Girls are Not In A Good Place

[pegkerr]

Fiona had the sniffles last week, and Delia this week. We had teacher conferences last week, and we received unexpectedly bad news about Miss Fiona. It seems that my rabid reader is too busy reading novels in school to bother finishing or turning in her homework assignments or take home tests. She had work missing in every class.

We will be reviewing her planner each day, and I have had her meet with each teacher to go over what she needs to complete to be up-to-date. I also told the teachers that they should confiscate any novels they see her reading in class or free periods that are not assigned. She asked me whether this included lunch. I told her yes, for this week, until her work is caught up. Oceans of tears were the result.

Delia stayed home yesterday with a croupy cough. She wanted to stay home today but she had no fever--just felt punk. I was the firm mommy hard-ass, and so Delia left for school in tears this morning, too.

I think we are all suffering from the winter blahs. I know I am. I have been walking outside, but I am struggling to rise above February, too.

Comments

[febobe.livejournal.com]

Fiona sounds like me as a girl! You're doing the right thing, but oh, how that'll sting for a bit. . . .

If it's any consolation, I turned out to be someone who ended up doing her homework instead of reading novels. Except, of course, when the homework *was* reading novels. ;)

Cheers,
Febobe :)

[nickel234.livejournal.com]

A-men!

[cmpriest.livejournal.com]

These northern latitude winters suck ass. Our weather here isn't even half so cold as yours, but the darkness and the protracted misery is making me want to take my own head off with an axe. Never before have I missed Florida so badly. At least in Tennessee we got 4 seasons, not just "Cold & Wet or Dry & Windy."

[dragonpaws.livejournal.com]

I wonder if Fiona is bored? I know I was occasionally in trouble for reading in class when I was in school, though I was careful to get all my (incredibly dull and easy) work done, first, just so nobody would take my books from me!

[awelkin.livejournal.com]

We all have to rise above February. Luckily March comes in, lion or lambish, next week. :)

Catherine

[tinymich.livejournal.com]

I did exactly the same thing through grade school. (My middle and high school teachers were much better at keeping me engaged.) I feel her pain and your frustration, and wish you both luck. No advice here, as I honestly have blocked out how it all turned out and how we handled it. (Can't have been good.)

reading

[angeyja.livejournal.com]

school can be a hard thing. Once you see novels. I failed junior year chemistry reading Andre Norton under the desk. And from lak of interest. I still the teacher was a bit off there too. A lapsed college prof.

The school stuff gets a bit frumbly now for me in talking to my son.

(He's nineteen and trying to figure out what he wants in college against his academic scholarship, and money and etc.. He asked me for a better guitar tonight. (The scholarship came from some work he did as a high school junior in partical physics for them.))

[aome.livejournal.com]

With much sympathy for the Toughest Job In the World.

Hang in there - March is coming. *sends virtual tulips to you and the girls*

[lydy.livejournal.com]

have to second tinymich here. I did it all the time, and got in trouble for it. The only thing that saved me was that my grades were good. Of course, they were good because if they weren't, I got hit. (Well, ok, spanked, if you like. It still involved hitting, and it hurt like a son of a bitch.) I totally do not think that this is a good motivational tool. On the other hand, the embarrassment of getting caught is probably a strong motivator to keep her work up in the future. (I was actually more motivated by a desire to avoid embarrassment than a desire to avoid pain. Dunno if I wish Daddy'd figured that one out or not.)

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I must feel much sympathy for Fiona, as I spent most of sixth, seventh and eighth grade reading. I still managed to be an Honors student, and the books were infinitely better than the classes.

I did goof on two assignments in 4th and 5th, both because I thought I wasn't going to do something a) designed for kids four years older than me, with no guidance, or b) an assignment too stupid for words. I did six papers in one night and turned them in. The 5th grade teacher said: "Why didn't you do this earlier? You would have gotten a A!" Now, I should get points for not telling her that "10 papers starting out So-and-So was born in XX and died in YY was the most boring assignment I'd ever been given. So went school for moi.

She does need a plan, or she'll end up the author of five books and making rotten money like I did... ;^)

[archmage45.livejournal.com]

That sounds familiar... I did the same thing, only I waited till the end of junior high school to do it, and really kept on doing it through a good portion of high school, and sometimes did it in college. I remember in my final year of college I was having a bad day and going to the school book store and reading an old favorite, and ended up skipping every afternoon class I had that day.

Good luck! And spring is coming!

[laytonwoman3rd.livejournal.com]

I would STILL rather read novels than do my homework....or office work. As for instance, right now, I'm supposed to be working on the firm's webpage content. Don't wanna do it. Luckily I don't have a novel handy--the firm probably wouldn't care for passages of Robert B. Parker's latest posted on its Martindale-Hubbell profile page!