Day 12...Let's check it out first - before we "brow" about it...

Day 12...Let's check it out first - before we "brow" about it...

So, I went to the open house at West Jr. High last night because my daughter made me (Thursday night - today is Friday and I'm misnumbering my blogs - forgive me I'm not a professional!).  While waiting for the open house to begin I struck up a conversation with a couple whom I've known for many years.  They have a child at Fayette Academy (high school), but also a child at West Jr. High (and I believe their older child was in public school until high school as well).  They were asking about my older son (FA son) and we got to talking about my other son (son #2).  I told them that we had decided to put him at FWCHS this year and I got "the eyebrow" from the mom of the couple.  Do you know the look...like, "Are you crazy???".

LOL  After "the eyebrow" the mom quickly said, "Well, when (their West Jr. High student) hits 8th grade we are putting him on the waiting list at FA."  I simply said that they should check out FWCHS first - before making that decision.  I told them that we've been pretty pleased so far, that our son likes it a lot, and that we were happy to be saving the tuition money towards college (this is where the dad of the couple jumped in and said that it would be nice to save that cash).  I don't know that the mom was really taking me seriously - I know she has other relatives at FA and she may have gone there herself.  That's fine - some people want to send their kids to a certain school for tradition, but...in these tough economic times I am hoping that people will see that they don't HAVE to send their child to private school in Fayette County to get an EDUCATION.  Tradition is one thing...education is another.  I think "the eyebrow" was indication that she felt my child wouldn't receive an EDUCATION at FWCHS.  I believe she browed without really knowing the facts...

I had someone tell me today that they know people who have "mortgaged the farm" in order to sacrifice and send their child(ren) to FA.  I feel sorry for those folks.  We were lucky that we could afford to send our older child to FA without it being a big burden on the family.  Not all folks are so lucky.  Can you imagine sacrificing family vacations, entertainment or even necessities just to send your child to a school because you've seen and passed on "eyebrows" regarding FWCHS and feel your child won't be protected/educated there without knowing the facts?  I say NO MORE EYEBROWS!!! 

Okay - maybe not literally NO MORE EYEBROWS (please reference David Bowie above...not pretty for a guy or a girl)

rather,

Check Fayette County public high school out for yourself, as I did, before you brow about it!  :)  Go to the open houses, go to the 8th grade day in the spring, go meet with Mr. Hicks and get a tour of the school, talk to other parents whose children go there.  The truth is (for my family)...I am comfortable sending my child to FWCHS - just as comfortable as I was sending my other child to FA.  I also feel like the education won't be delivered in exactly the same way (as it differs at every school), however it will be delivered.  

So...that's it for today.  I'm looking forward to the start of FWCHS football season tonight - Go Wildcats! 

p.s. My son also has his first Cross Country meet this Saturday in Jackson, TN - Go Wildcats!  He's super excited and has his brand-spanking-new uniform ready to go!  FYI...FA always just threw old mis-matched uniforms at the Cross Country team.  Seriously - they didn't match from boy to boy.  It wasn't really "up there" on the list of priorities for FA sports and they got scraps and then they got dropped last year as a team.  I see that they've possibly brought the team back from their website this year, so I'm happy for those students who are interested in running 3.2 miles at FA this year!  What a great sport for the kids - it might just encourage them to jog/walk/run when they are done with school to stay in shape. 

p.p.s. I've been in Coach Redditt's trailer for Cross Country/track at FWCHS.  Although not the most organized office, he has boxes of donated shoes, etc. for kids who can't afford them and also proudly displays all his trophies and photographs of athletes from over the years.  Meeting Coach Redditt last year and seeing his trailer (when he helped the West Jr. High Cross Country runners) helped me to formulate an idea of how much some of the staff at FWCHS care about the students.  Sometimes it's the little things and the simple moments in life that cause a person to do what they do...