My refugee isnt doing too well in middle school.
I think he's failing just about everything but in truth the report card is so convoluted and confusing I really cant tell what his grades are. I'll just say it doesn't use A,B,C ect. He tells me he doesn't like or care about school, that he doesn't want to go to university and he is going to drop out and be a hockey coach. I'm honestly not sure what to tell him. I think the university system is a predator feasting and maintaining the cycle of debt so I cant really say I care if his grades arnt stellar. The value of education differs from person to person and in his case, hes a smart kid whos seen alot and I dont see a huge benefit. My goals for school for him would be social - to learn English and make friends. However the school has him in a semi private class of all Spanish speakers and I'm not sure how much English is actually being taught. He certainly hasnt improved like his brother has who is in a regular classroom. Its my feeling that the only way to learn a language is to be forced to use it and with this group of kids he doesn't have to. When I've asked about the school to the other parents I've met they all seem to agree "school" is not the best use of their kids time and they are happy with their kids just passing. I think thats a good philosophy to have about school these days for the nonspecialist child. But if the parents are setting the bar at "just passing", and the government is setting the money a school gets based on improvement I think we have a problem.
I think he's failing just about everything but in truth the report card is so convoluted and confusing I really cant tell what his grades are. I'll just say it doesn't use A,B,C ect. He tells me he doesn't like or care about school, that he doesn't want to go to university and he is going to drop out and be a hockey coach. I'm honestly not sure what to tell him. I think the university system is a predator feasting and maintaining the cycle of debt so I cant really say I care if his grades arnt stellar. The value of education differs from person to person and in his case, hes a smart kid whos seen alot and I dont see a huge benefit. My goals for school for him would be social - to learn English and make friends. However the school has him in a semi private class of all Spanish speakers and I'm not sure how much English is actually being taught. He certainly hasnt improved like his brother has who is in a regular classroom. Its my feeling that the only way to learn a language is to be forced to use it and with this group of kids he doesn't have to. When I've asked about the school to the other parents I've met they all seem to agree "school" is not the best use of their kids time and they are happy with their kids just passing. I think thats a good philosophy to have about school these days for the nonspecialist child. But if the parents are setting the bar at "just passing", and the government is setting the money a school gets based on improvement I think we have a problem.
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