This past Monday, I was a bit excited because all the kids were in school (no one was home with pink eye, fevers, coughs, aches, throwing up, etc...) and was determined to get back into a routine.
I exercised (Wii Fit), fixed a nice, healthy breakfast (including a yummy fruit & veggie smoothie using our Vita-Mix), had a couple of loads of laundry done or going, and had an idea of what else I could get accomplished that day.
Then the phone rang & it was Emmalee's teacher. She said that Emmalee would be coming home in about 15 minutes because school was cancelled for the rest of the day. She also said it was because about 40 kids at the Jr/Sr High School were absent due to sickness.
So I hung up the phone & knew that the day as I had planned it was finished.
When Callum & Emmalee walked in the house, they were arguing & saying that the other one was not telling the truth. So I asked them what was wrong, and Callum proceeds to tell me school was NOT cancelled due to sickness, but because of the guy in Boise. (Now at first I couldn't understand what he was saying--due to the "I'm telling the truth" "No, I'm telling the truth" and then at times it is hard to understand all that Callum says). So I asked him to tell me again what was going on. He said: "My teacher told us that school was cancelled because of the "looney" guy in Boise." I said, "WHAT??" (trying to imagine why his teacher would tell him that some crazy guy across the state was affecting us). He again said, "School was cancelled because of 'Looney'." It then clicked that he meant the state superintendent of Idaho, Tom LUNA.
About that time, Zane and Brienna walked in and so I asked them what they knew. They said that a bunch of students gathered in the commons area right before school started, then they "walked out" of school in protest of the education bills that were trying to be passed. And so more than half of our students were absent because of the protest (and some really WERE sick), and so the students that were still at school were sent home as soon as the buses arrived.
I felt just a little bad because I had sent Zane to school even though he was still not 100%, had a headache & felt a bit dizzy. But I told him he had missed too much school already & needed to go & see how he felt.
The bad news, though: we will have to make up that day of school--except the elementary students might not need to because they attend more days/hours than the state requires them to (that's the way our calendar is).
I wasn't too thrilled that school was cancelled and thought that they should have held it for the students that did show up (most of the elementary students were in school).
Now about the "protest": I am actually against most of the education reform bills that are before the legislature. All of the reforms are "surprises" and not one was mentioned during Luna's campaign. I also think the legislatures are trying to pass them too quickly. A lot of the "no" votes on the ones that HAVE passed were because they felt they were not informed enough about the issues and wanted more time. And I oppose a lot of what is being passed or trying to be passed. It will negatively affect teachers & education (and our family).
So I am in favor of protests against the bills, but I don't see how walking out of school is a protest. I would have liked the students to make signs & march down Main Street, or all gather & have their voices heard. But only a few actually did anything that day besides go home & have a day off. I did hear a few girls called the newspapers, signed a petition & contacted the legislatures.
I would have be okay with my children joining in a protest, if they: believed in the cause; were informed & knew (details) what they were protesting; and actually voiced their protest (march, media, petition,etc.) But both of them thought it was sort of silly to just walk out of school and go home.
So, enough of my soap box & politics. Time will tell if all the education reform bills pass & how they will affect our schools and teachers (including Rusty). In the meantime--we have an "extra" day of school to make up now.
