October 21, 2007~~7:09 p.m.
It takes a lot to make me hate someone...

The saga of Shoe and the sucky English teacher continues. I'm sick of the whole thing and I, frankly, don't know what the right thing to do is. Thursday night, after relatively manageable pre-writing assignments on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, he was expected to write a rough draft. It shouldn't have been difficult given that he'd already been working on the organization for three days, but it took him five hours.

Five hours sitting at the table (minus the 15 minutes the husband gave him to go up to his room and pull himself back together when he melted down completely) after spending seven hours at school. Plain and simple, it's too much.

This teacher has shredded his confidence in his ability. We can't help him because everything we suggest, he says she told them not to do.

I hate her. I hate that I have to send my kid everyday to spend an hour in her classroom. I hate that all of my leisure time is being consumed by discussions with the husband about how to proceed and writing emails to follow through.

It sucks. It sucks a lot.

We went another round with her on Friday. She treated us, again, like we are grade-crazy GATE parents and like it is our high expectations that made the writing difficult for Shoe. I wish that bitch had to sit here all night and force the poor kid to stick with it through the tears and the confusion and the frustration. This is not about us other than the part where she has cast a dark cloud above Shoe's head, rendering him virtually paralyzed by his fear of being unable to please her.

I followed up with the GATE coordinator by email. I'd been planning to wait until after the next essay, but clearly things are still totally out of control. I want someone involved who is more impartial. I want to feel like there is someone at that school who gives a rats ass about my child's education. I've heard good things about her; hopefully she can be that person for us.

I'm tired of this and I just want it to end.

~Alice