Finally, I'm "getting" Georgia Virtual Academy!

I attended the principal's Elluminate session Monday and was stunned to be told it usually takes new families about three months to find their stride.

Three months.

Not five days, not two weeks, not a month, but three months. That makes sense! We haven't been in public school for seven years and never have participated in any umbrella program, so to go in blind and learn everything about a virtual public school program in just a few days would be impossible, especially with the teachers and administrators making adjustments and finding their ways as well.

After my meltdown a couple of weeks ago, I gritted my teeth and dug in to honor my one-year commitment to the program. Almost immediately, things began to turn around. We learned we would be able to attend the presidential inauguration because of the efforts of Larry's teacher; Larry began attending live classes online, beaming with pride at every "atta boy" he received from teachers who aren't me; we received our missing materials; the children absolutely loved the Study Island test prep program; we set up a more workable schedule; and we completely banished the option of withdrawing this year.

Although we haven't had official parent-teacher conferences, we are blessed with Mrs. Bertrang and Mrs. Grout, who do their best to answer my zillion questions quickly and accurately. In addition to the inauguration, we will get to participate in some other fun outings like the Center for Puppetry Arts, and a Yahoo GVA group for folks in our area just opened.

Anyway, I realize that I have spent previous posts outlining my frustrations with GVA, but believe me, if we didn't think this program has tremendous potential we'd be outta here. It just takes time and patience, and though I'm not blessed with an overabundance of either, my heels are still dug in and my teeth are still gritted, with the hopes of relaxing both as I get the hang of things.

Right reasons

Geddy is on his way home from the Texas coast, where he and the other members of his company's group gave away two tractor-trailer loads of supplies to storm victims. I was so much in support of this project that I hijacked my own e-mail list -- the last time I did it was to tell everyone my brother had been killed -- to drum up support and donations.

Imagine my dismay when, in speaking to one of the team members last week, he mentioned how they couldn't go down to the coast with half-empty trucks because they had to make a good show for a customer down there. "We're up for review with them," he said, "and we want to leave a good impression."

What the??? How 'bout all the folks who wouldn't get what they needed to LIVE?

The subject came up again when another member of the team mentioned how great it would be to buy some supplies to keep on hand at the company for disaster relief. That way, salespeople could parade potential customers past the stash and talk about the noble things the company is doing.

So I called BS.

It's not at all noble to use other folks' suffering as a springboard to promote your business. Help because it's the right thing, not because you might profit from it.

So the next time this company needs my help to help others, I'll know it's really all about promoting itself. I'll keep my money in my pocket and my e-mail contacts in my file.

Lesson learned.