Virtual Bureaucracy

Hello all...

I know you were wondering when we'd get to this point in the blog: the teaching and education part. Well, your wait is over, for we are here.

For those of you who haven't had the good fortune to witness first-hand my virtual academy enrollment joy, let me bring you up to speed.

Back in November Bob flew out to Kyoto for 4 days for in-person interviews with Ritsumeikan University. That was when we realized that a move back to Japan for this job could become a reality. So I went into my usual hyper-spaz mode: I repeatedly visited websites for various international schools in and around Kyoto. I also researched alternate routes for making sure Patrick and Aya's collective brains did not turn to mush.

The sad truth of the matter: the only way we would be able to afford sending Patrick and Aya to an international school was if I was also working full-time. Without my income and/or job benefits at a school, it was a no-can-do situation.

I narrowed down my job prospects to two schools (not that there are so very many international schools to choose from here, mind you). Osaka International School and Kyoto International School. Off went the applications.

Alas and alack....no job offers.

So I went to my next plan: homeschooling through an on-line program. I pumped friends for information, cast my fishing line upon the internet sea, and came up with the best option: a "virtual academy" , which was teamed up with one of the local school districts. I emailed and called and applied and called and emailed some more. I filled out paperwork and more paperwork and voila. Patrick and Aya were enrolled.

And all was lovely and beautiful in the land of Christina's mind. One major worry--namely the education of the kids-- was checked off my list. Let's all dance and sing.

Fast forward, if you please, to now. We are on the cusp of starting the virtual academy school year. I am the teacher, or "learning coach" as they put it.

I am a teacher who is missing half of her curriculum.

And teachers are not happy when they are missing half of their curriculum.

And teachers who have previously taught early elementary for 20 years, and who are now facing teaching junior high kids are especially not happy when missing curriculum.

You get my point.

Now, I want to stipulate, the local school folks back in California have been polite and helpful.

Likewise, the Customer Service folks with the virtual academy have been polite and mostly helpful.

And from what I have examined from Aya's curriculum (the half we DID receive), the materials are high quality and challenging.

But somewhere in the ether between virtual academy ordering folks and shipping folks, chaos is reigning supreme.

For it was only after we arrived in Japan, fully enrolled, did I discover that the virtual academy DOES NOT SHIP DIRECTLY TO JAPAN. Wont' do it. Can't do it. Something all tied up with the local school district we are enrolled in and funding and I know not what all.

Around mid-July just after we arrived, I logged on to the intricate website and discovered that Aya's materials had been put on order.

I noted also that no one had corrected our addresses--so the materials were still set to be delivered to Davis, rather than to our permanent address/mother-in-law's house (which is NOT in Davis. Just in case you were wondering).

So, still feeling confident, I called the virtual academy. The polite but rather befuddled-sounding man on the phone said he could redirect THIS shipment, but I'd have to have a teacher update my information. Once this was done, I started gently prodding him with questions about shipping to Japan, which totally threw him for a loop. There was babbling. It was not pretty.

Aya's book shipment arrived at my mother-in-law's house. Two 25 pound boxes that had each caved in on one end. My poor mother-in-law had to have them repacked (especially since one contained a microscope) and sent on to us. $300.

I renewed my efforts to try to bring order to shipping chaos. I called the virtual academy people again to little avail.....I kept getting the same sentence "we cannot ship to Japan".

I emailed local school district people, who kindly updated my addresses and offered to take up the shipping slack.

However, since it is summer break, my emails are being answered sporadically...which, normally would not bother me, except that Patrick's books have not even been placed on order yet. With 2 weeks shipping time needed for each order, our time is running out.

And even with the school district's lovely offer to have the shipments directed to them (after which they would re-send them to us), I have not yet been able to get anyone to update our shipping address.

Meanwhile, last week, my mother-in-law received two 40 pound boxes, EACH of which contained A COMPLETE COMPUTER, INCLUDING 2 MONITORS. Let's do the math, shall we? My mother-in-law had, in her posession, 2 computers and 4 monitors, none of which we had requested, ordered or needed.

A small part of me thought it was very sporting of the virtual academy to be willing to supply computers as well. But since we already have plenty of computers, and since I had specified from the outset that we did not need computers, this part was getting tinier by the second.

Back on the phone I went. This time the customer service people were in their element: returning materials? No sweat! I have been informed that they will be sending my mother-in-law shipping labels, which she needs to slap onto the computer boxes, after which a nice Fed Ex person will pick up the offending boxes and cart them away.

And I felt relief that another weird crisis had been averted....

until the customer service lady said, in a lovely, lilting southern drawl

"oh, by the way, I am seeing here that 2 printers are on their way. Have your momma-in-law just refuse delivery".

Printers?! Two of them?

Sigh.

Don't worry...I'll keep you posted....

Until next time...