<p>I hope you don’t mind if I vent a little! Feeling rather frustrated here, we’ve had a teacher’s ‘job action’ since September. So far it hasn’t had much impact on DS, a senior, because the teachers are preparing report cards for all grade 12’s, DD, a junior is a different matter. The provincial government here was voted in at least in part because they promised austerity, which at the time of election at least was popular. However, when the teacher’s contract came up they asked for some substantial wage increases, this given their election platform the gov’t shot down. Hence the job action! It has resulted in no report cards for public school students unless they are in grade 12, few if any field trips, some missed school due to a strike and so on. I don’t agree with either side: the teachers need at least a cost of living increase but probably not all they’ve asked for! What I really hate, though, are the ads both sides put on tv where they claim that it’s all about the students best interests! What garbage! The government has consistently reduced the amount spent on education (DS would have received at least $4,000 in scholarships if he’d graduated last year from provincial programs - we have no idea what he’ll actually get now). The teachers claim that the job action is to reduce class size, but the most of their demands are in fact related to wage increases, increased paid days off, and other benefits. Both sides at various times have turned down 3rd party arbitration.
DD has had to try and track down first semester teachers to find out what her mark is after final exams. She’s trying to put together some kind of transcript to send to interested coaches. Currently the only grade 11 course showing on her transcript is the Chemistry 11 she took over the summer. The GC, however, has been very helpful and has promised her some sort of statement signed by the principal if there are still no report cards by the end of the year.
The teachers, over spring break have been legislated back to work, but are promising all sorts of further upheaval, including not leading EC’s outside of class time. This will hurt some sports but as they’ve never shown up at DD & DS’s team matches let alone practices it won’t hurt them. On the other hand they are also talking about disrupting Grad events by withdrawing services - I hope for DS’s sake that us parents can fill in!I am really hoping that this can all be resolved soon for the sake of the kids in public schools in the province.
Thanks for listening!</p>
<p>One last gasp! I have often wondered how many teachers voted for the current government! You can’t eat your cake and keep it too!</p>
<p>Prom- My D enjoyed all of the preparation & planning & went without a date. She had a wonderful time and danced the whole night with different boys. Now there is much sharing of photos on facebook & texting about the great time had by all.
Onward- I’m glad it is over because she has AP tests & spring musical & solo & ensemble festival & several out of town trips for performances. I can’t imagine what next year will be like!</p>
<p>Just checking in-it has been awhile. D’13 and I are off on a SB College tour on Wed. Our first stop is TAMUG, we will then spend the weekend in Lawton, OK so that she can spend time with a friend in the Army. They have been friends for awhile, we also went last month to his AIT graduation, she really likes him and he is so protective of her but says “I Love you… but like a sister” His mom said to me that kind of love can get you sent to jail, lol. We think that he worries about the impact of his upcoming deployment on my D-both parents agree when the time is right they will be a couple. After the weekend there we will visit Rhodes, U Alabama and U South Carolina. So far D has not fallen in love with anyone school, except maybe Duke but she realizes that is a Lottery, and I am not sure she will- she is just way too logical so my goal is that she at least comes away with I could see myself there attitude or nope I hate it!</p>
<p>Prom - here is a Jr/Sr prom. D went last yr with her Sr BF, this yr she is going but we just aren’t sure with who, she wants her Army friend to take her but he is negative leave and what she does not know is he is trying to get a pass to surprise her- which leaves me in a pickle because she talked about going with a friend who graduated last yr as a last resort. Not sure how this will play out.</p>
<p>No prom for D2 this year; she has no interest and is mildly amused/annoyed at the drama & shenanigans surrounding it. She <em>may</em> go next year, but it isn’t at the top of her list of things to do. She was much more stoked about going to see the Hunger Games in costume ;)</p>
<p>Longsx3: have a great trip! I love Rhodes! Beautiful campus; our HS usually sends a few of the top 20 kids there, last year our Valedictorian went. I wish D2 would consider looking at it; I’m trying to bribe her with a combo trip to Graceland. And D1 is at U of Alabama; she’s still very happy with her decision.</p>
<p>We are getting ready for our big college visit trip at the end of the week. I’ve booked 6 hotel rooms and 2 rental cars in the past 24 hours. Also figured out everything I need to know about the Secaucus Junction train station. The itinerary is very precise. </p>
<p>I think D2 has fallen in love with a school (Oberlin) and I wish she hadn’t. We’ve been very blunt about finances so she knows the realities, and the acceptance rate is only 31%. She falls in the high end of their 75%, but we all know the realities of selective school admissions. I hope she’s not disappointed when we visit (but I don’t think she will be; it truly sounds like the perfect school for her.)</p>
<p>fredricksdottir: so sorry about the frustration and the teacher work issues. I remember years ago in NJ (where the teacher’s union is fairly strong) that the teachers in one district weren’t writing college recommendations due to a contract impasse and I felt so bad for the students caught in the middle. Here in TN we don’t have to worry about that; the teachers union isn’t a big player and frankly, at least in our district, the teachers wouldn’t do that to the kids. Hope it works out quickly for you before next year.</p>
<p>Thanks, RobD, the teacher’s strike is just so fraught with emotion here, it’s much safer to vent on CC.
What was your D’s costume for “Hunger Games”? Both D and S went with some friends Friday night and really enjoyed it.
When do you plan to visit Oberlin?</p>
<p>To the parents who have posted on this board for years now, please accept my thanks for sharing your hard-earned wisdom, numerous insights, and personal stories. I’ve been reading this thread since Dec 2011 (in my spare time, which is sparse) and it took until yesterday for me to ‘catch up’ to present day from the first post by Rob D! (And Rob, you are one of my favorites & I know that you’re a mom, too!!) My DS1 is HS Class 2015, so he (+DH & I) will be better prepared for the HS/college process thanks to this particular thread + CC, in general. I will keep lurking & learning from you all - with gratitude. And best of luck to your DDs and DSs. I’m rooting for them all!</p>
<p>fredricksdottir: isn’t CC the best place to vent 
As for the Hunger Games, if I’m understanding D2 correctly, they didn’t dress as characters from the book, but rather as representations of some of the districts (I haven’t read the books yet so I’ve been smiling, nodding and pretending to understand.) And Oberlin is next week, towards the end of the trip.</p>
<p>GoAskDad: aw, you’re so sweet! I’m glad the thread is helpful. I don’t know how I’d have been able to help the D’s without CC; well, actually I do. We would have missed a number of opportunities, and wouldn’t have asked the right questions. Best of luck to your S!</p>
<p>So because of the trip planning this weekend & the general ramp up of college chatter among D2’s buddies & their parents with spring break touring coming up, my brain is on college overload. My thought process last night went something like this:</p>
<p>oh it’s going to be chilly in the northeast; that’s good, she forgot how she hates the cold. Suppose she crosses all the schools off her list? suppose she doesn’t cross off any? This trip is crazy; am I nuts? Don’t be silly; it’ll be fun. OMG, Oberlin is perfect. Hope she likes it. Oh gosh, what if she likes it too much? Suppose she doesn’t get in? Suppose we can’t make the money work? Well, we’ve been upfront about cost. Can I sell a kidney? Why did I schedule UPitt after Oberlin; she’ll never like it after that. Wonder where we can eat in Providence. Ooh, Primanti’s is in Pittsburgh. </p>
<p>Yeah. I need to back off the caffeine.</p>
<p>RobD, I knew I was a bit “off” when I started thinking that I should’ve had S take the March SAT instead of the May one so that we could be done with testing. Because really, the 7 months between May and Dec 31st are not nearly enough time to prepare. The 2 years I’ve already spent researching mean absolutely nothing until those final scores are in. lmao</p>
<p>Jazzi, it depends on the school. We have a combined Jr Sr prom and short dresses prevail. No creative ways of asking. From what I can tell, it doesnt appear to be a very romantic thing.</p>
<p>RobD laughing here about Hunger Games. I drove D and her friends home from a Sunday showing where they were rauciously debating which of them would survive their own hunger games. (It was decided that my D would be one of the first to go since she can be quite distracted). I asked, don’t you have a prom to obsess over instead of this? To which they all laughed.</p>
<p>I asked my D about costumes for Hunger Games and she suggested that RobD’s D2 and her friends may have dressed to represent the main products of some of the districts - fishing, coal, fabrics, and so on. Isn’t it amazing that they have so much trouble remembering this sort of thing when they are taking Social Studies and yet she could list off districts and their associated products off the top of her head this morning!</p>
<p>^^^Yes! That sounds familiar! Is there a fishing district, lumber district & luxury district?</p>
<p>BTW, don’t read the 2012 & results threads. That’s going to be us next year, and it’s stressing me out…</p>
<p>@RobD, yes, she listed off quite a few, with the locations (?) of the districts, eg., Northeast, etc. 
The 2012 & results threads can be pretty stressful. I’m glad I didn’t discover them until after DS12 got his acceptances, but I think that the community is also really supportive. In a year while we may experience some of the panic, frustration and worry that they are going through I look forward to the camaraderie.</p>
<p>Even though I have been through it twice, and KNOW that everything works out in the end, the 2012 thread still is scary to me. My boss at work has a daughter graduating this year. It is his oldest and she is a great girl, but she has gotten a few rejections and wait-lists at schools he thought she would be admitted to. I think the thing I realized, after going through it the first two times, is that there are a lot of great, qualified kids out there.</p>
<p>I think saying “don’t look at the 2012 results threads” is like saying “don’t think about elephants” - it only made me want to do it.</p>
<p>^^^LOL. I think the thing that’s really bothering me is that I remember when my nephew was graduating HS (2009) there was all this chatter about how that was the largest graduating class in a long time, and how that was causing such a bad admissions year; but not to worry, that student # would be going down. I figured by the time D2 got there, things would loosen up a little bit. Reading some of these decision threads is making me wonder if things ever will get relatively “easier.” You’ve got more international students applying, kids applying to more schools due to the Common App, etc. Oy vey.</p>
<p>I was thinking the same thing RobD. It’s a vicious cycle. Now us 13s are going to react to the craziness by thinking our kids will need to apply to even more schools next year which will lead to even more unpredictable results. ~sigh~</p>
<p>Ignorance is bliss. :D</p>
<p>I agree that ignorance is bliss, but if you are ignorant and assume that your incredibly fabulous kid will be accepted everywhere, your wake-up call next March could be mighty painful. I think hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst is a good strategy.</p>
<p>“Oy vey” is right. I was thinking of posting something similar to RobD, but she beat me to it. I started checking the 2012 thread to see what it might be like for us next year (this is my first time through it), but now their stress is rubbing off on me. It’s like watching a scary movie - I cover my eyes, but peak.</p>