We are so glad to be done. I usually try to take a hands off approach , and let my son take the responsibility , but I plan on emailing the principle regarding some of the issues my son faced this past year. There are some major issues that should at least be looked at closer including the amount of work involved, inconsistencies between assignments posted on her portal and what is written on the whiteboard in her classroom including conflicting due dates, not updating portal in a timely manner and failure to return any assignments so that students have proof of grades and turning in assignments . With other classes, when there has been errors on the portal, he has had proof to show his teacher and the error was easily corrected . Right now itās the studentās word against hers. I honestly think she doesnāt return anything so she canāt be held accountable .
Teachers and the electronic updating of stuff is a real annoyance for me too, but since we never had it when we were kids, I kind of have a āwho needs this?ā attitude. But both my kids tell me they have teachers who never mention assignments in class; theyāre only on the electronic whatever (moodle for one kid, some really broken proprietary thing for the other kid, that is just infuriating to deal with).
I just donāt know whether to believe my kids or not. Thatās sad, right? But theyāve forgotten stuff enough ā I just wonder whether theyāre not listening in class and miss the homework/test mention.
Iām also a Disney freak, @eandesmom!! Hereās the good/bad part: Iāve been countless times, because I grew up in Florida and we lived 45 minutes away. We had resident passes, I learned all about the secret places to do Bad Teenage Things, weād go for the afternoon after school, etc etcā¦ And our high school went to Grad Nite (do they even still do this?) ā they close the park at 11 pm and high schoolers from all over the state take over, and are there until 5 a.m. - concerts and other fun special stuff.
Bad part: Iāve never stayed there, because we were so close. I would love to explore that part of Disney, but thereās no way, with family nearby. Short of having a secret visit and not telling anyone!
I am so not the tech mom , but being able to look at the portal to see grades, if any assignments have been missed , etc has been extremely helpful. . Weāve caught some teacher errors using the portal. Iādāve happy if she just turned papers back. Thereās no way to know how heās doing in her class, and thatās whatās difficult.
I really dislike not getting paper work handed back to the students.
I like the portal our school uses. Unfortunately, 1/2 the teachers never update their grades until near the end of the term so you have to ask your kid what they think they are getting in the class. Sometimes what they think they are getting and what their actual grade can be way off.
Congrats @2019hope for both the awesome freshman year and the summer plans! Iād love to be you! 
@OrangeFish Thank you! Itās been so many years since I traveled ā¦ Iām so excited and nervous! My electrical converter is 20 years old! I found my old fanny pack (oy!) and it has Francs, Krone, Marcsā¦from before the EU. L-)
@2019hope have a fabulous time! D16 will be traveling in Europe for 2 weeks after graduation. Just heard today about all the flooding/rain in France. Bring some rain gear!
Iāve been able to carve out some time toward the end of summer for a family vacation before S19 begins his sophomore year and D16 moves out of for college. If only I could figure out where to go/what to do!
Hit ādoneā accidentally ā¦
D16ās tour group will be staying/visiting Euro Disney for a day because there were no hotel rooms to be found in Paris due to the Championships! We live in Los Angeles and visit Disneyland/Ca Adventure pretty often - the fact that BIL is a Disney executive has saved us loads of $$$$ over the years.
@Gatormama you should try it for a weekend even though it is in your backyard. We will do a date weekend downton at home and play tourist in our own city. It isnāt much different and some of the properties are really really lovely! A lot to be said for being able to walk back to your room from a park.
re: Portals. As a general rule I like them quite a bit, I just wish the teachers were held to an updating standard. Offical updates are every 2 weeks but they are not required to update on those days, so may or may not. Some update frequently, some hardly at all and some donāt seem to count much so you could find yourself in a horrible situation and no time to fix it as you learn either right before school gets out, or worse, after!
I agree with you on the portals issue, @eandesmom ā we had a āgrading surveyā to complete for our high school student servicesā office, and I made a note about how at least one teacher only updated the portal once in a quarter! Teachers should be required to update it more frequently than once a quarter!
No pounds?
Well, any pounds would still be a current currency!
She can spend those if she finds them.
My husband travels to England fairly frequentlyā¦but he always comes back with a few pence! Time to scour his drawers!!
I felt very guilty that we were only taking a cab through Paris from one train station to another. I guess it was a blessing in disguise!! I canāt believe the pictures of the flooding there! DD19 will have to take selfies through the cab window!!
Well, fed S an omelette and sent him off to the Bio SAT. Fingers crossed. At least I know heās focused on it. He got up and went right to his Barronās book to look over the chapter that has been the hardest for him and re-read a few pages.
Then, as my husband was walking out the door with him, he turned around and said, āWhy is he taking this test again? Does it count for anything?ā Ugh. Thanks, honey.
@homerdog DH is āsabotagingā your evil schemes!!!
@homerdog The same here. DH keep saying to kids, test scores donāt mean anything, grades donāt mean anything, colleges donāt matter and actually you donāt need to go to a college.
Yup, sure, there is nothing that matters in life really. 8-| Once you find out the only thing that matters in life let me know. :)] (Why did you get the ivy degree then? I guess he was not wise enough.)
Maybe itās DHās evil scheme to avoid paying for kidsā colleges >:)
DS17 and DS19 came home from physics SAT.
^ He must be listening to Robert Thiel. The only problem is that Thiel got several diplomas.
I hold an Ivy PhD, and Iām more on the side of @payn4wardās husband on this than not. I do think you need to go to college, but intensely focusing on grades and getting into a Big Name Collegeā¢? No, not really.
Iām so glad we have experienced parents on this thread! Itās really comforting to know that others have been there, done thatā¦ and actually have constructive advice!
My big question right now is how to stretch out the next few years so that they last forever? Iād like to enjoy my kiddo for as long as possibleā¦ :"> Even better, how could I get that giggly 4 year old back?