Clear the streets - Kathy had to drive!

What a bunch of buttheads. I had no problem going to guidance when I was in
school. No one else was going to do it for me and I made sure I got the
classes I wanted. I went up the food chain myself when they didn't budge.
They just couldn't believe a high school student would do such a thing.
Manda needs to be more aggressive with her dealings with them. They are
only people and if they step out of line I'm sure Manda knows who to call.
Oh, and they can so do the paperwork for her to take extra classes. If they
don't I'm getting on a plane and kicking someone's butt Texas style.

I hate that you had to park so far away and have to get up the steps. That
really sucks.

Oh and the clutch thing I did myself for a while after selling my VW van.
It was so weird.

--
Starlia Klopman
www.klopmanstudios.com


"Kathy N-V" wrote in message
. giganews.com...
Manda got her schedule from the high school and it was really, really
whacked. It had her in all sorts of vocational ed classes (like
motor shop and food prep), didn't have her in the advanced science
and math she was supposed to take (she passed the entrance exams) and
had two hours of study periods each day, just before lunch. Huh?

I went to this high school and I had some odd scheduling problems,
but this was insane. I called the school and found out that they had
guidance available that day to fix any scheduling problems, c'mon
down. Nope, they can't do anything over the phone, and a parent must
be present. I asked if the school was handicapped accessible (since
it wasn't when I went there). A big nope on that, too. BTW, this
would be the one and only chance to fix schedules before school
started - if she didn't get there that day, she'd have to follow the
whacked schedule until she could get an appointment with guidance.

Bob was working, Grandpa was out, so that left me to drive, although
Manda eagerly volunteered to pinch hit. (Sorry. Even my pathetic
driving is better than letting a 14 yeear old take the wheel. I'm
not a bad driver, it's just that I find it exhausing, and rarely
drive any more) We started out to the driveway, and Manda suggested
that I take Bob's truck - it's an automatic, and besides, Bob has
been using my Bug as a storage facility.

We got to the high school, which apparently has seen no updating or
maintentance since I graduated in 1980. There were some kids waiting
(without parents, which I was told was a no-go), and the "fashions"
were truly nasty. One girl was wearing a tee shirt torn nearly to
her navel with no bra, shorts, and (get this) sandals and striped gym
socks with her sandals. Shin pads completed the look. Huh?

We took a number and waited our turn. When we got called, the
guidance person first said that there was nothing she could do, and
that Manda could talk to the science and math department heads after
school started. She also tried to talk Manda into taking the
vocational classes ("You never know if you're not college
material.").
Manda, being a lot nicer than I am, turned to go. I was not about to
accept this as the final word, which seemed designed to keep her from
having to do the work of changing the schedule. I politely but
firmly said that the math and science classes would be changed, and
that if Manda wanted vocational classes, that would be something we'd
decide, not just take luck of the draw on a schedule. The woman
tried to stare me down (heh - she obviously had never met me before).
Manda's schedule was changed to what it should have been in the first
place. Gee, I'm so surprised.

I'm still a little disgruntled, though. The child still has all
those study periods, and the guidance lady refused to stick an extra
class or two in there (Manda would still have at least one study
period a day, even with the extra classes). She said that "the
students are only entitled to take seven classes, and we don't have
the resources for people who want extra."

What the frank? I have a feeling that we're going to have to go
higher up the food chain. Having a kid spend more than two hours a
day doing nothing cannot be a good idea. Besides, Manda really wants
to earn her graduation credits before senior year, so once she gets
accepted to a college, she can take a reduced schedule and relax. I
mentioned Manda going to the community college next door (at our
expense) during that long break, so she could get some college
prerequisites out of the way. The guidance lady said (get this),
"Hmm. I bet there would be a lot of paperwork with that. It would
be better if she didn't do it at all." :-0

I guess I have several issues to take up in September. One of the
biggies is Manda's name. It's misspelled, and the guidance lady
tried to convince us that we don't know how to spell our own name.
Good lord. But we did get a lot done, and we got a map to the school
and the names of her teachers. She has a lot of the same teachers I
had, and the school is laid out identically to when I went there.

We got back out to the car, and I was whipped. It was only in the
mid-eighties here, but the school's handicapped parking is about two
blocks from the door (I parked in a regular spot which was much
closer), and there are about fifty steps to get in. Manda told me I
was going gray, and we decided to get home before things got scary.
She also pulled out a bottle of juice for me, and put it in the cup
holder.

We were driving the arduous trek of a half mile toward home, when a
motorcycle decided to do some creative manuevers and created a lane
between me and the cars parked at the side of the road.
Instinctively, I did something, and my purse and the bottle of juice
(closed, thankfully) went flying. Everything was safe and fine,
though and we kept heading toward home.

"What the heck did I just do?" I wondered aloud, as Manda retrieved
the bottle of juice.

Manda started laughing. "You were reaching for a gear shift. I've
been watching your foot, and you've been using the footrest as a
clutch all day."

The weasel was right. Although the truck has an automatic
transmission, I am so stuck in my ways that I was driving a manual,
sort of. We had a good laugh, and traveled the final block or two
toward home without incident.

Kathy N-V

Manda doesn't by any chance go to Austin High in El Paso, does she?

The official story is that there was a computer glitch that screwed up all
of the student schedules, but rumor has it the true story is the principal
screwed up big time.

http://kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=2215985&nav=AbBzQCvP

"Kathy N-V" wrote in message
. giganews.com...
Manda got her schedule from the high school and it was really, really
whacked. It had her in all sorts of vocational ed classes (like
motor shop and food prep), didn't have her in the advanced science
and math she was supposed to take (she passed the entrance exams) and
had two hours of study periods each day, just before lunch. Huh?

I went to this high school and I had some odd scheduling problems,
but this was insane. I called the school and found out that they had
guidance available that day to fix any scheduling problems, c'mon
down. Nope, they can't do anything over the phone, and a parent must
be present. I asked if the school was handicapped accessible (since
it wasn't when I went there). A big nope on that, too. BTW, this
would be the one and only chance to fix schedules before school
started - if she didn't get there that day, she'd have to follow the
whacked schedule until she could get an appointment with guidance.

Bob was working, Grandpa was out, so that left me to drive, although
Manda eagerly volunteered to pinch hit. (Sorry. Even my pathetic
driving is better than letting a 14 yeear old take the wheel. I'm
not a bad driver, it's just that I find it exhausing, and rarely
drive any more) We started out to the driveway, and Manda suggested
that I take Bob's truck - it's an automatic, and besides, Bob has
been using my Bug as a storage facility.

We got to the high school, which apparently has seen no updating or
maintentance since I graduated in 1980. There were some kids waiting
(without parents, which I was told was a no-go), and the "fashions"
were truly nasty. One girl was wearing a tee shirt torn nearly to
her navel with no bra, shorts, and (get this) sandals and striped gym
socks with her sandals. Shin pads completed the look. Huh?

We took a number and waited our turn. When we got called, the
guidance person first said that there was nothing she could do, and
that Manda could talk to the science and math department heads after
school started. She also tried to talk Manda into taking the
vocational classes ("You never know if you're not college
material.").
Manda, being a lot nicer than I am, turned to go. I was not about to
accept this as the final word, which seemed designed to keep her from
having to do the work of changing the schedule. I politely but
firmly said that the math and science classes would be changed, and
that if Manda wanted vocational classes, that would be something we'd
decide, not just take luck of the draw on a schedule. The woman
tried to stare me down (heh - she obviously had never met me before).
Manda's schedule was changed to what it should have been in the first
place. Gee, I'm so surprised.

I'm still a little disgruntled, though. The child still has all
those study periods, and the guidance lady refused to stick an extra
class or two in there (Manda would still have at least one study
period a day, even with the extra classes). She said that "the
students are only entitled to take seven classes, and we don't have
the resources for people who want extra."

What the frank? I have a feeling that we're going to have to go
higher up the food chain. Having a kid spend more than two hours a
day doing nothing cannot be a good idea. Besides, Manda really wants
to earn her graduation credits before senior year, so once she gets
accepted to a college, she can take a reduced schedule and relax. I
mentioned Manda going to the community college next door (at our
expense) during that long break, so she could get some college
prerequisites out of the way. The guidance lady said (get this),
"Hmm. I bet there would be a lot of paperwork with that. It would
be better if she didn't do it at all." :-0

I guess I have several issues to take up in September. One of the
biggies is Manda's name. It's misspelled, and the guidance lady
tried to convince us that we don't know how to spell our own name.
Good lord. But we did get a lot done, and we got a map to the school
and the names of her teachers. She has a lot of the same teachers I
had, and the school is laid out identically to when I went there.

We got back out to the car, and I was whipped. It was only in the
mid-eighties here, but the school's handicapped parking is about two
blocks from the door (I parked in a regular spot which was much
closer), and there are about fifty steps to get in. Manda told me I
was going gray, and we decided to get home before things got scary.
She also pulled out a bottle of juice for me, and put it in the cup
holder.

We were driving the arduous trek of a half mile toward home, when a
motorcycle decided to do some creative manuevers and created a lane
between me and the cars parked at the side of the road.
Instinctively, I did something, and my purse and the bottle of juice
(closed, thankfully) went flying. Everything was safe and fine,
though and we kept heading toward home.

"What the heck did I just do?" I wondered aloud, as Manda retrieved
the bottle of juice.

Manda started laughing. "You were reaching for a gear shift. I've
been watching your foot, and you've been using the footrest as a
clutch all day."

The weasel was right. Although the truck has an automatic
transmission, I am so stuck in my ways that I was driving a manual,
sort of. We had a good laugh, and traveled the final block or two
toward home without incident.

Kathy N-V

Oh Kathy.

Good luck with the school. I'm so glad that kind of stuff is behind me.
Use to drive me insane dealing with the schools.

--
Debbie (New Mexico)
Life is too short
"Kathy N-V" wrote in message
. giganews.com...
Manda got her schedule from the high school and it was really, really
whacked. It had her in all sorts of vocational ed classes (like
motor shop and food prep), didn't have her in the advanced science
and math she was supposed to take (she passed the entrance exams) and
had two hours of study periods each day, just before lunch. Huh?

I went to this high school and I had some odd scheduling problems,
but this was insane. I called the school and found out that they had
guidance available that day to fix any scheduling problems, c'mon
down. Nope, they can't do anything over the phone, and a parent must
be present. I asked if the school was handicapped accessible (since
it wasn't when I went there). A big nope on that, too. BTW, this
would be the one and only chance to fix schedules before school
started - if she didn't get there that day, she'd have to follow the
whacked schedule until she could get an appointment with guidance.

Bob was working, Grandpa was out, so that left me to drive, although
Manda eagerly volunteered to pinch hit. (Sorry. Even my pathetic
driving is better than letting a 14 yeear old take the wheel. I'm
not a bad driver, it's just that I find it exhausing, and rarely
drive any more) We started out to the driveway, and Manda suggested
that I take Bob's truck - it's an automatic, and besides, Bob has
been using my Bug as a storage facility.

We got to the high school, which apparently has seen no updating or
maintentance since I graduated in 1980. There were some kids waiting
(without parents, which I was told was a no-go), and the "fashions"
were truly nasty. One girl was wearing a tee shirt torn nearly to
her navel with no bra, shorts, and (get this) sandals and striped gym
socks with her sandals. Shin pads completed the look. Huh?

We took a number and waited our turn. When we got called, the
guidance person first said that there was nothing she could do, and
that Manda could talk to the science and math department heads after
school started. She also tried to talk Manda into taking the
vocational classes ("You never know if you're not college
material.").
Manda, being a lot nicer than I am, turned to go. I was not about to
accept this as the final word, which seemed designed to keep her from
having to do the work of changing the schedule. I politely but
firmly said that the math and science classes would be changed, and
that if Manda wanted vocational classes, that would be something we'd
decide, not just take luck of the draw on a schedule. The woman
tried to stare me down (heh - she obviously had never met me before).
Manda's schedule was changed to what it should have been in the first
place. Gee, I'm so surprised.

I'm still a little disgruntled, though. The child still has all
those study periods, and the guidance lady refused to stick an extra
class or two in there (Manda would still have at least one study
period a day, even with the extra classes). She said that "the
students are only entitled to take seven classes, and we don't have
the resources for people who want extra."

What the frank? I have a feeling that we're going to have to go
higher up the food chain. Having a kid spend more than two hours a
day doing nothing cannot be a good idea. Besides, Manda really wants
to earn her graduation credits before senior year, so once she gets
accepted to a college, she can take a reduced schedule and relax. I
mentioned Manda going to the community college next door (at our
expense) during that long break, so she could get some college
prerequisites out of the way. The guidance lady said (get this),
"Hmm. I bet there would be a lot of paperwork with that. It would
be better if she didn't do it at all." :-0

I guess I have several issues to take up in September. One of the
biggies is Manda's name. It's misspelled, and the guidance lady
tried to convince us that we don't know how to spell our own name.
Good lord. But we did get a lot done, and we got a map to the school
and the names of her teachers. She has a lot of the same teachers I
had, and the school is laid out identically to when I went there.

We got back out to the car, and I was whipped. It was only in the
mid-eighties here, but the school's handicapped parking is about two
blocks from the door (I parked in a regular spot which was much
closer), and there are about fifty steps to get in. Manda told me I
was going gray, and we decided to get home before things got scary.
She also pulled out a bottle of juice for me, and put it in the cup
holder.

We were driving the arduous trek of a half mile toward home, when a
motorcycle decided to do some creative manuevers and created a lane
between me and the cars parked at the side of the road.
Instinctively, I did something, and my purse and the bottle of juice
(closed, thankfully) went flying. Everything was safe and fine,
though and we kept heading toward home.

"What the heck did I just do?" I wondered aloud, as Manda retrieved
the bottle of juice.

Manda started laughing. "You were reaching for a gear shift. I've
been watching your foot, and you've been using the footrest as a
clutch all day."

The weasel was right. Although the truck has an automatic
transmission, I am so stuck in my ways that I was driving a manual,
sort of. We had a good laugh, and traveled the final block or two
toward home without incident.

Kathy N-V

Oh good grief!!!! I can't believe schools (and their "guidance" people) do
stuff like this. I'm counting myself and DD very lucky. We're in our 3rd
week of classes and things are settling in pretty well.

Out here, kids aren't allowed study periods until they're seniors
(supervision at all times, basically). DD has an A-hour class this year, so
she could fit everything in (and she still didn't get drama because it
conflicted with advanced choir). That means I get to drive her to school
every morning, at 6:40 with the sun juuuuust clearing the Superstitions (my
consolation is it will be dark in a few months instead LOL).

She's not as stressed as her best pal, though....B has the same A-hour
class, plus she's not getting lunch to fit an additional class in. That's
common, especially for the Mormon kids who go next door from some kind of
religious instruction class (called "seminar") during regular class times.
That gripes me in principle, but since my kid doesn't have to be involved,
so be it.

I'm just absolutely stunned that kids aren't "entitled" to as much
coursework as they can absorb. And the resistance to doing paperwork which
is the counselor's JOB in the first place. DD got one study hall that had to
be scheduled. It took about 15 minutes and a rundown of what was available
during that open period for her to choose something....she's taking an
internet course on web design and marketing. Handy, that. G All it took
was a few keystrokes on the counselor's PC, a hum from the printer, and she
had her new schedule.

The longer I live here the more blessed I think we are. Interestingly, the
numbers were just posted statewide for the school's standardized tests. The
results, overall, are appalling.....61% of last year's 10th grade failed the
math portion, 41%failed reading, and 38% failed writing. The tragicomic
portion is the state superintendent's pronouncement that scores would be
raised to 90% success by 2006. Somebody got into the peyote, methinks. The
good news is, DD's school is in the top 10 for math and reading, and number
14 for writing. The district, overall, is in the top 10 as well. They're
currently contemplating merging with the district south of us (which happens
to be where we're moving) and the issue will be on the ballot in November.
The southern district is somewhat weaker, especially in math, so I have
mixed feelings. I'm hoping that whatever our current district is doing so
VERY right will be contagious. Something to wait and watch for. The
redistricting will be entertaining.

KarenK