What a funny day it was today. I have this one kid who has parents who are definitely not strapped for cash, yet he comes to my class every day without a pen/pencil, sometimes no paper and most days no homework! Well, we were doing our journals and he was writing in CRAYON!! In 8th grade!! I almost lost it! Then he tried to claim that someone stole his homework. Wow. Anyway, his mom and I had quite a talk about this and how to break these habits. Yet, they take him out of school for trips and he has every video game, cell phone, ipod etc known to man. Then they make excuses for him and ask what I can do! I said, "Nothing! He can learn by failing at this point. Aside from doing his work for him and carrying his stuff for him, there is nothing I can do." When did parents stop being the boss of the kids? My parents would have killed us over this behavior and never made excuses for us. How about you?
I have two other teachers in the room with me during this kid's class and they almost died when he was feeding me this line of baloney about his homework. Since it has become a routine for him to not have work with him, when I got to his desk today and asked about his homework and he said he didn't have it because someone stole it, the entire class said, "Uh-oh!" at the same time when they saw my face. It was hard not to laugh in a way.
5 comments:
He's one of those kids where the parents don't have "consequences" for less than desirable behavior.
They'll be bailing him out of jail too, making things right for him because he hasn't had to be responsible for his behavior. Just my opinion. They best nip that in the bud, but probably won't. THEY want YOU to do THEIR work for THEM!! arrghh!! B
The entire country has parents like this all over! It's an epidemic, I think. He actually had his homework today though. He was waving it around and saying, "See, I did my homework!!"
The other teachers have the same problem with him, but I generally don't let it get to me...he just fails.
Sadly,many parents blame the teacher when in truth we, parents need to take responsibility for the raising of our kids.
Materialism is a great evil in this country.
I think you are making a difference,Sheryl-lyn, by holding a standard up for these "wandering ones".
I don't have children in school now, but I've heard about this. I feel, one day, he will be in the kind of trouble that his parents can't "fix". They should wake up!!
Pat
Since I have raised kids myself, the parents don't generally get mad when I tell them how tough they have to be, but the young teachers get nervous about this. Something has to give eventually because this generation of kids is not learning how to take care of themselves and pay consequences like we all did!
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