a note on parenting

Before I say a word, a disclaimer: I am not a parent. Nor do I desire ever to become one. Parenting is some hard work. 

Yesterday, when Kyle was getting picked up I explained to his mom that he had a bag of books that he needs to read every day (he's a low reader) and that if he could read them at then end of the week he would get a prize. She turned to him and asked, "Well, are you going to read those books?"

Maybe things have changed, but when I was in elementary school my grammy sat me down and forced me through every damn worksheet and assignment, like it or not. She would have sat on me if that's what it took. Similarly, I can remember her dragging me out of bed (literally, by the toes) to get me to school. For all the things that mattered I had no choice.

What I'm trying to say is, maybe neither of these styles is perfect but I don't think six-year-olds should be trusted to make their own academic decisions and I'm not really sure how to politely say that to a parent.

56 days to go

It was a rough day for uniforms. Eli came in with his button down inside out. Baby Face had his sweater under his button down.

The low point of my day? Eli's mom agreed to come in for a meeting but I wasn't going to be able to go because we were short-staffed and no one could cover my class. Then, she cancelled.

The highlight of my day? I heard someone talking too loudly during centers and I looked up to see that it was Kyle.

Back story: Too much time passed before I realized that Kyle was going to need speech services because he talked so little in school. He never raised his hand and never talked spontaneously with others. On the other hand, I'm not guilt free. I couldn't understand him pronouncing his own name when I first met him. Anyway, his needs were beyond what I was capable of so I started pushing to get him evaluated. I pushed. His mom pushed. Nothing happened. Finally, I started emailing weekly and serendipitously our special ed coordinator left. I immediately started harassing her replacement. He was evaluated and immediately approved for services. The speech pathologist came in for his first session today. I heard him talk more today than I have ever heard him talk in a week.

78 days to go

Vee approached me today to inform me that she had changed her name. A quiet, timid child, I figured that something very epic must have happened to cause such a sudden change of heart about her name. I inquired.

"I asked my mom if I could change my name to Shanaynay and she said yes. So I did."

Highlights from our shout-outs today:

• DuckDuck, "I would like to shout out Kyle because when I [reminded him not to talk in the hall], he listened. 
• Dee, "I would like to shout out M because I really wanted the pink one [marker] and she let me have it first."
• Texas, "I would like to shout out Jay because today in gym when I was crying she rubbed my back."
• And the BEST, Jamari, "I would like to shout out X because today at lunch I wasn't sure about the meatballs but then he tried them and he told me that they were ok."