..talk about frustrating...

...another rant today people...sorry about that!  I am hoping that some of you out there can understand my frustration and are right there with me!  What is it with kids and teachers and homework???  Our youngest attends Middle School (Junior High to those of you in a normal school district) and we have absolutely no clue when he has homework.  We have been in contact with the teachers and they simply tell us that he is responsible to write down what he has for homework in his school provided planner...ok...I get that...pretty simple huh??  The only problem I can see is that HE IS 12 YEARS OLD!!!  How many of us when we were 12 took responsibility to inform our parents that, "yes....I do have homework today Mom!!)
The part of this that gets me madder than hell is that each and everyone of these teachers have their own websites...with sections on it for them to list their homework for their classes.  None of his teachers do it, nor do they feel that it is necessary.  Here is what one of their websites says:

Homework

February 2, 2010

We are now working on ratios, rates, probability and percentages.

Please chech your student's planner daily for homework and assigned work.

***please note that the above misspelling is the teachers and not mine***

Let me pose a scenario to all of you:  If you had a student, or a small group of students that were struggling with having their homework completed, or if they were consistently not turning it in wouldn't you want to take some measures to ensure that you were doing everything possible to help these kids out??  Maybe I'm in the minority on this but I thought that the teachers were there to help our kids???  Is letting them consistently not do work helping them to succeed??  If you have the resources available to you why don't you use them??  Is it too time consuming??  
Another thing...what ever happened to teachers being there after school for kids who need help??  My pops was a teacher for over 30 years and I remember him being there after school for a couple of hours to help kids out...EVERY NIGHT!  School gets out at 2:45 and his the majority of his teachers are gone by 3pm!!  I think we really need to make a stand!  I hope that I am not the only one concerned about our youth...what good does it do to let them slide through something as important as school...it just sets them up for failure later on in life.  
I truly hope that this school district is an anomaly...and I know that there are actually teachers that care out there.  My point is this:  even if you aren't getting the response that you want from the majority of parents/students, don't stop putting forth the effort...there are some of us who care about how our kids are doing!  If I did that in my profession...I'd be looking for a new one!

HELP!!!!!!!

Hey all!  I hope that everyone had a safe and happy New Year!  I'm having a difficult time with it being February already!!!  Where did the time go??

I've actually got a question for all of you out there today...maybe a couple and I really appreciate the feedback.  When planning on relocating to a new state or across the country...what resources have you found to be the best for information??  We are planning a move to the Boston area and are looking for all good feedback on neighborhoods, school systems, areas that are really good as well as those to stay away from!  Any and all information is greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for all of your help!!  Please...please...please respond and let us know!

B~