<p>Thanks, crm! Neither my S nor I use facebook or myspace, but I know that at least one student was using one or both to spread the word about various aspects of the situation.</p>
<p>S brought home completed petitions, almost 800 signatures. Too bad that I'm disqualifying some of the pages because some of the signatures are obviously fraudulent/duplicates (thanks to mostly one kid, I believe, who, get this, not only signed his OWN name numerous times, but also signed my S's! As if I don't know what my kid's sig looks like..... sheeeeeesh!!!!!). Of course that means disqualifying pages with good sigs on them, too, which is a pity. Still, a good showing!</p>
<p>crm, that's awful about the budget and staffing cuts at your high school. Pushing your kids too hard? Because they want to take marching band?! Oh, my. I know a lot of kids in band LOVE it -- that's hardly pushing the kids, to let them do something they love!</p>
<p>I've decided I need to start looking much more closely at the budget in my school system (over a billion bucks; it's a big district), and I think other parents have come to that conclusion, too. We KNOW there is wasteful spending. Let's cut that instead of teachers, I say.</p>
<p>Perhaps you might want to look more closely at your school district's budget, too, to see whether money can be found to pay for some of the things they are trying to cut.</p>
<p>lol!! Oh, NSM, if you knew this kid...! That is why I'm so pleased (and surprised) he did want he did; it's soooo against his nature. </p>
<p>He had help, too, which is good. I know he handed out blank petitions yesterday to others, and they got them filled, so it wasn't all him. Plus, someone put the file (which I'd sent out to some parents) online, and others downloaded it. AND, someone else typed up another petition, and one of those with signatures came his way, too. I faxed 24 petition pages to the district today. I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that there are still signed petitions in the school, and we'll go tomorrow to see.</p>
<p>I think that lots of people permanently get into politics and activism the same way that your S is: due to caring deeply about a cause that affects them that they feel is not being supported by the people in power. </p>
<p>Remember, too, that being involved in politics and activism doesn't mean that one has to be running for office or leading an organization. One can be a strong staff member, which often is where the real power is anyway.</p>
<p>It's fascinating and amazing to watch our kids blossom as they develop talents and interests in areas that we never thought they'd have an affinity of. That's one reason why I so enjoy mentoring teens. It's also why I was sad when my younger S turned 20 this year.</p>