Feeling a bit down today. The weather is dreich and I've been in a lot of pain for the past week or so which doesn't help, but the main thing is feeling weary because of silly school stuff. I hope you don't mind if I have a bit of a rant. Writing it down may clarify some things and, with any luck, reduce their significance.
Minibags's (M's) school provides the kids with what are called Personal Planners. The idea is to write down homework assignments and deadlines and to help them get organised. All that is fine. I had a homework jotter at school too. Fliss's school has a policy where the pupil is supposed to ask a parent to sign their PP every week. This, I believe, is regarded as getting parents involved in their child's education. I have been dutifully signing M's PP for three+ years, often signing several weeks in advance at her request. Saves time and askings! Nobody at school has batted an eyelid about this; so long as they get the parental signature they're happy apparently, even when it's meaningless... well, when it means no more than "I have signed this blank piece of paper". Quite often the pages I've signed have been blank! When there has been something written on them I haven't usually read it. I did once write a note in her PP asking why they wanted blank pages signed and got a long lecture from one of the Management Team which went in one ear and out the other. What amused me at the time was this: if they can bore the pants off people like me who are fully engaged with their offsprings' education (including schooling), how the hell do they suppose they are going to get through to the parents who are not engaged already and who don't particularly want to be, which I would have thought was the whole point of the exercise?
Anyway, moving on. M is now quite clearly taking her schoolwork more seriously than she has in the past (as I did at the same stage of my school career, the start of 'O' level courses; one kind of wakes up when national exams loom), bought herself her own choice of PP at the beginning of the year and is using it well, with all the kinds of entries the school Management Team like to see. She asked me to write a note in it at the beginning explaining that I knew about it, had signed it the once, agreed with and fully approved her plan to take more responsibility herself, and was not going to sign it any more.
Cue another lecture by phone (by two phones, house phone and mobile! Thank god I was in the shower and couldn't answer didn't hear either phone ring) from Mr ManagementTeam about school rules, procedure, blah, blah, blah and me respecting all that. Not a word of reciprocal respect for my right as a parent to make decisions about what I think is the best way to support my teenage child's development into an independent adult, I who know her several hundred per cent better than any teacher or Management Team bod at school! I've pondered ringing Mr ManagementTeam back to say all this (calmly of course ) but given what he's like, I think it would be a waste of time. I don't get the impression he's capable of thinking outside his little box of rules and procedures.
Rant over. If you've got this far, thank you for listening!