I'm Back
So I sort of disappeared again--not from my actual life, but from the blog. What's doin'? Lots of house stuff. The new house is now sheet rocked--I had no idea what a big milestone that was (I actually had no idea what it actually was since the only house we've ever had is this old lathe & plaster one). But whenever I would utter the words "sheet rock" to anyone, they would moan or ooh appreciatively like it was a big deal. So, anyway, sheet rock. Trim is starting to go up. The stones on the chimneys are on (or were almost complete last time I checked). All the bathroom tiles have been chosen--by me, in two 2.5 hour marathon tile & stone sessions. Which I actually really enjoyed and seemed to handle well. And then I would lie in bed at night trying not to hyperventilate thinking that I may have chosen the "wrong" things. Which implies that there is one actual "right" thing to choose--which I don't believe at all. But that belief doesn't stop me from stressing.
We've also been dealing with the school thing for X-Man. It's over now--the weirdly stressful & consuming admissions process--and we're just waiting for word from our top choice school (private). If that doesn't work out, our fall back position is the public school in our new neighborhood. We toured it a few weeks ago and it impressed us tremendously.
I had a strange series of dealings with our bottom choice school that culminated in me asking them to shred X's file and take us off their candidate list. I've come to believe that it's best to pay close attention during the admissions process. Each school we dealt with handled it slightly (or very) differently. I'm pretty sure it gives a preview of coming attractions. And the Mr. and I decided we weren't really that keen to have a long-term relationship with a school that couldn't make a tiny effort to accommodate our family's schedule (although the school expected us to adhere to its rather difficult scheduling process). We weren't crazy about the assessment process for X--taking him off to the library with an adult he'd never met before and asking him to perform undisclosed tasks. When I asked someone in admissions how they could get an adequate sense of my son if he wouldn't talk to them (a distinct possibility--and I think my actual words were "because Homey don't play that game") the reply was "well, my daughter's shy and she did just fine." Listen, we're not talking about your daughter (and um, last I checked you work at the school so isn't there some kind of break for your kid?), we're talking about my son. Who isn't shy. Who is, rather, profoundly , unbelievably stubborn and who has determined he will not talk in some situations, and not even Jack Bauer could make him.
The final straw came when they cancelled our appointment for the parent interview a mere 45 minutes before it was about to start. I had already performed some childcare acrobatics so I could make the appointment without resorting to leaving the children home alone with the cats (who are pretty competent as cats go, but you know). And the Mr. was already on his way down from SF and had about three places he could actually have been to keep the world safe for capitalism. And then the final, final straw--when the lady in admissions called and left me a message to reschedule SHE DIDN'T EVEN APOLOGIZE. Enough genuflecting for these people. We do not want to know your secret handshake and we do not want to join your club.
So I sort of disappeared again--not from my actual life, but from the blog. What's doin'? Lots of house stuff. The new house is now sheet rocked--I had no idea what a big milestone that was (I actually had no idea what it actually was since the only house we've ever had is this old lathe & plaster one). But whenever I would utter the words "sheet rock" to anyone, they would moan or ooh appreciatively like it was a big deal. So, anyway, sheet rock. Trim is starting to go up. The stones on the chimneys are on (or were almost complete last time I checked). All the bathroom tiles have been chosen--by me, in two 2.5 hour marathon tile & stone sessions. Which I actually really enjoyed and seemed to handle well. And then I would lie in bed at night trying not to hyperventilate thinking that I may have chosen the "wrong" things. Which implies that there is one actual "right" thing to choose--which I don't believe at all. But that belief doesn't stop me from stressing.
We've also been dealing with the school thing for X-Man. It's over now--the weirdly stressful & consuming admissions process--and we're just waiting for word from our top choice school (private). If that doesn't work out, our fall back position is the public school in our new neighborhood. We toured it a few weeks ago and it impressed us tremendously.
I had a strange series of dealings with our bottom choice school that culminated in me asking them to shred X's file and take us off their candidate list. I've come to believe that it's best to pay close attention during the admissions process. Each school we dealt with handled it slightly (or very) differently. I'm pretty sure it gives a preview of coming attractions. And the Mr. and I decided we weren't really that keen to have a long-term relationship with a school that couldn't make a tiny effort to accommodate our family's schedule (although the school expected us to adhere to its rather difficult scheduling process). We weren't crazy about the assessment process for X--taking him off to the library with an adult he'd never met before and asking him to perform undisclosed tasks. When I asked someone in admissions how they could get an adequate sense of my son if he wouldn't talk to them (a distinct possibility--and I think my actual words were "because Homey don't play that game") the reply was "well, my daughter's shy and she did just fine." Listen, we're not talking about your daughter (and um, last I checked you work at the school so isn't there some kind of break for your kid?), we're talking about my son. Who isn't shy. Who is, rather, profoundly , unbelievably stubborn and who has determined he will not talk in some situations, and not even Jack Bauer could make him.
The final straw came when they cancelled our appointment for the parent interview a mere 45 minutes before it was about to start. I had already performed some childcare acrobatics so I could make the appointment without resorting to leaving the children home alone with the cats (who are pretty competent as cats go, but you know). And the Mr. was already on his way down from SF and had about three places he could actually have been to keep the world safe for capitalism. And then the final, final straw--when the lady in admissions called and left me a message to reschedule SHE DIDN'T EVEN APOLOGIZE. Enough genuflecting for these people. We do not want to know your secret handshake and we do not want to join your club.
1 comment:
I'm sorry I can't remember in which magazine I was reading the article, but there was one about this process and it explained why they take the kids away from the parents to test them.
In the article, the tests are part IQ, part EQ and part seeing how kids function with adults other than their parents. So the test administrator had the kids write their names, draw pictures of random things (toast, a shirt, a bird, etc.) and just talk with them about bs.
They also want to see how kids act when their parents aren't there as visual reminders of how to behave and give prompts on what to say.
I went to a camp that did this type of test when I was 6 - the woman had run out of paper and needed some from high up in a cabinet she couldn't reach and I rattled off three solutions to her. She cut the test short at that point and I was in.
That school you wrote off? Their loss.
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