Choosing courses should not require a translator.

Bou and I are meeting with a school counselor tomorrow to discuss and select courses for grade 9. HIGH SCHOOL. Can’t. Breathe. Ohmygawd. Make it stop. And pass the wine.

And on that note……..

Could school boards make their prospectuses any more confusing? Parents need decoder rings to make sense of the politically correct terms, class offerings, and possible post-secondary routes available. Gone are the halcyon days of clear charts that spelled out in black and white what students had a hope in hell of grasping. I kid. Of course all options should be available to our precious bundles.

Back in my day – said with a wavering voice while leaning on my hand-whittled cane – we walked to school through one meter of snow. Up hill. Both ways.

Not really. What we had were three high school tracks, advanced, general, and basic. I get it. Saddling fragile teen psyches with these big bad labels is a no-no in today’s PC climate. But did the brainiacs who wrote the prospectuses ever think that maybe all their proper jargon would confuse the hell out of parents trying to guide their young’uns down a garden path that doesn’t lead to going up in flames?

I’m not really down with having 13 year-olds pigeonholed into streams of schooling that will determine future careers either. I’d like a count of the course selection designers who have ever spoken with a 13 year-old. Let me clarify it for them….

Teens divide their mental space equally between being super smart and clued out. Chill out now. I’m not insulting teens. I have one remember? I happen to think he’s brilliant, but he’s also an adolescent boy whose body is expending a lot of energy and blood flow growing limbs and brain cells and learning things like algebra (plus other things a mom doesn’t need to think about), so there’s not always a lot left over for common sense and future planning. This is where parents come in. Novel concept, I know.

Because D and I are around and involved, we’d like to help Bou make smart choices that will leave many avenues open to him. To do this effectively we need logical and legible tools. Since we have neither, I’ll be cramming until the wee hours in preparation for my meeting tomorrow. This is grade 12 physics class all over again.

Anyone have a degree in deciphering school board code? Or maybe the juicy bits are written in invisible ink.

PS. The only reason D won’t be there is because the meeting is conducted in French and my brain needs to be focused on Bou’s schooling and not on being the translator du jour.