December 21, 2005~~8:57 a.m.
Shoe, Shoe...

I got a call from one of Shoe's teachers yesterday. And can I just throw in right here that I didn't exactly need one more thing on my plate four days before Christmas?

There was a rough draft of an essay due yesterday. Shoe has English fourth period. I know he had only two of the five required paragraphs written as of Monday night, but was led to believe that the rough draft was due on Thursday. He wrote the other three, exceptionally weak, paragraphs during his third period class, so he did have a rough draft ready when he got to English. It was just a majorly sucky rough draft that didn't actually meet the requirements of the assignment.

I guess I should be happy that the teacher called as it allowed me to drive that boy like a cattle train last night (for FIVE hours) and get the thing written correctly and kept him from failing English for the grading period.

But I'm not happy. Instead, I am irritated on several levels.

First, I really have a thing against teachers who are too young to have their own school-aged children. I'm sorry, but any parent on the planet would know better than to plan to have a giant paper that requires parent supervision and support to do correctly due two days before Christmas. This is a stressful time of year for families. Why would anyone add to that? The timeline could easily have been modified to have completed this work a couple of weeks ago.

Second, her *system* of only reviewing essays prior to the final draft if students come to her asking for her input is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. My kid would NEVER ask for help and would even, if given the option, turn down an offer of support. And I know that he is not alone in this attitude. Does that mean that these kids don't need help with their writing? Hell no. They're STUDENTS. Isn't "help" essentially the whole point of going to school?

Ack. I could go on all day. After my conversation with her and the ensuing discussion with Shoe (who I know is partially at fault here), I kept replaying key sequences in my mind and realizing that she just really didn't *get* it.

Part of what is so frustrating to me is that I can watch out for my kid. I can tell her that from here on out I want her to review his work before the final draft, but there's nothing I can do to help the kids whose parents don't know they need to ask for that. The students in our district represent a very diverse socioeconomic background and many homes have parents who are not capable of helping with homework to the extent that Shoe's two college-educated parents can. The teachers need to be filling that gap.. and not just by saying, "Come get help if you need it."

So, yea... there are three days until Christmas. I haven't finished shopping, have written exactly one Christmas card, haven't figured out the menu for Christmas Eve, and have two-thirds of a scarf left to knit. And those are only the Christmas-related tasks left unfinished!

On the upside, I am on Winter Break, so at least I don't have to drag myself to work in the rain.

I just wish I felt happier.
~Alice