Frustrated and Need to Vent

I'm frustrated and really need to vent about Makayla's option of classmates.  I must start out by saying that there are good kids in her grade and if you know me and you are reading this, it is highly unlikely that I am talking about your child.  My problem is not with the entire school as a whole, there are wonderful teachers and leaders within the school that I have great respect for.  With that being said....here goes nothing!

While I know that our children are not perfect, I have worked very hard to shape them into respectful, polite and hardworking little girls.  Makayla has been dealt a class full of over the top, horrible behaving children.  Obviously this starts at home and its unfair that my child has to suffer from lack of parenting/discipline/attention or whatever the problem is.

I believe part of the problem could be class size, 22/23 kids does not have to be too many unless the kids are out of control.  A quote that my child came home with last year from her PE teacher was "this is the worst kindergarten class I have seen in 19 years!"  I have also heard on several occasions, though much more tactfully, that it is a very difficult class. 

Makayla has complained about having to miss recess because kids would not settle down and do what they were supposed to.  There have been problems with library times because kids were out of control.  One little girl was throwing tantrums daily in another class and was moved to which class?  My daughters class of course!  She has given reports of a little girl throwing a tantrum during a spelling test (and she is not autistic as far as I know.)  One little boy hit the teacher because his spelling test was taken away because he was cheating.  This is absurd for even a kindergarten class, but for 1st grade?  The list goes on and on, I'll save that for another vent session when my daughter is giving reports of her day that continue to frustrate me.

Makayla comes home on a daily basis with stories of having to sit out of PE class because the kids are not behaving.  Today, all the girls had to practice lining up and sitting down the entire time because a few girls, that continually cause problems, do not know how to behave.  So why not keep those kids out and deal with them separately.  Last week the entire class had to sit out because some of the kids would not stop talking.  When they were given the opportunity to jog instead, that only lasted 2 laps because one boy was talking.  Excuse me!  Once again, deal with the kids causing problems.  Maybe an adult needs to sit back and think "Hmmmmm, not allowing kids burn energy is not working, maybe we should give them the physical education that is mandated by the state of Illinois." 

This was a continual problem last year.  I addressed it with administration and said that if my child would have to sit the entire class, I need a phone call so that I can pull her from school and get her the activity that her little growing body needed.  PE classes continued this way and I never received a call after I was told that I would.

Physical Education is mandated, or required, by the state of Illinois.  A specified time is not listed but I have a feeling that practicing sitting down and lining up does not qualify as physical activity.  No wonder these same trouble children go to class and cannot focus!  If combining 3 classes for one activity period is too much, then something needs to change! 

I could go on and on about this.  I have tried to convince Greg on homeschooling, he is against it and I honestly do not know that I could pull it off.  It is to the point that we are considering moving school districts so our daughter does not have to suffer for the next 10 years with a few students that cause problems for everyone.  I know there are problems everywhere but Hannah does not come home with the same stories.  Her grade gets to have their PE, has kids that listen and she is not punished for other kids poor behavior.

If you read this all the way through, thanks for listening to my rant!  And once again, it probably isn't your kid that I'm venting about!