About 10 months ago I wrote this:
"My sweet H doesn't always do what she's told when she's told... Her [second-grade] teacher seems disinterested in her intelligence and her ability, only her obedience. Mrs. P is working hard to enlist my husband and I in breaking our daughter's spirit."
Interesting follow up on that. We saw one of H's classmates at the beach with her mother, and I had a chance to talk briefly with the mom, C. C didn't want to badmouth Mrs. P, but she wasn't crazy about her. I told her we had the same experience. She said Mrs. P told her her daughter was having difficulty getting her work done - that blew me away. After H had been in Mrs. P's class for less than a week, she asked me if H's 1st grade teacher had said anything about her not finishing her work. I told her yes, but I heard the same stories from every other 1st grade parent in H's class. Mrs. P told me I was the only parent she was saying that to this year.
Apparently not. C said Mrs. P told her that her daughter had trouble FOCUSING. I told C that Mrs. P said the exact same thing to me, but I know what that's code for and it's never gonna happen. Well, it's never gonna happen for my kid, but it did happen for C's kid. Mrs. P succeeded in making C think there was something wrong with her daughter, so she took her to the doctor and got her medicated. She behaves better for Mrs. P now and finishes her work when she's told. No matter whether she's learning, or engaged, so long as she's medicated and obedient. That's what really matters in our schools.
After a few months with Mrs. P, my husband and I started to see fear in H's eyes when it was time to do homework. When it turned to consistent terror, we decided we'd had enough of the public school. (Our other daughter was spending her days crying, which as anyone who knows her knows, is NOT our daughter!) So we put H and S back into private school. After a few weeks, we had our first meeting with H's new second grade teacher, Mrs. R. Mrs. R told us that H was doing well, learning the material, on target for her grade, and fitting right in. I asked Mrs. R if H was finishing her work, and she said yes, but she's more interested in the quality of her students' learning than the quantity of worksheets they finish. In less than one month, H went from the worst teacher for her learning style to the best, and she did it without drugs.
The icing on the cake - H will have Mrs. R again for third grade!
And then there was this:
Me: S, what do you want for breakfast?
S: a book.
Me: I mean to eat.
S: a book.
Me: A book is food for your brain, but your body needs food too.
S: But my brain is hungry.
:-) May your brain always be hungry my love.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Friday, July 03, 2009
We had 2 plots left at the family burial site, for my mother and my father. Then my brother was killed in a tragic accident. He was buried there, leaving one plot. A few years later, I bought 2 more plots together in the same section of the cemetery because it was important to ME that my family be together. I never thought it would be only 8 years until we needed to bury my father there.
Within one year my mother started dating. I told her I wasn't ready to hear about it, but she kept telling me anyway. A year after that she was engaged. He's a great guy, he takes good care of her and they're happy. But I was told - not asked - that I would approve of him and give them my blessing. That was before I even met him.
A year later they got married. That was one year ago. Less than 4 years after my father died, my mother changed her name. I'm not stupid, I can do the math. She's not going to be buried next to my father with a different name. Last night she made me listen to her say it. One year of marriage trumps 40 years and 2 children.
Within one year my mother started dating. I told her I wasn't ready to hear about it, but she kept telling me anyway. A year after that she was engaged. He's a great guy, he takes good care of her and they're happy. But I was told - not asked - that I would approve of him and give them my blessing. That was before I even met him.
A year later they got married. That was one year ago. Less than 4 years after my father died, my mother changed her name. I'm not stupid, I can do the math. She's not going to be buried next to my father with a different name. Last night she made me listen to her say it. One year of marriage trumps 40 years and 2 children.
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