Fa la la la la...

For those of you that don't know me, and most of you don't! I have2 children. An eight year old that lives with his dad after a grueling court battle a few years ago. (I'm still waiting for a nice construction accident) FOR THE RECORD I DO NOT WANT HIM HURT...there that should save me from him saying I'm speaking bad of him.

And I have a six year old who's dad pays child support, but has never shown the slightest interest in seeing his son. It hasn't come up too much, but with Tyler just starting school this year it's beginning to become apparent to him that his family isn't the same as others.

Well, they both had Christmas concerts this year. My oldest goes to a school in Milwaukee which shall remain nameless, my youngest going to the school up here where we live, in the middle of the boonies, where people actually care about the children.

My youngest's concert was last week, filled with traditional songs, and skits from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and other classics. It was adorable and a miracle of teaching ingenuity that kept the children quiet and within their respective classes until it was over so that they would be handled and no one would get lost in the shuffle.

Fast forward to my oldest's concert, which was this morning at his school. Now, I realize there is a HUGE difference between the schools, but come on.

We walk in to the too-small gymnasium, with 3 rows of about 10 chairs for 60 parents. Granted, they always bring out a few more chairs, but there is a shortage of chairs EVERY year.

The kids sit on the floor in front of the parents, facing the stage. Their teachers sit along the side of them. I'm assuming this is supposed to be to keep them in-line, although I have yet to see that.

The theme this year was, Holiday Songs You Haven't Heard Before. Hmmm....as a parent, I would kind of like to see my child learn something that someone else has even HEARD of. Not only were these songs that no one's heard of, I don't think that the majority were actual songs. I fully believe that the music teacher threw some lyrics together that mentioned either Hanuka (sorry, I know I spelled that wrong) or Kwanzaa. None of them mentioned Christmas at all, and 2 of them were in Spanish.

I understand that Christmas is not the only holiday. I fully support learning about new cultures and races and religions. But to exclude Christmas to promote other holidays just because of the student ratio. I don't think so.

I'm in the middle of expressing myself to the principal, with another letter to the music teacher, and am considering the hour long drive to get there every month on a day I'm not supposed to be, just to join the PTA at his school to make sure that future programs are not this one-sided.

Signed,

One angry mom wondering exactly WHAT her son is learning.