"Ammunition" to homeschool: Guns. Institutions. Lord of the Flies.

As focused as I am on finding more opportunities to earn money working from home (so I can be more fully available to engage in this homeschooling project) it seems as though I find *more* time to blog and think about strategy while at work out of the house.  I'll have to keep that in mind moving forward....

I saw this on Yahoo today:

GUNS



5th Graders Plot to RAPE and Kill Classmate ["because she was really, really annoying"]

The 10-year-old responded that he and the 11-year-old were going to “get [the girl] away from the school and do her in”. He said the 11-year-old was going to stab the girl with a knife and the 10-year-old was supposed to keep everyone away, according to court documents.

The 10-year-old indicated he and the 11-year-old had been planning this for awhile, and that another student was aware of their plans.

Rogers then spoke to the 11-year-old. She asked him what the deal was with the knife and gun. He told her he had no idea what she was talking about. Rogers got more specific, asking about the knife, the gun, and the girl. Rogers indicated the 11-year-old became agitated, walked around a little bit, and then asked, “Do you really want to know? OK, fine. I’ll tell you.”

Court documents state the 11-year-old stated he and the 10-year-old were planning to gill the girl “because she was really annoying.”

When asked what they were planning, the 11-year-old indicated, “I was going to kill her with the knife and [the 10-year-old] was supposed to use the gun to keep anyone from trying to stop me or mess up our plan.”

Records state the 11-year-old also admitted the girl was not the only one they were going to “get”.  Rogers pulled out a class list and the 11-year-old showed her six more names of students they were going to target.

TWO boys aged 10 and 11 have been committed to stand trial for conspiring to rape and murder at least one of their classmates.

And after Sandy Hook elementary school massacre, Ian asked me:

So if a shooter comes into my class, do you think I should run, or play dead?

And now, they are having "active shooter drills" where the kids are practicing for this sort of thing (which is good, since it's obviously a real threat, I guess)...but...really?

AND to add insult to injury...of course it's WAY more difficult to PARENTS to get their OWN children these days from school because CRAZY boys decide to shoot up the place.  AND (to add further insult to more injury) they even have it arranged where the kids may leave the school and go to an "undisclosed second location" for "their protection" where the parents wouldn't even know where their own child went!!

Institutionalized "learning" (forcing round pegs into square holes) - I am so.  Over.  It

And this comes riding in on the coat-tails of the STAAR test for Haley that ended this week.  The 4 hour exam that spans over 3-4 days (depending on grade and whether or not they do writing).  Where the walls are covered in paper (including the clock, although it's a TIMED test so you'd gander to think the clock would be useful).  Where the kids are forced to give up days of their lives so "no child is left behind."  

THEN I have a fellow local mom share with me the "fact" that the score on this test determines whether or not my kid is placed in the "you'll be something great, so we'll let you take AP classes and apply for 4-year universities" pile OR whether they'll be relegated to "you're a dumb-ass, and you are only allowed to sign up for junior college - even-though you have a diploma...because we're going to "tag" your diploma with a 'mark of stupidity so everyone will always know...you are stupid...." pile.  

Over.  It. 

"School yard socialization" i.e. discrimination and bullying (based on any/everything that makes  people unique and celebratory)

And finally (for now) I appreciate this blog post by Penelope where she brings to our attention that:  

Research demonstrates that "school-yard discrimination" can have long-lasting detrimental effects on children (particularly girls) leading to drug use, risky sex, and low self-esteem.  And we know that the link between low self-esteem and subsequent abusive relationships, infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and HSV (herpes), single motherhood, poverty, and criminal activity is real (and does not require much extrapolation).  

This 6-year longitudinal study examined girls’ peer-nominated social preference and aggression in
childhood as predictors of self- and parent-reported externalizing symptoms, substance use (i.e., cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use), and sexual risk behavior in adolescence. Participants were 148 girls from diverse ethnic backgrounds, who were initially assessed in Grades 4–6 and again in Grades 10–12. Results supported a moderator model, indicating that social preference changed the nature of the association between childhood aggression and adolescent outcomes. When accompanied by peer rejection, aggressive behavior was moderately stable over time and significantly associated with adolescent girls’ substance use and sexual risk behavior...

And when your girl is in any way "different" she has a higher likelihood of being ostrasized.  Anytime anyone is different for any reason, they have to be prepared to "defend" their difference.  

And if they are outnumbered and unsupported...and TEN YEARS OLD...

...they are more apt to negatively internalize their feelings, resulting in elements of self-destruction.

So, in summary:

Guns (fear and unintended consequences).  Institutions where expectation of conformity over-rides common sense (and all kids learn to do is take tests).  Plus the "Lord of the Flies" mentality on the playground = current school situation and cements my decision to do a different thing!!  

Over.  It.