Mini Bully, Mini Mimic

Having a verbal seven-year-old puts a parent in touch with many simple joys, but also gives a clear look into the dark-side of second grade. Which holds enough wrong-doing that Batman would have a difficult time keeping up with the perpetrators. 

Being the type-B mom that I am, I lend a sympathetic ear to the injustices. These include 3 kids holding the bathroom door so another child couldn't leave, the day-to-day cliques of who can sit where at lunch, and the more hurtful personal attacks and injuries. I keep an ear open for real atrocities, and how Youngest reacts to the jungle that is 2nd grade America as well as to how the teachers handle these situations. After hearing Youngest's view on "true friends" which went something like "they don't hurt you even if you don't agree with each other." and her affirmation that she had 2 "true friends" at school, I encouraged her to stick to her guns and avoid "the meanies." See in type-B land I don't have to rush to a conference or panic, there is no need. Yes, life is not all daisies, a fact I have known since elementary school myself, but she is handling it.

But still, you gotta wonder, what makes these girls think this behavior is okay. I do. Then I spent some time watching a certain kids cable station. Yes, I have seen these shows before, but today something clicked. A certain nanny was plotting against her charge to receive the affections of a guy. Typical stunts and hilarity ensued. But, then as one makes amends with another and it looks like a happy ending, in fact the other has taken the plotting public. Sadly this is nothing new. Since the days of Drake and Josh, another kid show, girls have been shown to be deviously plotting and bullying those around them. Is this seriously how we want to raise our future women, or current 2nd graders? 

I do not want to boycott the show, or genre for that matter. My kids watch it. I do point out issues I have with episodes while they are airing, much to the dissatisfaction of my kids. But it does beg the question: Are the "meanies" in 2nd grade really bullies, or simply mimicking what they are seeing daily?

Scapegoated

Home, at long last. Juggling a mere three children is a reprieve after a long day spent listening, laughing, and cajoling ninety plus personalities to learn all day. Greeted by a stack of laundry, the need to rush through homework agendas, plus make dinner and squeeze in some laughter at home is the warm embrace of home. After crazy evening routines and rituals, I have earned the right to sit on the couch, watch fiction, and enjoy my creative outlet - lesson planning.

Yes, work. Embracing lesson-scrapping and revamping, altering, adding, and changing is who I am. This is honestly how my creativity works best. I love my job. I do not complain  though sometimes it is because I am burried under 90+ essays and can't breathe let alone talk   Because I enjoy it. Yet, yesterday I found myself near tears while talking about work with Hubby.

Why? Because I have never in my life had so many people judge me and seem to hate me, without even knowing I exist - EVER. The animosity that is pouring forth from any and every one towards my profession is staggering. Suddenly parents, who dread the mere idea of spending another snow day trapped in the house with 1-3 kids looking for any way to keep them busy for a measly afternoon, are proclaiming that not only do teachers make too much money, they aren't doing it right either. Everyone seems to know exactly what we do and how we SHOULD be doing it - for free. 

Let me tell you a secret, I have been to the hospital a time or two in my life. I've watched blood draws and IV inserts, heck I've even seen stitches put in and babies birthed. Does that make me equipped to tell the nurses and doctors how to do their jobs? 

Sitting in a classroom for years doesn't make anyone an expert either. We are paid to make it look easy - just like any good magician. Students and parents do not see the frustration that dedicated teachers feel when they feel a student is falling through the cracks or the messes they leave on their own kitchen counters because there is another assignment that needs to be tweaked to reach those hard to reach students. We don't complain. Not because it is a job any one can do, but because we chose to do it. So, please feel free to be pro or anti union. I don't care. But in the mad quest to end organized labor would it be possible to stop scapegoating the teachers? By and large we are a dedicated group that seeks to elevate your children everyday. and it hurts my feelings

Taking the Fall

It was one of those rare and precious moments in the middle school classroom. Students were sprawled or tucked into various corners, book in hand. Not one person was giggling, trying desperately to send-off an illicit text, or mouthing a joke to a nearby friend. There was no emergency need to visit the clinic or the facilities. No one was requiring any redirection of any type.

The entire class was simply engaged in the act of reading. 

Of course, that left me bored. I wove through the silence basking in the glory of this small success, mentally noting the progress of various students. As I monitored an emptier section of class the silence was broken. Not by a pin dropping, rather by a much more human sound. The soft "pfffltt" could be heard around the room. 

Being immediately beside the culprit, I knew from whence the sound had come. But, I allowed the giggles to be directed at me. After all, I have already survived middle school.

Umm...Where Did It Go?

The stores are filled with paper and crayons. Kids eyes widen at the sight of new backpacks and lunchboxes. Parents rush children to barbers and beauty salons to tame unruly locks...summer is ending.

I love summer. It is my dose of stay-at-home-mommyness. We go on outings, play in the pool and relax. It is the time of year that guests are most likely to find a clean house and stocked fridge. Lists are made of projects to complete and ways to improve for next year. I read many books and relax on the porch. A wonderful time indeed. Alas, as happens every year, it has ended.

But the end of the best season of all does not have to be all negative...

Ok, I'm sure it isn't but give me a minute since my brain is on overload from all the meetings and work I've been doing to prep my room and update my curriculum....

Well, maybe we can come back to that at a later blog. Which I cross my heart will not take a month or more to post!

Happy school everyone!

Tenacity - Mom's Gift

"Your mom is always so organized and calm. Did she ever get mad when you were a kid?" These are the types of statements I hear about my mom when I take my kids to their pediatrician. (See, my mother is my pediatrician's accountant, which is very helpful when she needs to run one to the dr. for me.)

I always say she IS just a great mom. Then Mom and I laugh about how people perceive one another. After 15 years, it is pretty much a standing joke. Let me explain. My mother had six kids. Having half that many myself, let me assure you, raising kids without ever yelling is impossible unless you are physically unable to speak.

And my mom was a yeller. To the point where she would yell at you, leave the room, think of another trespass, and yell at you from another room or even another level of the house! Not. Exaggerating. 

Heck, the woman stands 5'2 and teen boys were terrified of her wrath my husband included.

The ability to seem imposing is one of the gifts imparted to me. There is no way I could keep 40+ 7th grade boys in line each day without screaming if I didn't have some skill in the fine art of seeming to be more scary than I am.

Her ability to pick herself up after the collapse of a 20 year marriage and return to school was phenomenal. But even more so, was the fact that she did this while 3 children were still at home needing care and 2 were in college. I can even remember sitting in the college lounge doing homework while she was in class mostly I remember the hot chocolate vending machine.(she went on to own her own accounting firm)This model may be the reason I was able to return to college and complete my degree barely a week before Youngest was born. 

She is a feisty, strong woman who made it known to her children that there was nothing a little hard work and a lot of commitment wouldn't achieve. She lead by example and with a ton of love. For that I am eternally thankful. Happy Mother's Day!

A Morning Adventure

The stress-free testing day morning plan was coming together perfectly. We were cruising along at a fair clip. Teen had been dropped at school, Boy and Youngest were dressed and ready. 

Garbage had been taken to the curb for collection. Simple lunches were packed and ready. Dogs were watered, fed, and in the yard. It was 5 full minutes before necessary departure time and we were heading out the door. 

Relishing in the glory of a well orchestrated morning, I climbed into the car.

As I shifted the van into reverse, everything changed. Darting out from an unknown escape route, Ollie the Springer Spaniel bolted into the drive. Cajoling, holding the car door, begging and swearing in turns I attempted to lure the beast into the van. Up and down the street he capered, looking back to beckon us to continue the game. 

After 10 minutes of torture I was forced to make an executive decision. I left. Soothing the kids with thoughts that he may return home on his own while my mind insisted he would suffer the fate of countless 'possums I headed to an errand that needed running before school. Guilt won. With errand complete and time ticking away, we headed home to put the other dogs inside, in case Ollie passed on his escapist tricks. 

As we neared home definitely not early or relaxed anymore, six sharp eyes looked toward houses for our Houdini dog. With a sigh and no knowledge of Ollie's whereabouts, I cut through the house to let the dogs in. Of course upon opening the door the first dog to spring into the view was our escapist, Ollie. Springers are a lovable, loyal breed but they require the security of Fort Knox.