1. Middle schoolers lie. Even the good ones. I believe them until I catch them in the first lie, and then I mistrust everything they say from then on out.
2. The purpose of the irritating behaviors that middle and high schoolers use to torture parents is so that when they leave for college, we will feel intense relief. We will be willing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to send them thousands of miles away, so that we will actually have the chance to miss their presence in the house instead of curse their every move.
3. Most parents these days seem to believe their children do no wrong. Even when there is an incredible amount of evidence against their child, it sprang from their loins and they are as perfect as the driven snow.
As a teacher AND a parent of middle schoolers, I’m always amazed by what other parents believe about this age group. I don’t want to hear another parent tell me that a 12-year-old should be fully responsible for their schoolwork and behavior and that is why they, the parent, refuse to do anything about the child’s lack of responsibility or good behavior. Yes…they SHOULD be responsible for it, but if you don’t raise them to believe that in the first place, and you excuse every stupid or inappropriate behavior of theirs, then they will NOT be responsible. You need to pay MORE attention now then you did when they were 5 years old, or pay for it later. You need to make sure they ARE doing what and behaving as you expect, because now is when they test you the most. Don’t be surprised by the first phone call from school about your angel’s inability to turn in classwork or use a pencil for writing, not stabbing. Pay Attention.
Although if you’re reading my blog, you probably already are. Paying attention, that is.
It really has been a horrendously bad week, and I wish I could take a break tonight and mess around with fabric or drawing, but grades are due Monday and I’m not done. The comments above of course are not directed at any particular student of mine or a specific situation at school, because I’m sure some legal entity would complain about that, but are a compilation of thoughts that have been developing as my dear sweet exhausting little monsters (the ones who sprang from MY loins) approach the hellish age that I teach and from the years (centuries, sometimes it feels like) I’ve been teaching this age group.
I’m counting the hours until Tuesday afternoon. I need a break.
Mmmmn. Dead burnt-out tree. I wonder what that means…
November 21, 2008 at 11:35 pm |
When I read the title of your post, “Parenting Middle Schoolers”, my first thought was “Dear God. Must we?” As in, “Must we parent middle schoolers? Can’t we just shoot them off to Mars for a few years or something?”
Sadly, your experiences bear that thought out.
Dead burnt-out tree? It means woodpeckers are due to move in.