Middle School Blues
Oh my God. My worst fears have been realized. Lukas's transition from homeschooling 6th grade to pulbic schooling 7th has been a disaster. My first clue was when he came home repeatedly with a blank planner. "No homework!" he'd reply. An immediate email to his teachers confirmed my suspicions. He did have homework but didn't write it down in his planner. So now I have him getting his planner signed by each teacher, whether he has homework or not. The results have been spotty and ladden with creative excuses. Not only that, he lost his binder--the second time in a row--and it's exact location remains elusive to date. I knew I should have embedded that GPS transmitter, dammit. Plus, he's only just now figured out the whole opening the locker thing and has been late to nearly every class. One itsy bitsy reason for those tardies might be that he's inherited my dubious sense of direction. His 2nd and 3rd periods are in adjacent classrooms and he's only just now figured that all out. For several days he's been circumnavigating the campus to get from one to the other. That's like circumnavigating the globe to go from my front door to the mailbox. Works for Ferdinand Magellan but not for 7th graders. Sure, he's going through what his peers went through last year, but his teachers don't seem to understand that. I've gotten more teacher-written emails than I'd care to discuss describing his blank stares, incomplete work, and aimless doodling. One ended with "Help. Ms. Lane." So I've written my expectations for him in the form of a contract. If he doesn't complete and turn in his work, get his planner signed daily by each teacher, and so on, he'll have to free time that day--just homework, snack, bath, chores, dinner and bed. Time to pick his nose? Nope. Time to pet the dog? Nope. Time to scratch his butt? Nope. A severe life, indeed. (Okay, I'll have to admit, I started thinking and talking in occasional British quips like this ever since watching Pride and Prejudice.) Needless to say, I am seriously displeased with his comport. I must insist he take an earnest interest in his future lest it be tainted indelibly. All this and he still adores mmiddle school. Enough of that. I must make haste and change my load of wash. Toodle Loo (sp?)