Conferences

I just came back from elementary school conferences. As it turns out, I have 4 wonderful, kind, above average kids (the 5th is in middle school and doesn't get conferences unless he has been BAD). Who knew? Actually, I did. These conferences are funny because there is nothing shared that I didn't already know. It is nice to get the affirmation and know that others see it too.

Here is the funny thing. The teachers had to keep note as to whether Mom, Dad or Mom and Dad showed up. They had a tally sheet to keep track of such a thing! Why would they possibly need to keep track of that? Does that mean if Dad didn't take off work he doesn't care about his kids? Does it mean that if both show up you're overprotective-helicopter parents hovering too much over your kid? What if for some reason you couldn't make the conference-do you not love your kid? I mean really, what is the reason for tracking such a thing?

Another crazy thing! I had to sign a paper stating that I would be aware of the kids attendance-making sure they were in school when school was open, make sure that they did their homework, look over their graded classwork, and read all papers that came home-I call that being a PARENT. The teacher signed a part stating that she would TEACH the children and the kids had to sign a part stating they would do their best to LEARN. Now I ask you, was this really necessary? What kind of a world is it that you have to sign a paper stating that you will fulfill your responsibility as a parent, teacher and student?

GOOD GRIEF, ARE YOU KIDDING ME!