids and the real threat of daily decompression episodes (otherwise known as meltdowns) from my youngest. Since there are dozens of people insisting on the CPS day being longer…which, don’t forget, I am not opposed to as long as it is more like The Right Stuff and less like Battlefield Earth…it would be comforting to know that somewhere, some team of experts are examining the current CPS under a microscope and working around the clock to come up with a new way to “treat” education in this city. Maybe we need to make little loopy ribbons for all of us to wear and stick on our cars symbolizing “Public Education Awareness”.  I see the Bears have been sporting pink accessories all October.  Maybe they could punch up their wardrobe with CPS colors throughout November to show their support of public education?  Just a thought.