Friday, December 5, 2008

Gee....I wonder

"I wish I knew what was up with that kid!" (said the mom of the middle school boy who'd been acting out for weeks)

Gee....I wonder....Could it be the way you make excuses for everything he does?

He refused to do a lick of work in class and just laid his head on the desk (when he wasn't tearing up the assignment into tiny pieces and throwing it on the floor, refusing to pick it up when asked.) This is all while the assignment is being completed as a group. The classroom aide offered to work one-one-one with him, but he refused, sulking because he was not allowed to go get a pencil from his locker (There were plenty in the classroom, and they didn't want him wandering off again.)

"Well, he told me that he couldn't participate, because he had a headache."

He didn't have a headache when he went to lunch after class and threw chicken nuggets across the room at his friends.


"Who was he sitting with?" (implying that it was the fault of someone else at his table)

Wait a minute...when did he tell you about having a headache?


"When he called me on his way to his friend's house after school."

Calling you from the cellphone that you said you took away from him yesterday??

"Oh, yeah. Well, he promised he'd be good today. We made a deal. I guess we can see how that went!"

Um. Yeah. Maybe you can ask him about that when he gets home from his friend's house at 8 o'clock tonight. But you can save yourself the trouble by just asking me. It went like it always goes when you tell a kid there will be a consequence, but then accept every lie he tells you and change your mind. It's compounded, for example, when you lie to his teachers and tell them you have punished him for being suspended from school, when in fact he just played with his P.S.P. all day and went out to eat with you when you came home.

**************************

"I just don't understand why he keeps acting like this!"

Really? I called you to tell you that he has been completely uncooperative, rude, and disrespectful every day this week. You expressed your "concern," said all the right things, and told me not to worry; that you'd "take care of it."

Um...I'm confused. What part of taking him out and buying him a pocket knife, new t-shirt, and PSP games last night was "taking care of it?"

I know what is up with that kid.

I wish my job was as easy as yours is....

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