Why I Now Volunteer at John's School

It took me awhile to figure it out, but now I definitely get why it's better to have a work-at-home parent: So that someone can volunteer at the child's school and encourage the doling out of As.

No, seriously.  John earned this flawless record all on his own.  But I do have to say this:  Now that Ms. Roberta Robertson knows that I play the piano due to my role in the first-grade musical (note which class she teaches), he has earned his first-ever "A" in music.

Not that this is all about me, of course. 

This post is mostly written in a joking manner.  But I have to say that recently I have noticed that if you are in a position of authority within the PTO, your child has a MUCH better (read: 100%) chance of always being placed with the most experienced, most well-respected teacher.

Luckily, I believe that my child can learn in all kinds of situations and with all kinds of different teachers, so this doesn't bother me.  I just notice it.  You know.  Like you notice that you've been passed over for a promotion or that the kids in the school across town don't even have a PTO.  And if they did, they couldn't have meetings unless they provided transportation, translators, and paid time off from work. 

We have gotten so spoiled at this school.  They are a top public school in the state in terms of test scores --which is more than amazing when you consider the fact that they teach one of the vitally important testing subjects (math) in another language (Spanish).

They also recently got recognized as a Governor's Reward school (or something like that), and this article ran in a local paper. 

The reason I've been thinking about this is because Sam is a full five years younger than John.  If he were four years younger, then he would be guaranteed a spot at this school, which is K-4th.  So when it's Sam's turn to enter kindergarten, we will have to enter the lottery all over again.  But that's not until 2015, so who cares, right?

Right.

For now, all that matters is that Ms. Roberta Robertson (it is a pleasure just to type that name) has been consistently asking me to accompany the school choir for various performances.  In a town like Nashville where everyone is a musician, that's a compliment indeed.  You see, out of all those people, I'm one of the only ones who can actually read music.

Onward (upward is a luxury),

k