Wine Country Mom » teacher

Jolly Rancher Hair

WineCountry.Mom — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 19:04:13 +0000

A student tries something creative, and ends up on the teacher's Facebook page - open to all sorts of ridicule. But it's what happened next that I take issue with.

Teacher fired over Facebook photo

WineCountry.Mom — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 21:19:44 +0000

A teacher loses her job because of a complaint about photos of alcohol use on her personal Facebook page.

First Day of Kindergarten

WineCountry.Mom — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:42:25 +0000

The first day of kindergarten is a really scary time - for you and your kindergartener. But it's all going to be ok. (read the article...)

Stripping schools of their sports

WineCountry.Mom — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:04:31 +0000

Imagine, if you will. Colleges send their scouts out to all the different high schools looking for their next Tim Lincecum or Zack Greinke. They sit in the stands at numerous games, taking notes and writing down names for those ballplayers they wish to extend invitations to for the next season’s college teams. Several students will receive scholarships to guarantee their entrance to their college. And a select few of those star ballplayers will go even farther and be drafted to a major league baseball team.

These scouts will not be attending any Santa Rosa high school games. (more...)

Education – Who’s in charge here?

WineCountry.Mom — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:22:27 +0000

Over the past several months, I have written several articles on kids in school, mainly because of the troubles I’ve been having with the Taz – a bright kid who has a hard time not being a distraction in class or staying focused on the lessons he is being taught. Mark Alton, a teacher at [...]

Raising the Ambitious Child

WineCountry.Mom — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:52:24 +0000

Ambition. It’s what the goal of the week is for my son, instructed by his teacher at yesterday’s conference. Really, it’s the goal for the whole year. Ambition to do his work neatly and with care. Ambition to pay attention during class. Ambition to show he is there to learn by staying near the front of the class anytime the teacher has something to show the class to give them more insight into what they are learning about. This week, ambition is the focus as we enter the second half of the year, eventually saying goodbye to 3rd grade as he enters the higher grades at a different school. It’s ambition to change the negative habits of yesterday and create positive habits for tomorrow. (more...)

Parents, the First Line of Defense

WineCountry.Mom — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 21:40:40 +0000

Teachers have one of the hardest jobs in the world. As a parent, I am handling the issues of my two children, and there are times when I am so frustrated I want to throw my hands up in the air. I couldn't imagine the frustrations of a teacher who has a classroom full of children that they are trying to teach when they have students, like my own son, who are easily distracted, and who easily distract others. On top of that, the limitations that the state is imposing on schools are making the classroom a much harder place to maintain a proper learning environment. A teacher's job is not easy at all! (Read more...)

Never, Never Land

WineCountry.Mom — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:30:59 +0000

There’s a moment in Peter Pan, the one created in 2003, when Peter and Wendy are standing on the threshold of her nursery.

“Forget them, Wendy,” he whispers in her ear. “Forget them all. Leave the nursery, and you’ll never have to deal with grown up things forever.”

She smiles at him, wistfully. Downstairs, her parents are bounding the steps, racing upstairs after a panicked Nana alerted them that something was wrong.

“Forever,” she said with her small smile, “is an awfully long time.” (Read more...)

P/T Conferences (aka When You Find the Truth Out About Your Little Angel)

WineCountry.Mom — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:55:18 +0000

Parent-teacher conferences are coming up. Our school has a new process where we now have the option of scheduling our own times. This is so incredibly convenient! I was able to schedule them right on top of each other, counting on the hope that I can leave one a few minutes early so I can [...]

Getting Back into the School Routine

WineCountry.Mom — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 14:20:33 +0000

It’s the time of year when kids cringe and parents jump for joy. Gone are the days of going to bed late and waking up around noon. No more video games for 4 hours straight, knocking on friends’ doors all day long to see if they can play, and seeing if it actually is possible [...]