Remember when you’d misbehave in school, and your teacher would make you write something moronic like, “I will not stab the lunchroom lady”? Well, if you went to my grammar school that was what the “lines” punishment assignments were like.
My son came home with a directive to write lines about behaving in Spanish class. It was a long one, not something simple like I will not talk. The sentence took up 3 written lines and he was supposed to repeat it 100 times.
When he first told me on the phone, I got very quiet because I was angry. Not at him, but at the stupidity of the assignment. I don’t call him Golden Boy for nothing. He’s truly a great kid. Well behaved, smart, empathetic, etc. My first reaction was to tell him NOT to do the stupid lines. Then I reconsidered, only because I didn’t want him to get the idea that Mom will just write a letter to get him out of it when he doesn’t like something.
How do you strike that balance?? To lead by example and show your kid that A) You are part of a class and when the class gets punished, you have to suck it up and B) Stand up for what you believe in, and I believe in not paying hundreds of dollars each month to send my kid to private school to have him write lines.
Little man got so frustrated over the assignment and the unfairness that he started to cry, and once he started, he couldn’t stop. I sat down with him and explained that this is the oldest story in the world. That kids have been talking in class since the dawn of time, and teachers have been making them write lines just as long. Told him that if he unearthed an ancient school room, he’d see Sumerian tablets reading “I will not throw spitballs”. Also told him that his homeroom teacher was probably very embarrassed by their behavior, because during the day, she’s like a mom to those 15 kids in his class. In the end, we only had him write the sentence 25 times, and I sent a strongly worded letter to the teacher telling her to assign extra work if the class misbehaves in the future. If he’s going to be up past bedtime working on a punishment assignment, then he’d better learn something while he’s at it. I felt bad about doing it, because I actually really like his teacher. Is this the end of the issue?
No.
The teacher called me this morning at work. She apologized for the way everything was handled yesterday, and wanted to explain the background as well. The kids have been acting out in Spanish class (many of them speak Spanish already, and feel the class is like a free period) and yesterday la maestra got so frustrated with the class that she was in tears. She had a meeting with the homeroom teacher and the principal. It was the principal who dictated the assignment. The homeroom teacher apologized for being put on the spot and not working out an alternative punishment. She also said that she felt really bad for Golden Boy because he’s such a good kid, and he probably was talking but not causing trouble. That’s what gets me, he even owned up to talking and still said that the punishment was unfair. So we talked for a bit, mostly her apologizing and saying it won’t happen again, that the kids will be given a constructive assignment should they misbehave. She also thinks the Spanish teacher is giving them too much free time and that’s causing them to climb the walls. My opinion is that the kids need to respect every teacher, not just their favorite ones, and I told her as much. In the end, she gave me her cell phone number and asked me to call if there was ever any concern over the curriculum, assignments or anything having to do with my Golden Boy.
When I was in grammar school, the president himself could have written a letter about me not doing an assignment, especially a punishment one, and my teacher would have handed it back and told me to finish my damn work. Those teachers weren’t afraid of the parents, or the opinions of parents, or anything. I’m sure some of them have gone on to teach Navy Seals lessons about being tough. And they had to be. They dealt with gangs, kids who didn’t care, parents who didn’t care, teen pregnancy, kids who couldn’t afford lunch or warm clothes, kids from broken homes who cried all day. It was so much harder than just trying to teach us the proper way to use “caveat” in a sentence.
Yep, that’s why I send my kid to private school.
5 comments:
It is good that the teacher explained everything. Sometimes an explanation with an assignment, especially a punishment assignment, is better than just letting the kids relay it to the parents.
I went to Catholic school growing up and when we talked out loud, we just got a big slap, literally, on the wrist). I don't recall having to write stuff but even when things change...sometimes they still stay the same.
thank you for the comments!!! that's so cool that we have a lot in common :) i will add you to my blogroll miss!
I guess its good and bad the teacher called you,I went to public schools in the suburbs of Chicago and our teachers would dole out the punishment and that was it, even if you parents felt you were wronged (which was rare) or you were wrong (which was common)
awhile back, I made my oldest write "I will not argue with my mother" twenty times. I was desperate and he deserved much worse.
Oh no, THOSE punishments. I use to HATE it when they punished THE WHOLE class even the troublemakers were only a select few. How unfair.
Post a Comment