Just in time to end the year with a bang, comes the 5-week report. This is the lovely reminder that your child is in high school and you should pay attention. It arrives in the mail in just enough time for any student to pull themselves out of a hole they may have stumbled into academically. It is not a requirement of the school district to do this, but it is helpful for parents and students.
I distinctly remember asking my child if he had anything that I should be concerned about at least 2 to 3 times a week over the past 5 weeks, getting a negatory response each time. Imagine my surprise when I find a 67 in Math with a comment next to it that not all “required” assignments have been completed. It was here that the search for meaning all started…
He says “required” meant they were required in the past, not anymore. I say “BULL-ONY” and he’s doing them whether my little student gets a big, fat, juicy ZERO or not. And I meant that. And I will require that be done. This went over like a lead balloon. (For those of you who think “required” has an expiration date, this means it was not received well.)
And just so that you know how reasonable I am, I suggested that we let the teacher confirm that “required” means it needs to be done. That was also not received well, leading me to think that I was right all along. Another big surprise. Lord I love e-mail. While I am not required to contact teachers this way, it has provided insight.
(I also suggested he research the meaning of “required” in an old, but dependable reference book we used to call the dictionary, touching off a few sparky comments but I can fire retorts off faster than my little shirker at this point in his life, so fear not.)
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“The two most important requirements for major success are: first, being in the right place at the right time, and second, doing something about it†~ Ray Kroc
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9 responses so far ↓
1 angelawd // Dec 29, 2007 at 6:20 pm
Way to go! I’ll be handling my teen’s grades in a similar fashion this week. Grrr…
2 RaeJane // Dec 29, 2007 at 7:24 pm
What I have to look forward to!
3 Karen Vogel // Dec 29, 2007 at 11:49 pm
They never tell you if things are going bad. My son kept telling me things were “okay” with Chemistry, until his teacher e-mailed me with his failing test scores. Aaargh.
4 Rebecca // Dec 30, 2007 at 11:20 am
Way to lay down the law!
5 Kim // Dec 31, 2007 at 1:56 pm
oh, I am not looking forward to that stage at all.. I was a terror so I can’t imagine my offspring will be any different.
6 Drawer Queen // Dec 31, 2007 at 6:32 pm
I feel your pain. Once my daughter learned to forge my signature, I would find out months later that she had dropped a class or failed a test (and signed the required parent form) or attended a Saturday school, unbeknownst to me. One good thing about college is that the college only communicates with the student so I can pretend she is doing great all the way until she shows me the grades. Someday I hope she will figure out it is about her learning something, not keeping bad news from me!
7 Keli // Dec 31, 2007 at 10:24 pm
I don’t know why these kids assume they can pull a fast one. Goes back to the ol’ viewing mom as chopped liver syndrome. You handled it quite well!
8 Paula // Jan 1, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Your guy reminds me of my bro. He’d always figure out the minimum amount of work he’d need to do to get by in a class . . . the rest was ignored. Not a bad strategy: it left him with a lot more time to party!
9 stacy // Jan 4, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Wow, does this sound familiar. Does your son have ADD? My daughter does and we go through scenes very similar to this all the time.
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