Today I received an email from my youngest child’s teacher informing me that yet again she had failed to turn in her work. It seems that she was yet again given an opportunity over the weekend to finish a packet of homework and present me with a note to sign, acknowledging the fact my child’s current grade in her class is a 7.
Nope, that was not a typo, her grade is a 7. How exactly does one manage to get a grade of 7 you ask? Well, what it takes is for you to turn in only 1 assignment the two weeks following progress reports. You have a fresh slate so all grades received are new opportunities to excel, or not as the case may be. The time period in question is for March 15th thru March 26th. It seems she has only turned in one homework assignment, which she received a 100 on. All other assignments had apparently gone up in smoke.
When my child came rolling in this afternoon I asked her what was going on, and why was I just now hearing about it. She replied that yes, she was given an opportunity to complete the homework over the weekend, but other things came up and she never got around to doing it or mentioning it. Is it just me or does anybody else have a child like this? I had to then shake off the feeling of deja vu. My oldest was famous for her utter and complete denial that school=homework assignments. Come to think of it, I believe this transformation happened in middle school, and this is our youngests first year in middle school. Coincidence? I don’t think so. What is it about middle school that causes kids, or at least my kids, to all of a sudden lose their minds? What is so puzzling to me is both of my children are great. They are bright and funny and seem to have a fairly decent grip on things, so what is up?
When I received the email from the teacher alerting me to this gross act of negligence on my child’s part, the first thing that ran through my mind was; Today is the 29th, has she turned in nothing at all for the last two weeks?! If so, why am I just now receiving an email today, on the eve of a scheduled parent-teacher conference! I did respond to the teacher asking exactly that, she replied by saying she had been sending home notes. I then advised her to cut out the middle man (my child) and from this point forward kindly contact me directly as her current form of notification lacked a certain reliability.
What does tomorrow bring with the Parent-Teacher conference ahead? Idaknow….my goal is to find a way to get my child back on track and keep her there, she still has 6 more years of school to go! I do know this, after having a long conversation with my child and re-reading the teachers email, the deadline for the makeup of missing assignments was class time today. Thankfully she had already completed most of them and had not turned them in. Why not? Abby say’s its because when she tries to, the teacher tells her to hold onto it until the next day. Has she not met the child? I’m thinking she should take the assignment and run! This is the kid that barely makes it out of her room, down the hall and into the truck with everything she started off with when headed to school! I think tomorrow shall prove enlightening for all involved.
Sidebar: This evening while I was in line at the grocery store, her teacher was two people behind me, I said hello good to see ya, she gave me a tired smile and nodded. When I looked up again she had disappeared, I guess she musta forgot something………
“If we do not plant knowledge when young, it will give us no shade when we are old.” ~ Lord Chesterfield
This is the quote the teacher has on her emails, I like it, not convinced of it, but I like the idea of it……
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!
My oldest son had learning disabilities and an IEP and most teachers (starting in middle school ) had no clue what to do with him.. He also ha s a little ADD. The teachers were so BUSY they did not want anything extra to deal with . He was pushed to the side a lot and I felt as if I were in a continual battle to get him through schhool ! It was horrible ! He’s now 22 and doing fine.
Now on the other end of the spectrum, my youngest son is in the gifted program and there are all sorts of special help for him: Program challenge one day a week , a 2 week summmer camp and even meetings @ the board of ed for parents of gifted children. Having children on both sides, it seems unfair!
Hang in there and don’t be surprised if she starts having behavior problems because it gets hard for these kids to be different and they def can feel the teachers frustration !
God bless you !
I understand! My daughter is in the advanced classes (gifted) and is OCD. (See “Ain’t Misbehaving” post) It is a struggle at times to get her reeled back into reality as she is alot like that dog on the movie Up. The square root of 124 SQUIRREL! You get my drift. She is bright, funny and completely unorganized. She figures “it will be what it will be” and is after no ones approval. She hates to dissappoint but is true to herself and doesn’t sweat it. We have had a long discussion on the importance of completing her assignments and that she is expected to focus and do the work. She will be fine, her grade will go back to an A and hopefully we won’t have to address it again before the next school year. I see alot of me in her, with the exception that I can meet deadlines and am an organized person. You can’t tell it from my desk, but I am =)
Thank you for your comment, I indeed feel your pain/joy/ hope you have for your children.