My son started 6th grade at McGee's Middle, he came home after being assigned a locker and said, "I don't know why we even have lockers, we only have 2 minutes between classes." I thought he was exaggerating, then I found out this is true. I have to wonder what is so earth shattering, that they can't have at least 5 minutes between classes. He said 2 minutes is not enough time to get in your locker, get what you need, and get to class on time. You get in trouble if you are late and if you forget something. This being said, he carries all his books around all day long. Now he complains that his back and chest are sore. Does anyone else feel this is crazy? If enough parents complain, maybe it could be changed.
It is very crazy, but that's the nature of the schools. Nobody is willing to stand up to the school board and administrators in this county. But, look at Wake County, the board does what it wants. Look at the posts on this thread. Uniforms! work harder! no socializing! No field trips! No absences for family vacations! No tardies! No excuses! Do as I say! I don't know what people are expecting their children to achieve, but if we continue, it will be a bunch of zombie, stressed out, anti-social morons that we get. It absolutely amazes and saddens me.
My problem at Dixon Road is not being able to use the backpacks with rollers on them. I know there reason is to not to scuff up the floor. At McGees, the custodian has a pool stick with a tennis ball at the end of it to get up the scuffs. My child brought all of her books home the other day and I weighed the backpack. It was 15 lbs. I guess there training our kids to be weight lifters.
When I was in school, you had to rent a locker for the year and it would be assigned near your home room. Then, you could count on at least 2/3s of your classes being on another wing of the school. You'd get 3 minutes to get their and back and with a combination lock, you would have to be able to remember those numbers or you were out of luck. Lastly, no running in the halls so forget about a bathroom break or a stop at the water fountain. Now, it seems its worse. I can understand having a dress code...but uniforms...in public schools???? They force increased difficulty on students with copious amounts of homework, short breaks, no individuality in attire, and are trying to introduce college preparatory studies on children that are still trying to be kids. Schools nowadays sound more like boot camps. Kids can't hardly be kids anymore.
Silkyrabbit, my son had the same problem in 6th grade. He was constantly bringing home all of his books, and complaining of back pain. It's stupid that they don't allow them locker time or if they can't squeeze that in, allow them to use rolling backpacks. I heard from another parent, that your child can be allowed to use a rolling backpack if he has a doctor's note saying there is a medical reason that he needs one. I would think that the back pain would be that reason. You might want to try that. Best of luck. It doesn't get much better in 7th grade!
Is he allowed to use rollers? If not, that's just plain idiotic on the school's part. The sad thing is that the schools probably buff those floors at least 1 time a week. I'm thinking about contacting someone on this issue.
My daughter is in 6th at Cleveland Middle. She too is complaining about the time they have to get to the next class. They do get 3 minutes....wow, a whole another minute. She's having trouble thinking what she needs next because she is so rushed. She does have a rolling bookbag. I made sure I bought one. She doesn't roll it in school. She just rolls it to the bus stop and from the bus stop which is a help.
The rollers are unsafe in crowded hallways. Think about it, 400 kids pulling rolling bags behind them. :? The custodians job is to get out scuffs, that is not the sole reason for a ban on rolling backpacks. Instead of buying the cheapie backpack at Walmart, go to Dicks/ REI whatever and get a nice backpack with ergonomic straps and padded back. It will also last for years. Teach your child proper posture, like not to slouch in front of their XBox all day - this will help their "back problems" too. . How do you think we all made it through school? We had the same rules, we just had parents who supported them. Flip flops, sunglasses, rolling backpacks, cellphones... :roll:
My issue is not with the schools that have lockers. My issue is with the elementery kids carrying all of these books home that just about outweigh the kids. If they had rollers, they would only use them to and after school since there in the same class all day, and if they walked down the hall on the right side and exit on the left hall, it shouldn't matter how many kids are there. That's what they have teachers as hall monitors for. And I don't consider a backpack that cost $50.00, cheap. Personally, when I went to school, we had 5 minutes between classes, and if I remember right, when I was in elementary school, we had nowhere near the homework and books to take home as these kids do today. The point I'm trying to make is when you have a child they weighs 45lbs trying to carry books on their backs that weigh 15+ lbs, it's not an easy task. That would be about the same for you carrying about 50lbs on your back to work. There has got to be a better way.
I didn't say a backpack that cost 50.00 was cheap, I said buy the 50.00 pack as opposed to the cheapie Walmart Princess/Spiderman/whatever pack. The rollers are unsafe before and after school - there are still 400 kids going to and from buses/carpool, etc. It is NOT safe, and it is TOO crowded as it is. I have carried 50 pounds, (laptop and documents) an ergonomic bag and padded strap made it much easier, along with good posture of course. Just give it a try, the homework is not going to go away and the school is not going to allow 400 kids to bring in rolling backpacks.
How do I think we made it through school? We didn't even carry backpacks. We didn't need backpacks. We had 8 minutes between classes and 6 classes a day, and we made it. We had enough time between classes. My point is the school system could give these kids 3 more minutes between classes and save there backs. For that matter it would take alot of stress off of them. They can learn alot better if they are not hurting or stressed out. My intent would be to partition the board about this, but the parents have got to be willing to stand up for this. I to did not buy my child some cheap backpack, but again that is not the point. Kids have enough problems without this one, to me this is unnecessary grief.
I saw a little girl at a bus stop one morning and her backpack was literally as big as she was. She had to lean forward to keep from falling over backwards. Is it possible to have two backpacks and split the day up? That way they could throw one book bag in a locker and get the other out.
I remember having a TON of time between classes in school...Especially in high school...I remember having enough time to talk with my friends for several minutes...I dont remember being that rushed in middle school either...maybe things have changed. I do remember my mom getting upset when I was in elementary school b/c my book bag was 20+ pounds and that was just for homework stuff. But I had a crazy teacher that had us reading shakespeare in 4th grade (he was a bit of a drill sgt).
I am with Cleo on this one! Is everyone going to complain about time between classes when kids use that time to recruit gang members or decide who they are going to bully or which class they are going to skip? Is everyone going to complain about college prep classes when their child drops out of school because they are bored with the work they already learned last year? Or when their child doesn't get into a good college because they didn't take the time to learn because they had more time in the halls than in the classroom? If your child's bookbag is too heavy tell them to split the weight and carry a couple of books in their arms. Complain about the amount of homework when your child can't read in the 8th grade. All I hear is complaining about the schools around here. If you are that dissatisfied, move to another district or enroll your child in public school or better yet, if you think you can do so much better, home school your kids. The public school system is giving your child an excellent education if they and you are willing to put forth the effort to accept it. Instead of complaining on here, complain to people who can actually make the changes. Don't sit around and say oh my poor child when you haven't even make the effort of communication to the teachers, principal and/or school board. No, I am not a teacher, just a mother who went to public school, carried heavy book bags, had a lot of homework, took advanced classes, hauled butt to and from my locker between classes and turned out just fine.
You know, I did not mention the amount of homework at all. Somehow you came up with that on your own. I do not think it is irrational to give a total of 5 minutes between classes. As far as recruiting for gangs, I don't think three extra minutes between classes will be a determining factor for this. Discipline starts at home or it does in my home. I didn't say the schools were bad, I'm not going to move, and I'm not going to home school, but if I think I can make a difference or help, then I'm going to speak out. Oh and Montana, you said you hauled butt to and from your locker, then you must have had more than 2 minutes between classes to do it.
My remarks were not meant for only you, nor were they accussing you or anyone of not disciplining their children. Amount of homework has been mentioned on several threads in the past. I agree discipline starts at home and many parents who discipline well in their home don't understand how their well disciplined child could have been swayed by their peers. It is constantly being said, "He/She was such a good kid, an excellent student, I just don't know how this could have happened.". I did not have more time inbetween classes, I was simply taught, at home, how to manage my time and be organized. If I knew I couldn't make it to my locker for two classes, I brought what I needed for two classes. I had my locker organized so that I could, with a glance, grab what was needed. I was also taught, at home, that you will not get anywhere in life without an education and that although it may seem tough at the time, it will be worth it in the end when you receive your diploma. School for children is like Work for adults. You go to work everyday to earn a paycheck and further yourself. Yes, some days may be stressful and you may be overwhelmed with the amount of work you have to do, but you do and you make it work. Many people bring their work home with them, just like a child having homework. My main point is sort of along the lines of "You can't B**ch, if you don't vote". I understand this forum is a great place to vent and to state your opinion as well as receive opinions from other people, but this forum will not change the amount of time in between classes. If you had started your thread with, "I requested a conference with the principal...", or "I have left several messages for various school board member...", or "I will be attending the next school board meeting...", or "I wrote a letter to my congressman...", then my response probably wouldn't have been so harsh. I apologize if I have offended anyone, but at least maybe I have started people talking about solutions and not problems. I praise the public school system and especially the teachers who are educating our children to be able to function in society with intelligence beyond what can sometimes be taught at home. The majority of people reading this are products of the public school system. Point being they are READING this because they were taught to READ. They are typing because they were taught to WRITE and they are responding because they were taught, usually at home, to speak up for what they believe in. So, I applaud anyone and everyone for posting on here, either neutrally or controversially, because if it isn't voiced, nothing will be done.
Complaints have been made and who peed in your cereal! Last time I checked, this was an open forum for suggestions and complaints, so if you don't like it, you may want to pack it up to another Forum! It doesn't matter if they carry half the books in their hand and the other in the bag, the weight is still the same. Don't come on here telling us we have no right to gripe about something unless you see it first hand. Your comments about recruiting gangs and bulling people sounds like a personal problem you may have had to me. That's what teachers in the hall monitoring are for. To elevate that problem. Besides me complaining to the principle about some of these problems, do you have anymore suggetions for us ? :roll:
Like you, yes I have many opinions and suggestions. I have not been indignant to anyone, nor did I at anytime say that noone had a right to gripe, quite the contrary, I said I applaud everyone who posts their opinions using this forum. I also have not attacked anyone personally. As far as suggestions, maybe 5 minutes in between classes isn't unreasonable. However where would you suggest the extra 3 minutes per class change come from? Should it be taken away from the class the students are going to next? Then surely someone would complain that the students only had 12 minutes to complete a pop quiz and they should have had 15. Maybe it should be taken from lunch? Some people have already complained, in the past, that students don't have a long enough lunch and that lunch is somewhat downtime that the students need. Maybe it should be tacked onto the beginning or ending of the school day? Everyone has heard complaints that the school day is already too long. I am simply playing devil's advocate. There are two sides to everything. I didn't attack you for giving your opinion and I don't appreciate you attacking me. Don't shoot the messenger because you don't like the message. As I stated before, maybe this thread will get people thinking about not only the problems with our public school system, but also of how we can find solutions. The reality is that no, the school system is not perfect. And yes, there is room for improvement. However one persons solution may be another persons problem. I am glad to see people voice their opinions instead of not saying a word when they agree or disagree with something. All I am saying is that one should use that determination to also go to the people that can make a difference, IN ADDITION TO, not instead of venting on forums such as this.
At least your school has power. The school my child goes to has had 3 power outages since school started. That is just the beginning of how our year has started....
