Parent-teacher conference. The third grade seems to be agree with the munchkin. Behavior: better. Homework: turned in. Social: a bit grabby, but doing okay.
Standardized test results: whoa.
TerraNova score in language is in the 98 percentile. The average of her language, reading, and math is 95. And I think she must have lost interest and not done as well as she could have, because the reading is the lowest score, 89. Yet she’s read all the Harry Potter books. Number seven took her two days.
whoa.
It’s terrifying. She’s both brilliant and beautiful. I’m constantly asked if I’ve tried getting her into modeling. Have I signed her up for this, pushed her into that.
Well…no. I’m one of those throwbacks who think childhood itself is important. Kids need time to just be kids. Besides, little Miss Drama gets quite enough attention to swell her pretty head. More would definitely not be good for her. When she’s older, though, they’ll be putting the pressure on her. And that makes me want to lock her in her room. It’s so easy for kids to get lost any more. I see it every day at work. And no one thinks a thing about the fourteen-year-olds in full-time GATE with hours of homework a night and soccer and ballet and piano and National Junior Honor Society. The lucky ones have parents who call them in maybe once a quarter so they can stay in bed and get some actual sleep.
What if I cripple her future by not going for that stuff? People really do freak out about getting toddlers into prestigious day-cares. What if my not yanking her out of public school to go in some fancy college prep place means she can’t get the college she wants when the time comes?
Argle. I am not going to go crazy about this. She’s smart enough to do whatever she wants, no matter what “handicaps” she grows up with. And if I have anything to say about it, she’ll have one decided advantage: She will NOT think the world revolves around her. (My world, yes. But not the rest of the planet.) Yes, she is abundantly gifted with those things our society seems to value most. But I’m raising a human being here. It’s important that she know looks and smarts are great, but she’s gonna clean up dog poo just like anybody else.
This is such a wonderful entry. This is exactly how Zach and I plan to raise kids when it comes our time. It’s nice to see there are still good parents out there, not just the crazy ones who don’t teach manners and let their little ones believe they’re better than everyone else. Or the parents who force their kids down little junior runways. Have you ever seen a five-year-old with a full set of fake teeth smiling on a kiddie runway? It’s freaking scary. They look so old…
Thank God I’m not the only one who thinks so. And thanks for dropping by, 3M.
Good morning, Ladies — Thanks for sharing this vivid word snapshot of Hope. It’s wonderful to know the world is opening up to embrace her unique self in school this year! And wonderful that you have this world-wide venue to share parenting thots, hopes (no pun intended) and dreams — especially with those who take an entire week to answer your email message — by the way, this is not it, but I’m getting there! Saw a pink flamingo flying over our neighborhood last evening — on a day we had a pair of red-capped sandhill cranes sauntering down our street. Living next to the Savannas Preserve is proving to be a wonderful thing! More later…..