So why do I feel bad?

Well we recieved the letter from Gage's teacher today basically saying he will not take part in the Valentines party on Wednesday. No big shock, even though he has been better on behavior. Her excuse is because the majority of days he did pull lights she wanted to be fair to the other students. I knew it was coming and it only reinforced our decision. So when I got home tonight I filled out all the paperwork to turn into the Superintendent tomorrow. Gage was actually excited to finally know he was for sure going to start being homeschooled. So anyways I emailed the teacher, vice principal, and principal tonight. I will let you be the judge of it. I always have anxiety after sending stuff like this but I didn't say nearly what I wanted to. I held back a lot. But I still feel awful. Anyways here it is...

Quote:

Ms. G, Ms. M, and Ms. B,

This email is to inform you that Gage’s last day at Owl Creek will be Feb. 23rd. He will start homeschool the following Monday, 26th. At this time we think it will be more beneficial for him considering the problems he has been having. We are also growing concerned of his self-esteem being compromised. While Kindergarten is usually a time for children to grow socially and become a more structured individual, it should not be at the cost of ones self esteem. Children are very observant and generally have more intelligence than we give them credit for. While I understand schools have come a long way in reinforcing behavior as either a good choice or bad choice, this has made no difference in the eyes of being labeled a “Bad” or “Good” child. Other children pick up when children are constantly having to be reminded to make “good choices” by their teachers and other adults. Unfortunately this ostracizes the one child as other children are continually telling the teachers and other adults, so and so is playing with ice or any other bad choice. I see this occurring with Gage and my heart is breaking for him. We have been discussing with him over the past few weeks whether or not he would prefer homeschooling vs. attending his school. Having weighed the pros and cons, it is hard for me to ignore the fact public school is usually a better choice as far as social play as well as other extra curricular activities. However, because Gage is having to miss out on so many social things like parties and playtime, he is not receiving this social activity there either. He does receive social play through his church as well as any city wide sports he plays, so he will have that outlet even in the homeschool setting. I trust you will understand our decision. We thank you for the time you have put into our son and the patience it has taken to deal with him at times. These past 6 months have taught me a lot about my son and I am sure he has learned a lot as well.

Thank you for your time,

Jessica and Steven Kitchens
2/12/2007