( 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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Happy Birthday, Juliana!

Fay, I abositively LOVE your profile, and now I am hella intimidated by creating one myself one of these days! (Which should be like next week, because time is marching on without a mate me.)

I think Gris' suggestion is a good one. I'm sorry you feel backed into doing things that make you feel uncomfortable. But being uppity is no one's friend.

Today I am going to sign up for the gym at my alma mater. I'd like to have options for treadmills for when the weather is not cooperating for outdoor training, and at some point I need to start swimming. What I am not doing today is much hands-on work. Unfortunately.

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Happy Birthday New Year, Juliana!!!

I sort of skipped my last two years of high school - I was bored and the state was going to pay for me to go to a private college, so why not? In retrospect, I have really mixed feelings about all of it. At the time, I loved feeling older and free and on my own. But in my 20s, I really felt like I had missed out some.

My brother, OTOH, turned 6 the day before kindergarten started and when he was a senior, he and my parents really struggled because he really was ready to be on his own by then.

Personally, if it came up wrt Ellie, I really like Aimee's idea of letting her move ahead in subjects, but still staying with kids her age and likely graduating on time.

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Also, Sox - WTF? December? How in the world do they expect productivity to be happening at all in that kind of environment?

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