Teacher's Pet or Teacher's Pain?

Devon will be starting pre-k this August, and she couldn't be more excited. Too bad she doesn't really know how long three months can last, but since summer always seems to go by fast she will be there before we know it. So now that this reality of my baby starting school has set in, I can't help but wonder if all of my kids teachers are going to appreciate my intense concern for my children's education or if they will see me as a pest and worn all the other teachers.

A few weeks ago, I met with a high school friend who I haven't seen since graduation, and she holds a higher disregard for public school than I do. So much that she is homeschooling her little girl who is also four. Now I have to admit there are some pretty tempting advantages to homeschooling. Her little girl is already up to the first grade, because let's face it, when you work one on one you let the child set the pace. You don't have to worry about whether or not a teacher is a child molester. Your kids won't pick up nasty habits from other kids. But then again, you deny your kid the opportunity to make their own moral judgements.

Now don't worry, I'm not going to home school Devon, with her personality she will definitely thrive more in a classroom environment than at home. So this begs the question of whether or not Devon's teacher will be able to handle my constant concern over public school curriculum. Since let's face it, they teach to pass the TAKS. Luckily, I don't have to worry about that battle until Devon is in third grade. I would like to think a teacher would invite any parent who wants to ensure the best for their child. So we will just have to wait and see. But then again, I am the type of person who will go out to the teacher stores and buy my own material to help my kids master a subject/topic that I believe the school isn't doing a good job at. But once again, I say we will just have to wait and see.

I am such a freak about this. It's probably quite sad to most people and I am sure I have passed the point of obsession. I even found a website, www.greatschools.com which is where you can rank your kids school and even leave reviews, this was my favorite part. Devon's elementary school is only in it's second year of operation, but so far it has pretty good reviews. There were only two poor reviews, and one of them said they were pulling their kid and sending them to private school. This worried me a bit, but it is possible that they have standards no public school can meet. Who knows.