I couldn't agree with all your statements more, Rebecca. You get it.

In my son's full-day kindergarten, which was already too long, his teacher regularly took away the play kitchen set when the kids got antsy or misbehaved. I'm like, really? You're taking away the one toy left in this classroom for five-year-olds?

My district is ridiculous, all the more so because it is wealthy and wins all sorts of awards because its students do test well. It's all a joke, and I know that because I'm the product of the same district, I also tested well...and I graduated high school without ever learning that the US lost the Vietnam War. Among a million other things. Some great "education."

The fifth graders being in the middle school was driven by the desire to build a huge middle school facility rather than investing in more or smaller elementary schools. They sold it by saying the fifth graders would be in their own wing--which was also a lie. My kid walks all over the school to go to different classes. They expect a lot of executive function out of a ten-year-old. I would be lost in his school.

Thank you for reading. Sorry to go off on this second tirade!