Because I am crazy file # 768

I would really like to come up with something fairly decent to write... but some days that is just impossible with me.

So, for your reading pleasure.... here are some excerpts of emails & anecdotes written to others on this day in "Deanna History":

The girl refused to go to school today.
Down.Right.Refused.
End of story.

There are some days as a parent that you absolutely can not argue, or even attempt to have your child listen to you. They will not hear it. I am not a pushover, or wishy-washy. I believe in listening to what my children are saying to me... (unless of course they are rambling at me about nothing... and then I quit listening...., but this wasn't one of those times)....so the girl refused. And guess what... she isn't a little wimp of a thing... so how does one forcibly make a child go to school when you can not make them budge. Well... you don't... and you have to understand that they have come to this path in their road because there were steps that lead them to it.

Yesterday the girl bitterly complained about her beloved teacher. More than anything she was overcome by his reactions to her. Rolling his eyes, long pauses, a large sigh, repeated instruction that she must stay in the class for math, once again reading a note in the planner from the parent. The girl isn't an idiot, and is more than astute in judging someone's reactions, and I think had really had enough of him. She decided that she wasn't facing him at school today, and refused to go.... but only until lunch... because after lunch she would not have to see him, not today, or tomorrow, and of course not over the weekend... which in her mind, was a good enough break for her.

I was slightly furious. Slightly furious that she refused to go to school. Slightly furious that her observations of his behaviour impacted her behaviour, and slightly furious that I still had to call the school and tell them that she would be missing, not sick, but not able to attend... so I wrote him this:
Pippy will not be in your class this morning, as she has completely refused to go.

It boils down to a number of things:

Pippy can not find "the book" that somehow got misplaced from yesterday. I do remember her with it yesterday morning, and beyond that I am not sure where it has been misplaced. I guess there are not any extras, until the misplaced book is found.

Pippy was not successful in retrieving the spelling words. She hunted through the recycling bin, and asked other students, but they were not able to accommodate her requests. I queried that certainly the teacher could have given the words to write down, even if you didn't have another copy.

She is terrified to have me write you another note, as she has reported to me that you do appreciate notes left in the planner. Whether you wish to believe it or not, there are circumstances in life that prevent people from doing as they are expected.

Pippy did not appreciate breaking down in tears yesterday in class, and wishes not to do so again, so has made the decision that she will not return today until after lunch.

So, for this morning she is completely avoiding your responses & reactions to her, in an effort to regain some composure.

As a parent I wished for her to come in and face you, but she is adamant about this. I have never faced this situation before in her complete refusal to go to school, and am frustrated with YOU and HER, that it has come to this.

So where in this do I mention MATH....???? Is that evil four letter word in the above letter? I can not visualize it.... anywhere.... I think that his generalization of "not getting her work done" is a common theme that he uses. He has complained about this before, and when I wanted to know exactly what the assignments were, I was not given any further info, or even better... she was suddenly caught up. (OMG... he would have HATED HATED HATED the Hamsterson in his class....., in fact, I would probably still be notices that the boy hadn't handed things in from last year.....)

His response:


I am sorry that Pippy is upset.
I do not appreciate being blamed for how she is feeling though. I was in no way angry with her. I simply told her that the expectations are that she has her work completed on time. Lately she has been falling behind. If not, simply come to me before school, after school or during a break (Nutrition Break or Lunch), but not just before the class and say, "I'm not done." I understand that life sometimes gets in the way. Pippy seems to be falling behind though, and my expectations are the same for all students. I think that expecting students to have work done on time, and be in class to learn is reasonable. She has missed a lot of class discussion and interaction with her peers in Math as she is going to Mr. Math Resourse Teacher to complete her homework. As for misplaced sheets etc. I would gladly give them to her if she were to ask. I have to do this daily with a lot of other students.I hope this clears up your misunderstanding.


Because I do not have enough to do... or wait... because I am slightly off my rocker, my response to that:

I am not blaming you, I am stating what I have observed, and her interpretation was in fact that you were angry with her. I will let her read your response to ensure that you were not.

I agree with your expectations that work should be completed in a timely manner. Please tell me what assignments are not completed, so that we can use utilize this weekend to get her all caught up.

Math, the constant sore spot. At the end of the day, I wish to see success. Whether it is in a classroom discussion setting or with Mr. RT, as long as the end result is that she is learning the concepts and understanding them, that is the real importance. I do remember in previous discussion with you, that you wish to teach the class as a whole, and for most kids, I get this. It may just be that Pippy isn't one of those kids, and if she uses Mr. RT to get her homework done, then she is one step ahead of herself, as she understands what works for her.

I think she realized just yesterday that she didn't have the spelling words, and tried going out on her own to find them. She had said that you were at basketball, and tried to problem solve on her own.

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I am still waiting for the work that she has not completed to make it to my inbox. Oh wait... that would be because she doesn't have any.....

So that is just one grey hair element for the day....

Onto the next... which is a bit funnier... as my friend was complaining.. ( I guess it is a complaint, or stating about her children and homework....)



Oh L..... what is with you....Are you new to this or what...Don't you know that there isn't any time to do homework afterschool as there are television shows to watch, and games to play, and friends to talk to, and much much facebooking to accomplish... all in an effort to get to bed at the totally decent time of 10:30 at night... (on a good night?).

Have you been stuck in traffic that long....

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OK... I SO SO SO SO hear you in the homework department. Nothing makes my hair turn grey even faster than the repulsive excuse that they didn't have time.... now that THEY do not have TKD, or dance lessons, or swimming, or art classes.

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We could just forget it all, and know that they will succeed even though they fail, as they are not allowed to fail in the public school system, and yes, there might be a phone call home once in a while in the form of a complaint... but you know... who cares... because you and I will be out shooting off our big assed cameras taking pictures of "things", only to scrapbook them in another 7 years... but hey... all of that will save our heads now when we can't and already don't have a lot of input into how our children invest their time. They will achieve.... someway somehow.... we just need to think about preservation!

OH... and I went to sign in at the bottom.. and the jumbled letters were in the form of "scru - u" today.How interesting is that!

So that my friends is todays post.....