It is Friday and you know what that means! It is another edition of Friday Fragments. Mrs. 4444 over at http://www.halfpastkissintime.com/ is the creator of this fun event. Make sure you go over to check out all of the other entries.
I may have bragged about my son one (hundred) or two (thousand) times so if you are tired of that, you can just skip ahead to the next topic. I went to teacher conferences last night. I don't think the person who does the conference scheduling likes that I want to meet with ALL OF HIS TEACHERS. Yee gads. You would think it is a crime. Our high school has classrooms on 3 levels and also has a one story wing. She scheduled conferences that were as far apart as possible. I was literally "trotting" around the building. Third floor to the first floor opposite wing back to third floor,around the corner to a different wing, down to first floor, up to second floor and then finishing where I started - on the third floor. The teachers said Evan was doing extremely well, three teachers said they want him to serve as their "teacher assistants" in the future and one teacher told me that he would give him a summer job. My son called me on my cell phone after conferences asking if "he was in trouble". Yeah, right.
It always amazes me to see what parents show up at conferences. The kids who are struggling or who misbehave on a regular basis? I rarely see their parents. The parents I see are the ones who have honor students. Many a teacher has said to me that the parents that they need to see are the ones who don't show up and the parents that they don't really need to see are the ones that schedule the appointments. I get a lot of great information out of conferences that probably wouldn't come up in an email. Also, I believe that the students who put a priority on their education do it because their parents put a priority on it too. Just sayin'.
In the "I can't believe I did that" category, my karate class is scheduled at 6:30 in the next town over. My last conference was scheduled at 6:30. I spoke to the karate sensei and got permission to come in late. To save time, I actually wore part of my karate gi (uniform) to work yesterday. I wear black pants, a white t-shirt and an optional black top. I wore the pants and t-shirt to work along with another top. That way, I could do a quick change when I got there. It seemed like a good idea at the time and it worked but, now I realize how geeky that was.
I found a folding table at Target at an amazing price. Once my Thanksgiving guests vacate the guest room, I am going to set up a Christmas present wrapping station in that room. I can't wait. It is going to be so much easier to wrap presents! My husband and I are going to do some shopping early Saturday morning. If only I had some ideas of gifts to buy.....
It is time for me to dash off to work. I hope everyone has a smashing good weekend.
Here's to fragmented thoughts.
I remember a teacher telling me once her peeve was not with "overly involved" parents (as I was worrying she might perceive me to be). She didn't understand apathetic parents. It was great to be given that permission to keep doing what I was doing.
ReplyDeleteMy mom says the same thing about parents and conferences- she sees the parents of good kids, not parents of bad kids.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you so much about the teacher conferences. I wish more people felt education is THAT important. :)
ReplyDeleteWay to go, Evan!!
ReplyDeleteYou actually wore your gi pants to work?? Funny. I wish my son had a black gi. The white never looks clean to me anymore.
Way to multitask!! Love the half uniform idea!!
ReplyDeleteHallie :)
So awesome that your son is doing so well...I get the same response from teachers, they wish the parents that needed to be involved were...just more proof we need to get back to some family values
ReplyDeleteHope you have a wonderful weekend as well
While it's certainly true that parents that make education a priority is a huge benefit, it doesn't make it right to let those children fall through the cracks, nor is it a benefit to society as a whole. My daughters consistently do better in school with the better teachers. A lot of work still to be done in education.
ReplyDeleteHappy FF!
Isn't Target (wait, wait, "Tar-jay") the best place to find stuff? I love that store! It's my go-to for everything!
ReplyDelete~Elizabeth
http://confessionsfromaworkingmom.blogspot.com
That's a really good idea about the gift wrapping station. My mom, who LOVES to wrap presents (and is good at it) would love that idea!
ReplyDeleteAnd I totally agree about the kids whose parents need to be at conferences. I have an undergrad in education and a masters in therapy, so I see those kids a lot. Same thing goes with therapy - the kids whose parents need to be in therapy (with or without the kids) never are. So sad.
Tamara
www.theunexperiencedmom.com
Oh good - so that means since we're scheduled to meet with Princess Nagger's teacher at a Parent Teacher Conference in early December that we'll hear nothing but good things about PN. ;)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE your idea of setting up a Christmas present wrapping station - that would be so much better than what I do, sitting on the floor of the living room. Now to clear out enough space in the guest room to set up a table... ;)
That table is a great idea! I started shopping on Friday, so I'll be heading down the wrapping road, too, soon and could use a special spot for it.
ReplyDeleteI don't go to conferences every year, but I go if grades fall below A's. So far, I've only visited the high once. That said, I'm in frequent contact with both kids' teachers because I volunteer a lot AND teach across the street. You are absolutely right; the kids whose parents value education stand out, and that's a good thing. Bravo on your boys success! :)
in the geek vs ease category I go for ease and forget the geekiness....
ReplyDelete