Spending time in the principal's office
Yesterday morning, I was summoned to the principal's office on behalf of my son, Alex, who, if he manages to graduate this June, will be evidence that God cares for fools. Alex has the grades; what he doesn't have, in the words of the principal, is "seat time.'' Apparently, since the kid turned 18 and learned that he could legally sign himself out of school, he's used the pen like a new toy, racking up enough absences to jeopardize his credit for some courses.
So, a committee gathered to figure out what to do with the kid.
"You know, the problem with these smart kids,'' said the principal, nodding toward Alex, "is that you have to make things black and white. You give them any gray areas and they take advantage.''
Well, that's just swell, I thought. In one fell swoop, this educator has just undermined nearly two decades of parenting.
I've taught all my sons that the world is full of ambiguity, and rarely black and white.
Maybe I should have mentioned that sometimes it is black and white.
There's a plan in place to get Alex seat time. We're all crossing our fingers and holding our breath - which means we could all turn blue and add one more hue to our pallette.
So, a committee gathered to figure out what to do with the kid.
"You know, the problem with these smart kids,'' said the principal, nodding toward Alex, "is that you have to make things black and white. You give them any gray areas and they take advantage.''
Well, that's just swell, I thought. In one fell swoop, this educator has just undermined nearly two decades of parenting.
I've taught all my sons that the world is full of ambiguity, and rarely black and white.
Maybe I should have mentioned that sometimes it is black and white.
There's a plan in place to get Alex seat time. We're all crossing our fingers and holding our breath - which means we could all turn blue and add one more hue to our pallette.
posted by Michael Riley at 9:19 AM
9 Comments:
I am sorry to learn that your son is so undisciplined.
If he is living under your roof, eating your food, etc. , etc...he should be abiding by your and wife's house rules (gattending scholl as job# 1 highest priority)..it would be best for the committee of enablers to not allow him to graduate, let him take his GED and good luck if he wants to go to college, not atend classes and skirt through with his charm..is irresponsible to pay any of his college fees if he shows such immaturity now at 18..he wants to be an adult so bad..kick his black & white keaster to the curb and wish him happy adulthood...no gray area there..
typo, s/b attending school..I did, and I can spell..
I say he is Class of 2000 NEVER!!
You know, Alex should have been staying in school. However, it must have been incredibly boring at school for him to sign out as much as he did.
Three things, in my humble opinion:
1)parental guidance is/was and will be suggested here, as long as he lives in your house(and even after).
2) The teachers might want to take note here...you need to challenge the smart ones or they'll bolt. Makes me wonder if the teachers let the principal's office know the boy was missing a lot of classes, and how many classes can one miss before it becomes a problem.
3) Tell your son that being defiant doesn't show off one's intelligence, but rather it highlights one's immaturity.
I wish him well.
Margaret
just read your newspaper column today (Fri 5/4) ..no wonder you have heart problems! tell your kid to stop the crap, finish H.S. or you will die from another heart attack and it will be his fault..
Doesn't the good book say something about "Spare the rod, spoil the 18 year old?"
anonymous wrote:
"Doesn't the good book say something about "Spare the rod, spoil the 18 year old?""
Nah. That was the Bible.
Wow -- these commenters were brutal toward your son. I was thinking it was pretty normal behavior and these schools act like communist camps -- if you can do the learning in half the time what's the point of sitting still and wasting days??? I'm home schooling my daughter next year for this exact reason. Educators are some of the last remaining gestapo. Give your son a pat on the back and acknowledge that he's so smart because he's your son -- so it's all your fault:)
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