Another Day, Another E-Mail

Today's e-mail was from the mother who is way too busy making excuses for her child instead of seeking ways for her to become successful. "Just moved here this summer...still trying to get used to the teachers and all the procedures and all this homework."

Whoa, Nelly. All this homework? I've got ESOL (or whatever acronym we're using this week) kids who are tearing all this homework up. Eating it for breakfast and asking for more for lunch. Please don't insult me, my other students and your own child by telling me I'm too hard on your kid when, in fact, I am not hard enough. This is the same kid who went to the guidance counselor a few weeks ago, and complained that I wasn't nice and I was "laying too much work" on her back.

Pardon?

Since when do you go to the guidance counselor to complain about your teacher? I thought savvy kids went to Rate Your Teacher. Complaining to the guidance counselor about the best damned teacher in the building (my rating, of course) will only incur my wrath at a location to be disclosed at a later date.

Precious, let's get a few things straight. I have several kids who are brand new to this building, this county, this state. They have figured out the procedures; they can find the bathrooms, the library and the cafeteria. No one is wiping their behinds and I would bet the farm that they will not only pass the stupid state test, but they could write a better state test than we will give. One of these new babies is from a country, far, far away. She has only spoken English for three years. She can out perform me in certain areas. I would trust her to run the room for me.

Maybe this will help. Yesterday, on an Oprah rerun, Andre Agassi was talking about the school he opened in Las Vegas. At one point, Oprah asks about parent involvement and support. "Parents have to buy into this totally," Agassi said. If they didn't support this, he pretty much said his school would be a failure.

Hello? Isn't this what we've been preaching for years? My parents who buy into the idea of education and no excuses and doing your homework and respecting the authority of the teacher and all the adults in your life are the ones who aren't making excuses and have the kids who are getting it done. The parents who don't buy into it are the ones who are busy making excuses for Precious. And e-mailing me about Precious needing more time to get used to the routines.