Catching up

[Murfreesboro]

Our humidity is slightly lower today, so it's pretty nice here, too.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

Last week we told our kids that we would be sending them to private school next month, and that they would be wearing uniforms at their new school. Sam was excited about it, but as we expected, Phoebe was immediately hesitant, and said ... uniforms? What do you mean ... uniforms? So we explained it to her, that it was like the Gi she wears for martial arts, or her gymnastics gear, and that she has to wear a uniform there because it's required for the students at that school. She still resisted and said ... Why can't I wear what I want? My wife and I told her that we have to dress a certain way when we're at work, and that sometimes you have to dress up nicely for certain situations, just like when we go to church. She seemed to slowly accept it, then she asked about her friends ... and when we told her that they won't be at the same school, she wasn't a happy camper.

She started to complain about losing her friends, I told her that they will still be her friends, and most of them live nearby, so they can still come over. She had this angry look on her face, so we told her that most of the people that are her friends now, she probably won't know forever, because people eventually grow apart and go different directions in life, but just because you are only friends for a short time, it doesn't mean that she can't enjoy their friendship while you know them.

Both my wife and I still know some people from high school, but we don't know a single friend from our early childhood. I mean, I know there are some people that know their friends for their whole lives, but realistically, most people don't know their friends that long. Of course, Phoebe has something that I didn't have growing up, and that's stability. We have been living in this house since before she was born, and this is the only life she knows, so hopefully she will still know her friends for a long time.

Then she asked if her friends could go to the new school with her, we told her that we have to pay for her to go there, and that most of her friends parents probably couldn't afford to send their kids to private school, she looked at us and said ... can't you pay for them? You're always buying stuff for my friends, can't you send them to that school too? At this point we were getting annoyed trying to explain this to her, so I told her the cold truth about life ... that the public school education system is a disgrace, and that most of her friends are stupid because the school and their parents either refuse to, or are incapable of teaching them the most basic skills that every kid before them was required to learn.

Now, I don't mean to call a kid stupid because I know it's not their fault, but when their friends can't even do basic mathematics, or spell their names correctly on birthday and Christmas cards, then you know there's a serious issue here. Sure, Phoebe doesn't have the easiest name to spell, but spelling it like FEEBY is just embarrassing to that friend and her parents.

We have taught our kids so many basic things ourselves that the schools should be teaching them, important skills that they, and every kid will need in this life and they are already years ahead of their friends because of it. My wife and I are both shocked and sickened by the way that kids and teenagers today are incapable of doing things like counting out change, or even watching them struggle to read, or spell even the simplest words correctly, yet some of these idiots somehow manage to graduate high school and go into the world unprepared for what awaits them.

We told them that we were sending them to a private school because we want the best for them, to make sure that they have every advantage that they can, and that having a decent education will play a significant part in the path they choose in life. We told them that they will have to work for the life they want because nobody is going to hand them anything in this life. We know that Sam understood us right away, and Phoebe said that she thinks that she gets it. She eventually came around when we told her that the new school had a excellent gymnastics program, and that a school like this can greatly increase her chances of getting to the Olympics one day. I guess that we probably should have told her that part first.

I tell you, this conversation was a perfect example of how Phoebe really is like 2 different people. On one side she is still very much a child that is learning along the way like a regular kid, and on the other side of that she's like a focused adult when she competes in martial arts and gymnastics. She's definitely a determined person, somebody that always pushes her point of view as the only one that matters, and we know that one day she's going to drive some guy nuts with her stubborn ways.

Speaking of her gymnastics, she's been blowing the competition away at her recent performances. She took home first place in her age group twice already, and she has one more competition next week, that she's going to probably win again. YAY!

[Murfreesboro]

My husband, a public school teacher, believes strongly that parents need to decide what is right for their child. Naturally Phoebe fears losing her friends, but she will soon make new friends, and, as you say, she can still see her friends from her old school. I hope the transition goes smoothly for both your girls.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

Thanks Murf.

We already brought the kids shopping for their uniforms, Sam really likes them, but Phoebe still thinks they suck. Oh well, hopefully she will eventually like it.

[Murfreesboro]

Some people like uniforms and some don't. I hope Phoebe can at least look beyond that to the really great experiences she's bound to have at her new school.

[Andybev01]

It sounds like you're actually raising the next Laura Kroft.

I went from kindergarten through sophomore year in high school in fairly strict parochial schools. We did not have uniforms per se , but there were pretty rigid dress codes.

Most of the nuns and priests who taught us were from the upper midwest and northeast , and that is where I learned that jeans are referred to as 'dungarees' back there.

When I transferred to public school to finish my high school career.I had so many credits that I had half days and early release everyday and of course, being a teenager.I squandered that time, gloriously.

[Murfreesboro]

Sounds like you enjoyed your adolescence. Good for you!

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

I certainly hope that the kids like the new school because it's costing us a nice chunk of change to send them there, and they are going to be there for a minimum of 2 years. This school goes up until the end of high school, so if it goes well, they will both eventually graduate here.

My wife and I researched a few different private schools in the area before we decided that this was the best choice for them, not just academically, but from a social standpoint as well. Speaking of academics, this school is the top rated school in our area, at first we thought that was just your typical sales pitch, but we researched it and spoke to other people in the community, and it turns out that the school has a legitimate reputation. They also have outstanding science and medicine classes for the students as they progress through the grades, which Sam was happy to hear about.

This school has a strict policy against using any devices during class, unless they are specifically using computers for learning purposes, so no phones or tablets in class for the kids to use AI to cheat with. This was a major factor in our decision because we want them to learn how to think critically for themselves, and not just seek out answers from a machine that been programmed to think that it knows the entire history of our world.

The school is about 30 minutes from us, but I think that having them get up earlier every day will teach them some responsibility, and how to use the hours in the day more productively. Well, Phoene already gets up at 5am on the days that she's training, but Sam doesn't like mornings and she usually stays in bed until the alarm wakes her up.

As I mentioned previously, the school has a excellent gymnastics program, and aside from that they also have some great programs for students that are serious about pursuing music, arts, theater, and political studies. They also offer some other great athletic programs like track and field, swimming, and tennis with their own tennis court. The kids love to swim but they don't get to do it often because their old school didn't have a pool.

They also have competitive cheerleading, but when I told Phoebe about it she scoffed and said that only losers do cheer. Apparently there's a whole war going on between gymnasts and cheerleaders and they despise each other, I wasn't aware of that.

We also found out that the school has something called fashion Fridays where the kids can wear anything they want to, so Phoebe was happy about that.

BTW, is anybody else excited for the new X-Files movie?

[Andybev01]

"They also have competitive cheerleading, but when I told Phoebe about it she scoffed and said that only losers do cheer. Apparently there's a whole war going on between gymnasts and cheerleaders and they despise each other, I wasn't aware of that"

Obviously you've never seen the movie 'Bring it on'.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

No, I haven't.

I just looked it up though, and Holy Hell, there are 7 movies in the franchise. Apparently only the first movie was released in theaters and the rest were direct to DVD sequels. The last movie seems interesting because it's a horror movie, but I probably won't ever watch any of these movies.

[Murfreesboro]

I can remember when cheerleading was just a popularity contest. It's progressed a lot since those days.

This school sounds fantastic. I hope your girls really enjoy it and continue to excel. Hooray for Fashion Friday!

When I was a child, my mother instituted "Friday Go-Dirty Night" for me. It was the one night of the week when I didn't have to take a bath. It's funny how much those little freedoms from the routine can mean for a child.

I think the policy against devices is a great idea. I've thanked my lucky stars that I've never been required to grade English themes during the era of AI. What a nightmare.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

When I was in school I wasn't exactly the type of guy that the cheerleaders would talk to, probably because I had brains, so I haven't ever been a fan of them. I know that some people will say that cheerleaders being stupid is a unfair stereotype, but some stereotypes exist for a reason. So in a way, I'm glad that Phoebe doesn't like them, and won't ever become one of them.

I did tell my family about the Bring It On movie last night, my wife said that she watched it when it came out, but she would watch it again, but the kids had no interest in watching it, so we just watched another movie.

my mother instituted "Friday Go-Dirty Night" for me.

It's a good thing that you explained what that was, because with a name like that people would assume that it means something drastically different.

It's funny how much those little freedoms from the routine can mean for a child.

Joking aside, you're absolutely right about that.

Has anybody else been watching the new Stuart show? I've watched the first few episodes and it's pretty good so far.

[Murfreesboro]

You made me laugh.

Since we no longer get tv reception, I don't see any of the new shows. I guess you're talking about an HBO show, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe? Something like that. The title, at least, sounds intriguing.

One of my slightly older cousins was a high school cheerleader in Austin, TX, back in the day. I wouldn't say she was dumb at all, but she did personify the type for me. She had the advantage of a wealthy father, so she was socially secure. She was very pretty and still has the kind of personality that just makes people fall in love with her. In school I don't think she excelled academically because she was more interested in the people around her than in books. But she was a born performer, talented in both dance and singing (she also got the leads in her high school plays). She actually became a professional opera singer and, after a stint in Europe, she spent her career at the Dallas opera. In her off season she had a cottage industry of making stained glass Christmas ornaments and window hangings. I don't know if she still does that. But she's a highly creative type. She actually made her own wedding gown, based on a Renaissance gown she'd seen in one of the operas she'd performed in. It's true she's not academically inclined, unlike her older sister, who has a PhD in history and had a career as a college prof. But she's not stupid, either.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

Yes, that's the show, it's a continuation of The Big Bang Theory, and some of the main cast has already shown up. I think you would like it ... if you could watch it that is.

I'm sure that back in your day, cheerleaders, like most young people back then, were still decent people that balanced their popularity and status on the team, and they maintained their grades and eventually became productive members of society. But fast forward to the 90s when I was in high school, and every single cheerleader that we knew was simultaneously a unnecessarily, viciously cold b*tch, and the most thrashy dimwitted moron that you ever met.

I saw the way that the cheerleaders treated the other girls that weren't as popular as they were, and let me tell you, those stupid and mean girl stereotypes that you saw in movies back then didn't even begin to scratch the surface of how evil teen girls could be to each other. I will spare you most of the graphic details from the horror stories that I remember, but I will tell you that they would often spread lies about, spit on, and throw *used* tampons and pads at the unpopular girls.

Then there's their lack of intelligence ... *sigh*. Man, even thinking back on it now, it still shocks me at just how stupid some of them were. I can remember one girl in particular that thought that the guy would get pregnant too if she did it with him, and no, I'm not joking, she really believed that. I still remember the look on the teacher's face, she legitimately thought that the girl was messing around with her, so she asked her if she was serious, and I swear to you that the girl replied ... I just don't want both of us to be pregnant at the same time. FYI, she was 16.

Yeah.

Honestly, I still wonder how most of them graduated. I could tell you more stories about the stupid cheerleaders from our school, but I would be sitting here typing until next month.

It's interesting how our society has changed again, while the teens today are socially and technologically smarter than previous generations, most of them can't read, write, spell, or count. But on the other side of that, they have also learned to treat everybody equally, and respect them for being different. Don't get me wrong, people that think that they are better than everybody else, and bullying still exists, but it isn't as bad as it used to be.

[Murfreesboro]

Well, teen girls could always be hateful and bully the less popular, but I don't remember people doing things like you describe. They were hateful with words or by ignoring people. I think over the decades maybe a coarseness permeated society that my generation was largely spared. Not sure what happened. I'm inclined to think the drop in church attendance might have had an effect, but I'm not sure. It's kind of akin to the rise in school shootings, which has nothing to do with the availability of guns. Most of the people I knew grew up in homes with guns. My mother had two of them, loaded. And believe me, we weren't always hunky dory happy with our lives at school. I know I wasn't. But we had internal restraints. We just knew that going to school and shooting the place up would be totally out of proportion to any offense we'd suffered there. My daughter has said that she thinks too many young people today are afflicted with nihilism. If you think.nothing really matters outside your own feelings, then there's no reason to restrain your emotions.