A day of talking
I have been talking all day. My head is spinning with all the voices. Lots of talk about Everyday math after last night's BOE meeting. Since I didn't attend, I'll share tidbits of today's other conversations instead.
On the phone with S: "Don't take no for an answer. Tell them that they need to look at her grades and her work over a long period of time and not just a certain test. Show her report card. Do what you have to do to get her into the e-program. I will help you!" (with moral support)
On a walk with M: "D (her son) was saved by a teacher who recognized in 1st grade that he needed more challenge and turned it into a game so that he didn't come home and say he was being punished for being smart. I wish she were still teaching!"
At lunch with T: "If X (a 2nd year teacher) had been mentored properly by the principal, R (her son) would have had a completely different year. Now he has co-teachers - one's brand new, the other has one year under her belt. I'm scared."
Also at lunch with T: (me talking) "All the parents in our kids' grade think I am the worst parent in the world. One of them was shocked because I invited her son to go down the shore for the day. Another was even more horrified because my soon-to-be 8 year old isn't in a booster and her kid is still in a car seat. It is like we live in the world of competitive overprotective mothering and all the parents in the school think I'm terrible at it!"
At TKD: "My son (who started 9th grade last week) leaves the house at 6:30 every morning and gets home at 6pm every night between soccer and lacrosse. He takes a shower. Hands me 2 piles of laundry (clothes from the school day and clothes from after-school sports), eats dinner and does his homework until 9:30. Then he watches about a half hour of TV and goes to bed."
On the soccer field T: "You have to be in their face to get anything done. It is "the squeaky wheel gets oiled" philosophy here! If you want services for your kid you have to be aggressive or nothing gets done. I never wanted to be that kind of parent."
Also on the soccer field J: "Should I be attending BOE and PTO meetings? What good are they?" (my response)"No good, unless you have an issue." "Can you make any changes by going?" "No, not usually."
At the Homeroom parent meeting C "You mean they want us to have a special meeting with the teacher? Why can't we just figure out who is doing what here and e-mail her? No one wants an extra unnecessary meeting!"
At the dinner table: C:"I am so bored in school. I know that other kids like the teacher and think he is funny, but he breaks down everything as if it is going to be hard when it is already so simple." (T turns to me "Make the call to whoever you can." T turns to C: "You may just have to suck it up this year, study harder and try to do better on those tests in the spring." Me: "I'll see what I can do!"
Now: "Mommy!!! Bedtime!"
My ears are ringing as if I had been to a rock concert.
I am also reliving the conversation yesterday about an unnamed 8 year old boy who told another unnamed 8 year old boy "I don't give a shit." (Within earshot of both a parent and other smaller kids - dad sent the kid home, but he didn't go!) Guess I am not the worst parent in Bridgewater.
On the phone with S: "Don't take no for an answer. Tell them that they need to look at her grades and her work over a long period of time and not just a certain test. Show her report card. Do what you have to do to get her into the e-program. I will help you!" (with moral support)
On a walk with M: "D (her son) was saved by a teacher who recognized in 1st grade that he needed more challenge and turned it into a game so that he didn't come home and say he was being punished for being smart. I wish she were still teaching!"
At lunch with T: "If X (a 2nd year teacher) had been mentored properly by the principal, R (her son) would have had a completely different year. Now he has co-teachers - one's brand new, the other has one year under her belt. I'm scared."
Also at lunch with T: (me talking) "All the parents in our kids' grade think I am the worst parent in the world. One of them was shocked because I invited her son to go down the shore for the day. Another was even more horrified because my soon-to-be 8 year old isn't in a booster and her kid is still in a car seat. It is like we live in the world of competitive overprotective mothering and all the parents in the school think I'm terrible at it!"
At TKD: "My son (who started 9th grade last week) leaves the house at 6:30 every morning and gets home at 6pm every night between soccer and lacrosse. He takes a shower. Hands me 2 piles of laundry (clothes from the school day and clothes from after-school sports), eats dinner and does his homework until 9:30. Then he watches about a half hour of TV and goes to bed."
On the soccer field T: "You have to be in their face to get anything done. It is "the squeaky wheel gets oiled" philosophy here! If you want services for your kid you have to be aggressive or nothing gets done. I never wanted to be that kind of parent."
Also on the soccer field J: "Should I be attending BOE and PTO meetings? What good are they?" (my response)"No good, unless you have an issue." "Can you make any changes by going?" "No, not usually."
At the Homeroom parent meeting C "You mean they want us to have a special meeting with the teacher? Why can't we just figure out who is doing what here and e-mail her? No one wants an extra unnecessary meeting!"
At the dinner table: C:"I am so bored in school. I know that other kids like the teacher and think he is funny, but he breaks down everything as if it is going to be hard when it is already so simple." (T turns to me "Make the call to whoever you can." T turns to C: "You may just have to suck it up this year, study harder and try to do better on those tests in the spring." Me: "I'll see what I can do!"
Now: "Mommy!!! Bedtime!"
My ears are ringing as if I had been to a rock concert.
I am also reliving the conversation yesterday about an unnamed 8 year old boy who told another unnamed 8 year old boy "I don't give a shit." (Within earshot of both a parent and other smaller kids - dad sent the kid home, but he didn't go!) Guess I am not the worst parent in Bridgewater.
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