Halloween 2010

We started Halloween weekend with a 3 a.m. Call Time for Katie on the "Bone Boys" set downtown. Ron went with her since it was so late, met the directors, the costume people and the caterer! It was all pretty impressive. They were filming at the jail on Guadalupe. Later that day, Ron went to San Marcos to pick up Michael, who is without a car but in his last year at Texas State University.

Friday night was Pflugerville High School’s last home game, and the Lady Panther Dancers had their “Bone Dance” to do. Everyone was excited to see it.  Ron and Michael met up with Julie and Allen in the stands.




Grandma, Cydney Romano, and Jose Benitez met up with Sue & Katie at the house. Their plan was just to come during the 2nd quarter and leave after the Halftime Show.  The show was great, Alyssa had a stunt where she had to be held up in the air in the splits and spun in a circle! Temperatures dropped and we buggaloo’d out of there when the show was finished!

While the game continued, we picked up Chocolate cake, microwave BBQ, mashed potatoes & macaroni (mainly for Jose since he had had oral surgery that morning). Grandma stayed back at the house to warm up with some tea, and Katie crashed on the couch.  (She had to go to Friday morning classes right after shooting the movie, so she was operating on about 45 minutes sleep!)The game ended and we all converged back at the house. 

On Saturday, Alyssa had 3-4 parties to go to as a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader.
Michael’s Druid celebration was held at Mt. Bonnell on Sunday night. He thought the candles and dark clothes might have been a little spooky for passersby. Ron ran him back to San Marcos afterwards.
Katie helped hand out candy at our house, then left for a Cast party Halloween in South Austin.
Alyssa was originally going to have people over to trick or treat, but that fell through. Halloween falling    on a school night, curbed a lot of people’s plans. So she went to Vicente Rodriguez’s house and met up with a lot of people there. Then she went visiting people and came home.
With Sue hobbling around with a broken foot, we were lucky to get any Halloween decorations up at all this year!  And we never even carved the pumpkin that Katie brought home.  So we added some orange and purple lights to the front porch, plugged in our fake jack-o-lantern, and embraced another Halloween.

1 Semester Down....

It's interesting to talk to Alyssa about her thoughts on homeschooling vs. high school. As usual, she doesn't see things as black or white. The other day, I asked her what she thought about comparing the two. And I reminded her how people were always concerned that homeschoolers weren't getting enough socialization. So, after a semester at school, what did she think now?

First, she didn't think they are using the right word. Socialization. And she's not sure what the "right word" actually is. "But this is the deal..." in her opinion:

Both have learning opportunities that you can either take advantage of or daydream through.

But homeschoolers are out in the real world. They are interacting with all kinds of people, in all walks of life. School kids are not. Homeschoolers are living life, while school kids are reading about it in a classroom. But what school kids get to do that homeschoolers don't, is they get to have TONS of interactions with other kids. They fight, they reconcile, they lie, they play around, they laugh, they watch....but it's all about interacting. And that happens all day long - not just between classes like it shows on T.V. Each class period (or at least the ones she took this semester) allots a certain amount of the class period to the lesson and the rest is spent however the kids choose. Some choose to study the material. Some do the homework before they go home. While some pass notes, meet each other in the bathrooms, or goof around in the classroom.

In school, there are no paintings to discuss, or Barton Springs to swim in, or skating rinks to skate. No hangout afternoons wandering down to Sonic.

So which is best? It depends on what you want. If you are the type who  really enjoys interacting with people, school is the place to be. If you are not that interested in people but you want to see and do things in the world, then being trapped in a school all day for 5 days a week, is not a good plan for you.

Alyssa felt like her situation was ideal. She had done a lot out in the world. So she had that under her belt. But she had felt that interacting with a handful of kids every other day just wasn't enough for her. School gives her plenty of people to talk with - and her past as a homeschooler actually gives her a lot to talk about!

Lady Panthers!

It's Texas, so we have Drill Teams. I know other states have drill teams too - but not the way Texans do it! Football is King, and Drill Teams are the female part of that equation.

When Alyssa first thought about going to High School, joining the drill team was huge on her Wish List. She watched football games and half-time activities. She knew that her years of dance and competitive cheer would help her if she ever were to try out for the drill/dance team.

So, last month, she came home with the forms. Dance/drill team tryouts would take place over three days after school. They would be taught a routine, work on their splits and their turns, and learn all they could for the 3rd day - the actual tryout.

Alyssa's P.E. coach is also the Dance/Drill Team Coordinator. Early on, she told Alyssa that she had a good shot at making the team.  She would let the girls who were interested in trying out go to another room and practice their splits and turns.  She and four or five of her friends were excited about trying out. Coach MacDonald emailed me telling me more about dance team, how she liked Alyssa, and how she hoped she would do well. She felt that Alyssa needed a core group of well-supervised young ladies as friends, and thought the drill team could provide that.

So off too Target we go to buy the obligatory black dance pants and tank top.

Monday, Day One, rolls around and Alyssa and her friends run off to the gym. They are all given the routine and allowed to practice. They're put in groups of about 15 each. The officers of the drill team then are supposed to pick the top 4 in each group. (There were 55 trying out.) Alyssa was one of those 4 from her group of 15. Having been in Competitive Cheer certainly helped her with "Showmanship." She could smile, and look happy, regardless of how she really felt about her performance. This really made her feel great, being pulled out from the group.

Then a few new groups comprised from the top four of each original group performed together while the others watched. Then from each of THESE groups, the top four were chosen. In the end, Alyssa was one of the Top Four chosen from the entire group. That was pretty exciting. She said she couldn't really even look at the other girls, it made her nervous. They weren't all that thrilled for her. Still she pressed on.

After Day 1, Parent Meeting time. Discussion of costs and expectations. Cost is about $700 with the possibility of an additional $1000 if they take a trip to Los Angeles or somewhere like that. The team has done this in the past. When the parents winced at the money, the coach reminded them that nearby schools charge as much as $1500 and there are several extra expenses and trips along the way.

So Day 2 goes by well. No singling out, just performing and performing.

Day 3 - we have to get a Sports Physical and then she makes it back just in time for try outs. Alyssa doesn't know the other three girls in her group. But they head on into the private audition room with the judges. Alyssa asked the Coach to make faces at her so she keeps smiling. She thought it would help her with her nerves. She is good in groups, but when she is performing by herself or with small groups, she gets nervous.
Her kicks are high, her splits are low, but when she does her turn she loses her balance. The coach asks, "Alyssa, would you like to try that again." "Yes, ma'am."  She can't even remember if she did it right the second time, but she thinks she did not. It didn't matter, she didn't lose her balance, and even if she turned wrong, she planted her feet and didn't budge.

So that turn issue worried her all night.

The next day at school, she and her friends went to look at the list of who made it. Her friend covered up her name. Alyssa pushed her hands away and sure enough! There was her name on the list. She made the Lady Panther Dance Team!

Next semester, her schedule will have to change around so that all new Lady Panthers - called Lady Cubs - are together in 2nd period. This will be fun!

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parents packed into the Fine Arts Center at Pflugerville High School. Alyssa quickly found friends and our 3 families sat together. Because she didn't have credits to transfer, she would have to start as a Freshman. She would be taking some CBE's (Credit By Exam), add that to her summer school classes, and she'd have enough credits to start Junior Year with her age group.

So for now, she's kind of in No Man's Land. She refers to herself as a Sophomore with credits that didn't transfer.

Back to the Fine Arts Center... we are introduced to all the Counselors. One is assigned to each grade. And there are actually 5 principals: one for each grade level and one overall. I've already met both of Alyssa's.

The bell rings and everyone goes to their 1st Period class. We'll stay in each room for about 15 minutes. The teacher will give a little explanation about the class and we'll have the opportunity to ask questions.

There are a couple things I've noticed:

• Only about 20% of the parents show up. Only half of them bring their kids.
• Alyssa has "befriended" all of her teachers. They all gush about her. 
• White people are definitely the minority.
• Her classes are spread all over the place - I won't be surprised if she ends up tardy to some!

Each of the teachers made an extra effort to pull me aside. They wanted to tell me what a pleasure it was to have Alyssa in their class. They said she asks questions, is interested in what the teacher is saying, offers to help her classmates. They say all of this as if this is a rarity. None of them know that this is the first time she's set foot in a classroom, let alone a High School. And it's ironic to me that my little homeschooler's SOCIAL SKILLS are what all these teachers are commenting on.  But it is really no surprise. She has interacted with adults all her life. She has no reason to fear them or expect them to act badly toward her. She deals with them like she deals with her peers - as human beings.

Not so common, I guess.
They like her. Of course. ;-)

Academically, they think she's doing fine. Her English teacher apologized to her and to me, saying that she wished she could be in a better classroom situation. Her English class has a discipline problem, to say the least.  Her P.E. Coach pulled me aside and asked if she'd be trying out for Drill Team. She wishes there was room to move her into her 2nd period Pre-Drill Team class, but alas, it's overcrowded as it is.  She thinks Alyssa would be GREAT on the Lady Panthers!  And of all of them, her favorite teacher is her Algebra teacher. For some reason, that strikes me as funny.

It's going to be an interesting year...

Disadvantages

Alyssa's choice to go to school has brought about a new set of questions and quandries.
She comes in with a slight disadvantage. She never really developed any study skills. For instance, she was sick and needed to go to the doctor. She decided to bring her homework along and do it in the waiting room. She wanted to go to a friend's volleyball game and be online to talk to friends when she got home, so it seemed like a good idea. She even continued to do the work -basically filling in the blanks from the history chapters - as she sat on the examination table. At one point, she burst into tears - tired and completely overwhelmed. I've already told her that her grades don't really matter to me. But she wants to do well. And she really doesn't want me to tell her that she'll have to study to do well.
So,she completed the work but didn't really read the chapters. And so when the test rolled around, she considered that she *had* studied. She recognized the words, but she didn't KNOW them....as evidenced by the 49 she got on the test.

This has a huge impact on her self esteem. She starts talking about not being ABLE to do this work. But the truth is simply that she doesn't have any study skills.

So, currently, the plan:

• Study 2 hours per night - no texting, no computer, no T.V. during this time
• Bring Algebra home every day. Review the work, even if it's completed in class
• Read the History chapters that go with the vocab/homework
  
• Work on Geography for Test
• When we get the English, study it as well

This is a VERY foreign-looking life for us. And if her self-esteem wasn't so tied into her test results, we'd opt for something way more relaxed. But for now, this is where we're heading.

New Unschooling Chapter

How can unschooling include schooling? It seems the two would never meet.

Yet, here I sit.

Alyssa, the youngest of 5 and always unschoooled, has decided that she wants to go to school. It's not that she feels she doesn't learn. It's not that she thinks her lifestyle is not what she wants. But she wants more people - boys and girls. Dates that wouldn't require complicated family coordination. And girlfriends that she could run over to their house and hang out for a few hours and vice versa. She has tried making friends online, and they always live far away. She longed for friends in the neighborhood.

As we were driving across Austin, we started talking about friends who left homeschooling for high school. We talked about some of their experiences.

Then suddenly, Alyssa said, "well, I'm not smart enough to go."
"Why would you think that?"
"I just think that there are some things I didn't learn, and they already know."

This is partly true. We didn't spend years drilling on times tables or labeling sentence structure. We had always unschooled, so learning didn't happen in a linear fashion. While every day was filled with learning, it hadn't been compartmentalized by grade level.  She hadn't been taking achievement tests or TAC tests, or whatever was the latest fad in standardized testing.  Our experience had been that they learn what they need by adulthood. And Alyssa wanting to try high school would be interrupting this process. But, "the process" wasn't nearly as important as Alyssa choosing her own path. She was having some doubts and wanted to see what I would say.

And kids her age did. There were times, over the years, that other children or even their parents, would quiz Alyssa on what she knew and didn't know. And evidently, that stuck with her.

So I had no choice but to take a deep breath and respond, "I think that if you really WANT to go to High School, you could go and you'd be successful. And after you're there, you would see that you are every bit as smart as the others there."

She just looked at me. She never imagined that I would agree to let her go. We talked a little more about her reservations and what we could do to remedy them. I remembered times in the past when other schooled kids - and sometimes even their parents - and quizzed her on what she knew and didn't know. Evidently, that had stuck with her.

I agreed to call the school counselor when we got home. She was nervous but excited. I KNEW she would be successful if she went to school - but I needed her to know it.

So, now we're considering this, her newest adventure!