Can you smell that? it's fear...

Once again, I am appalled by the school system. I wonder if my parents ever had this much trouble with my school.  sheeesh...

So yesterday My eldest brings home a note from the principals, stating that the school had practised a 'General Lockdown". Here. I'm going to type it verbatim, because I feel it's necessary, so the message can be heard.

" On Wednesday, November 03, 2010, Bappity-bap School practiced a "General Lockdown" of the school.
A general lockdown means all students remain in their classroom with the door locked and the lights turned out. Students move out of sight of windows and doors. 
The general lockdown was practiced so that staff and students are prepared in the event we have to institute a lockdown procedure. The City Police were involved in this practice and gave students and staff meaningful advice on to how to conduct ourselves and make our practices better. 
We are very proud of our students who listened closely to our directions. 
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call.
Sincerely,
New principal (who's about to get ousted by PTA.)"


Soooo........

This is terrifying. Sad. There is a whole schwack of emotions still roiling down right now. I'm not sure when our school system decided that instilling fear in elementary students was the best plan for safety, and right now in my head is a picture of kindergarten students playing hide-n-go-seek, because that was the only way the teacher could get everyone's attention.  I especially like the part where they DON'T TELL US WHY THEY'RE DOING IT!!!! No reason whatsoever. What event would constitute a lockdown procedure? what? WHAT DO YOU KNOW TEACHERS????? fuck me. I don't ever remember having to do shit like this. ever.

This whole 'exercise' reminds me of the bomb raids of old , where they taught school children, not to mention everyone else, to hide under their desks with their hands over their ears. You know, I used to volunteer at an elderly home, and there was one gent there that couldn't even have an alarm clock within 3 rooms of his, the p.a. system had to be unhooked in his room, you couldn't even blow a whistle. Perpetually afraid of the Bomb sirens. He probably died afraid.

My point being is how dare they instill fear in my child in a place of learning? In one of the only places he's excited to go to right now, that he feels most trusting in?  And shouldn't it be my child's choice on whether or not to be afraid? the letter cleverly masks what he should be afraid of.  Shouldn't it have been a choice as to whether or not he even participated? And why were the parents informed only after the fact? This wasn't even mentioned in the School Newsletter.

We're not backward rednecks here, and this is not an issue of Conspiracy Theory. This is  Canada, and we should not be afraid. Just let's look at it. Would anyone want to see their child doing this?

So yeah. You can bet I'm going to be asking a LOT of questions to this new Principal, and I'll go as high as I need to get answers.
Fuck.
Unacceptable.

The attack of the 50 foot PEANUT!!!!!

My son goes to what's called a 'nut-free' school. Not by my choice, it's just happens to be the public school in our area. I received a phone call message today from the principal, reminding all students, and parents of, that even though candy is still unfortunately permitted in the school, any candy containing nuts will be confiscated, and letter will go out to the parent of the child as a warning.
Well. I have a few bones that need picking with this whole "Shelter our kids from their allergies' thing.
In what way are we possibly protecting our children in a nut free school? In my opinion, everyone is just screwing these kids over. How about this- We teach them about their allergy, and how to use an epi-pen?
Cuz okay, you're catering to these kids in school, but what happens on Halloween? Or when they have a sleepover? Or when they go to a grocery store? or mall? if their allergy is so severe that they can't be breathed on with peanut butter mouth, or touch something that someone else who ate Nutella touched without becoming seriously ill, they need to be the ones prepared for it. We Can't cushion these children into believing everyone will bend to their whim, cuz they won't. And I don't see Wal-mart, or Safe-way advertising the fact that they'll be nut free anytime soon. So please people, stop punishing the rest of the world for this shite, and instead grow a little knowledge on the people forced to deal everyday with these allergies.
Now, don't get me wrong, I've a number of friends with nut allergies ranging from mild to severe, most who've tried total isolation from all things nut, or have tried exposure therapy, both with mixed results. My best friend in elementary school was so allergic to peanuts, that her mother wiped down every package that came from the grocery store, had anyone wash their hands if they were coming in the house, and since she was a nurse, had plenty of epinephrine in the fridge, since this was before epi-pens were cool. My friend would need it at least once a week, sometimes more, depending on what she was around. But My friend learned about how to help herself, refused when her mom suggested homeschooling, and played with us neighbourhood kids anyway, with her little fanny-pack filled with the tools for resuscitation if necessary. Plus she's now a nurse herself, who helps conduct an allergy clinic to teach kids what she knows.

I guess I'm just trying to say don't shelter your kids so much, or you'll end up screwing them over. And don't think that your kid is more important than everyone else's. again, they're not. Teaching our kids to think that they're special, yay what ever. But remember, that when everyone's special, special ceases to be.

Attention all you doomsdayers!!!!

Listen up!

There's new evidence saying that the Constant they used for Calculating and mapping out the Mayan Calendar is probably Wrong. See? Take that, Crazy buschwackers who refuse to let their children have friends because "The world's gonna end in 2 years anyways" (as seen in Wife Swap) Those who are fans of Science, know that the current theory isn't necessarily right, it just hasn't been disproved yet.

Mourning the loss of play for a few days...

I've Decided to Do a Nablopomo Challenge, which I haven't done in AGES, and I feel like being somewhat more productive on this blog as of late.

So on that note, I want to write about my son. He's 6 years old, and loves to play. He's a very bright boy(not just being biased), and he's very extroverted when at school. However. When he gets home, he loves to go into his imaginary world, and prefers to play by himself. He has actually turned down play dates if they are going to be near his room. I know kinda weird, but I want him to know that we can respect his privacy, and that he can learn likewise to everyone else.
My son has a rat, who is very adorable, and very loving, and has certainly turned my position on rodents living in my house. My son agreed to taking on certain responsibilities when he got the rat. Particularly the feeding, caring for, and clean up of the rat. He named it Freddie, and took on those responsibilities quite well, at the start.
But since School has started again, he's shirked on his duties, and it has become a chore in it's own right to remind him to clean up after the thing, since the animal is mostly free-range in his bedroom. (He's potty trained, but slip-ups happen every once in a while)
Last evening in particular. my hubby, fed up with the constant reminding, he gave my son an ultimatum: either he get grounded, or we throw the rat away, since obviously he was done taking care of it, wasn't he?
All sarcasm gets lost on a 6 year old, and as my son thought this was an actual decision he'd have to make, he quickly jumped in with the easy way out; he would throw the rat away, that yes, he was done with the whole thing.
Well.
I read somewhat constantly on the selfishness of 6 year olds, how self-preservation tends to rule the roost at that age, but in light of this revelation of my son, I have to admit, I was shocked.

I know he didn't understand that throwing Freddie in the garbage would mean death, couldn't make the connection to that, and probably didn't think much past how you put a toy to the side when you are done playing with it. you can always come back to it later, right?

So after a stern talking to and a slap on the butt  as part of his punishment, he is now grounded for the weekend, foregoing all sports activities, playing, and reading. He is to sit on his chair and think how he can be more compassionate, and he is to help with chores all weekend. He is only to read when reading to his little brother, and he foregos all snacks in his lunch for the rest of the week(which is technically only today, but he doesn't have to know that)

I do that for my son, so he can learn to be a better person, but sometimes I wonder if I'm doing it wrong, taking the wrong route  to his growing up.

But I'm of the mind that just having a conversation with a child isn't enough, you have to make sure they feel properly bad about their choice,  that remorse is there so that they can work to rectify their mistakes...