What's the tracking number on that delivery?

14UKEEPWAITING666

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Plus, you know, they'll probably just leave it on the porch without getting anyone to sign for it, and when we get home it'll be gone....

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(a little later, having bought 3 new Manga books, several Seekrit Santa bits & bobs, one yummy tuna sandwich from Subway, one rather-too-sickly icecream sundae from Haagen-dazs, and having listened to a hefty chunk of 'Enders Game' on my iPod*. Presently relaxing with a tall glass of blueberry-blackcurrant-cranberry juice mixed with a couple of slugs of my DIY plum/cinnamon Stolly [which is Teh Yum, incidentally] on ice.)

Have you written back a simple, point-by-point letter pointing out some of the things that she is mediocre at?

Well, I sent home the Spelling list of 157 words they should be able to read and spell by the end of Year 2, and she did very well - but she got 107. Which, to me, does not say 'in the wrong year group.' And as we've started on Multiplication this week, I'm going to send home the multiplication grid of 144 questions which we'll be doing on a weekly basis in Term 2 and Term 3, because I'd quite like to scare the crap out of her. And I'm going to start noting the winning five kids from our Number Bond Challenge game every time I write in our fortnightly Newsletter - and, oh, look at that! Camille isn't one of them! How is that possible?

Reports go out on the 19th, and we have Parent-Teacher meetings next week. Oh joy. I shall be showing them her books at that time. They have already had a meeting with my boss, where they tried to get her moved into Year 3, then tried to get her moved into the other Year 2 class, saying that they had "lost confidence in Miss Fay". At this point they are invested in defending their stance, as they've been pushing this since the start of last year, and backing down would involve a loss of face. And I'm defensive and hurt and angry, and that's getting in the way of me recognising my own failings and working more effectively to overcome them and be a better teacher.

But I shouldn't whine, because my colleagues are being absofuckinglutely terrific about it, and I truly do appreciate the fact that my Head is prepared to let them leave the school if it comes down to it. Because at my previous two schools? It was teachers that got canned, and no questions asked, if the paying customers weren't happy for whatever reason. I am SO grateful that I managed to find an International School that genuinely does value the professionalism of the teachers, and the education of the children, and isn't just paying lipservice to these things.

Whereas here I've got the backing of my peers and my manager, and they're eager to support me, happy to allow me to come and observe them to get ideas for better differentiation, and basically it's all good. My Year 2 colleague, who teaches the kid for Maths (she's in the top set - we split the year group in two for Maths and Literacy - I'm taking top set Lit, he's taking top set Maths) is more than happy to have them go see him on Parents' evening, because he's quite emphatic about the fact that she's not ready for Year 3.

Meanwhile I took the contact book up to the staffroom, having replied twice and decided that I was still being (1) too wordy (as is always the case) and (2) too emotional, and my Key Stage Leader, my co-worker, my Head and my Deputy Head all weighed in on precisely how I should phrase my answer, and were totally supportive and cool and funny. They really do rock.

I mean, you know, it's no biggie, really, in the scheme of things. There are plenty of shittier issues that people have to deal with even in primary school, let alone high school, and it's just because I have such an unspeakably adorable bunch of kids, and such generally lovely parents, that this issue is standing out in sharp relief.

But - it sort of kills me that I know today, I started being mean to this kid. Or at least - it was my conscious intention to make her aware of her own deficiencies, so she won't keep going home and blythely saying "Yes, Papa, I was bored, it was all too easy, I can do everything." I want to rub her nose in the fact that this is not the case, and that if she goes home spouting that, she's (continued...)

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( continues...) going to have to damn well KNOW that it's lies. And all the clingy and kissy and handholdy girly crap? To be honest, it wins you no brownie points from me at all. If anything, I find it slightly off-putting - at the end of the day, I'm more All About Academia than I am All About Cuddling The Ickle Kiddies. I love my kids to bits because they are cool, funny, interesting little people who are capable of surprising graciousness and generocity. Also, they appreciate lots of the cool shiny things that I like, and aren't jaded about the sheer fabulousness of how the universe works - they can get excited about discovering all manner of things, which is fab. But I do not love them or enjoy their company because they're playing the role of sweet ickle kiddiwinks - it's more likely to be in spite of it.

So, yeah - I don't think it hurts to show Camille that I can be a hard ass, and if that's what her parents want, and if that's what it will take to get them the fuck off my back - then so be it.

a number of your beautiful posts in thread #s 38, 37, 36 that made me wish you were Iris' teacher

Aw, bless you! That's a tremendously sweet thing to say. But, see, really I'm a mean hardass bitch.

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So, uh...

Here's the thing: I was s'posed to call my wife to make sure she was awake at 6:30 am. But I missed my bus and had to figure out if/how I was going to get to work on time (I managed, but there was that whole "Aw, fucksticks" thing happening) and I got distracted by all that and didn't call and Aimee didn't wake up until 6:55.

So, I'm kinda a numbnuts.

In this public forum, here before God/Goddess/Anthropomorphic Personifications of Natural/Supernatural/Paranormal Forces and you, our friends, I say:

I'M SORRY AIMEE!!

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But, see, really I'm a mean hardass bitch.

Which is why we love you and want you teaching OUR kids.

It's amusing to me (because I'm way the fuck over here and not in the situation) to see parents pushing hard for the promotion to Year 3 when she's clearly not ready, because Joe and I have this argument all. the. time. If we were approached by the school and a teacher that one of our kids should be "double promoted", my first instinct is to say, "Hell no." There were three kids that I went to school with that had been double promoted and while they were damn smart enough (and usually smarter) to be in our class, emotionally and socially, they were not, which for me, is just as important. Joe's first instinct is, "Hell yeah! Go Doogie! Go to med school! You're smarter! Than all of those other kids!"

Now, if my kid(s) were bored to the point of not being challenged and were causing mischief or disrupting class, then I'd really have to think about it. Maybe not a full double promotion, but going up a grade for reading and math. My elementary school did that with a lot of kids (myself included) and it seemed to work out better in the short and long run.

I'm sure there are people here that were double promoted (Kristin? I know I've had this conversation with you before.) and that my experience isn't everyone's, but on a gut level...

Plus, Em will probably be starting kindergarten when she's 4 (IN LESS THAN TWO YEARS!!) so she'll already be a lot younger than most of her classmates. Course, if we get to the summer before she starts and she's not ready, then she waits another year.

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I'M SORRY AIMEE!!

You also forgot your iPod again. Sillyhead.

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Fay, I'm sorry you are so unhappy about this situation. I like Gris's suggestion of a response letter. And ya know, if it weren't so much work to develop lesson plans in the first place, it might be ... interesting... to offer the girl lessons and most especially homework out of the year three skills, with only a modicum of explanation. I know that your approach to correcting the kids is designed to help them along without destroying whatever self-esteem they have - but self-esteem that is built on a false understanding of one's true abilities, is not real self-esteem. Her parents have no idea that they are teaching her that if she isn't kilometers ahead of everyone else, she's nowhere and no one, do they? Poor kid.

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Happy New Juliana Year!

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14UKEEPWAITING666

bwah!

You know, if they left it on my stoop in Baltimore, I would have known to look for it at my neighbors' (who would have it chilled and waiting [half-drunk] for me).

But, see, really I'm a mean hardass bitch.

What Aimee said.

she's learned to stay well-hydrated.

And not to trust the sparky-sox Y-chromasome side of the family's directions.

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