Poor Choices or Pressing the Wrong Buttons?
I asked her not to do it. Actually, I told her not to do it. NO MORE NOTES! My tolerance reserves have been tapped out and there is no foreseeable replenishment on the horizon. Frustrated hardly comes close to describing my general state right now.
Zoë, fresh off of her stint in detention, has brought home another note from her teacher. Another note that magnifies and over-inflates the most trivial, yet meaningless and common of second grader actions and activities. And as has become the norm, the note begins, “Zoë has made a poor choice…”
Really? Poor choice?? Is that really what you are trying to say? Are those the carefully chosen words you really want to use? Poor choice or rather, “Zoë has once again done something to annoy me and I don’t know how to cope!”
Poor choices, to me, would be something akin to “Zoë thought it would be fun to test the fire alarm during mass,” or “Zoë thought it would be a good idea to show the third grade class her underpants.” Poor choices, to me, might be be somewhere along the lines of, “Zoë decided to see how much tissue the third floor bathroom toilet could hold without it overflowing and flooded the two floors beneath it,” or “Zoë thought sharing food was acceptable and threw her peanut butter sandwich across the lunchroom starting the most horrendous food fight in St. Mary’s history.”
Those are poor choices.
But “Zoë pressed the buttons on her friend’s digital watch and messed up the settings.” That is not a poor choice. That is a kid doing what a kid is supposed to do. They explore. They touch. They feel. They press buttons.
Unfortunately, she pressed your buttons.
Certainly there were no malicious intents and, she asked her friend’s permission. The same friend, of course, that sold her up the river when she realized you were annoyed and denied having granted permission.
Zoë rarely expresses frustration. Ask her how her day was and without fail you will get a “Great!” or “Fantastic!” or “Best Day Ever!” She’s happy and content to the very core. But this morning I got a glimpse of something else.
While talking about an appointment we need to reschedule, I told her it may not be until June and that at least we wouldn’t have to worry about missing school. She said it was OK if she had to miss class for the appointment. I explained to her that the earliest we could get the appointment was June and that we would be out of school for summer.
She looked up with widened eyes at the realization that the school year is coming closer to an end and pumping a fist said, “Yes! Finally, my teacher won’t be yelling at me anymore!”
It has been a long–loooonnnnggg–school year made ever more so by the ridiculous focus on the minutiae of the life of a second grader. The scary part is, I’ve got 4 more I’ll be sending her way over the next several years. And she thinks Zoë is a handful. God help us all when the twins get there!
Really? What does this teacher DO all day; write notes to each and every parent? Because she must; there is no way Zoe would be the only second grader doing something other than what the teacher wanted them to do.
Gad. I would ignore it; but that’s just me…
This teacher sounds like she will be a thorn in your side for years to come. Have you thought about home schooling through 2nd grade??
Thankfully for Zoe, she is almost done with her. Poor kid.
I can’t believe this woman! Have you talked to the principal! This is outrageous. Can you request your kids are in a different room?
Scarily anal teacher.
I think I’d be secretly very pleased about putting my mischievous twins in her class.
Seriously. My first thought is that she must not have any children of her own; she doesn’t have clue!
So sorry that Zoe has had to put up with this nonsense!
p.s.sorry about the keyboard envy. If it makes you feel any better, I’m pretty sure that your keyboard is BIGGER than my keyboard.
Wow. I thought our Catholic school was strict! I read the detention post. My 4th grader would’t even get detention for that, and her teacher is BIG on personal responsibility too.
As for the watch…I would call the teacher and say that she was given permission. Maybe she’ll change her tune. I now work as a teacher’s aide for the very same teacher who I got very upset with two years ago for yelling at my daughter for NO reason just because she was stressed out. I called her on it in an e-mail and she not only called the house to apologize to me, but also asked to speak with my daughter and apologized to her. Then she apologized to her in front of the whole class the next day. Now that I’m working with her, I KNOW for sure it wasn’t my daughter’s fault, but rather the teacher’s short fuse. I’m like you. Wait until she gets my son in her class! Hopefully, I’ll still be in there to keep her in check.
A perfectly justified rant.
Maureen–Unfortunately, I couldn’t ignore it. I had to sign the note so Zoe could bring it back in. I of course left a bit more than a signature on the note!
James–Homeschooling has crossed my mind. But then I’d be the one writing these ridiculous notes—to myself!
Vicki–It’s too late for this year. However, I do see a sit down with the Principal on the horizon.
XBox–You have no idea. I’ve just scratched the surface.
MGM–I kind of laugh myself when I think about the torment the twins shall be. Zoe handles it all in stride. She’s a good kid.
Momo–I saw her today. She tried to explain to me that she did not have the other half of the story and did not realize Zoe had permission from the other little girl. I just shrugged a “whatever” shrug and forced a smile. I’m done!
VegasDad–Are you saying my other rants have been unjustified?
Ever see Uncle Buck? I think that teacher needs a quarter tossed her way . . .
That stinks. I think you’re right about the button thing. Maybe tell the teacher she made a “poor choice” when she got worked up over something stupid, instead of focusing on teaching your daughter something about “picking your battles.”
What the hell? Maybe you should write her boss a note everyday telling about the bad choices she seems to be making.