Parents Say the Darnedest Things

At the beginning of the year we had one parent who swore to us that her daughter was a "pathological liar." Oh, it seemed like she was speaking at least half in jest, and so we teachers laughed it off as yet another early adolescent giving her folks a run for their money.

Even so, as the year has gone on, this particular mom has been very vigilant on checking behind her daughter and following through on missing assignments and even the slightest report of misbehavior. Some might be tempted to dismiss her efforts as over-involved, but I have found her to be a very supportive partner to work with in terms of meeting her daughter's educational needs. And sure, I've seen the kid stretch the truth a bit and try to shirk responsibility for her mistakes, but nothing outside typical sixth grade behavior.

Today, I saw the mom as I was leaving for the day. "Have a great spring break," she called to me from across the parking lot.

"You, too!" I replied with extra cheer, for vacation is only two short days away. "I hear you're going to Hawaii!" I added. "Have a great trip!"

"She is such a liar!" she said with exasperation. "We're going to South Carolina."

I laughed out loud. "Awww! She totally got me!" I told her mom, who nodded sympathetically. "But don't worry," I added, "it won't happen again. I think I finally get it."

Outside Job

"I'd bump that guy off if I thought I could get his job."

So said I on a field trip to our local nature center, as the students dined on the flagstone patio of the main building in the warm sunshine of this cloudless day, spotting deer and all sorts of other wild life, after our tour of the park where the director not only gets to live on the property with access to all the historical nature trails, but his house, which is right next door to a huge vegetable garden and the resident falcon and owl enclosure, is also outfitted with a solar water heater and attic fan.

To her credit, my colleague looked shocked, but I knew she was wondering if there was any way...

Weird Weather

"Ooooh! It looks like snow!" So exclaimed our 10-year-old neighbor today as she spun around, arms out, surrounded by cherry petals swirling in the wind.

Besides the unusual Halloween dusting we got, that is pretty much all the snow we'll see this season, although there is a hard frost predicted for tonight.

Watch This!

We have been watching the new-ish TV show Awake lately. Starring Jason Isaacs (most famous to us as Lucius Malfoy, but very debonair despite that villainous past), the premise is that he is a man caught between two realities. After being involved in a tragic car accident, each time Michael Britten awakes he is in one life where his son survived or another where his wife did. In both lives he is dealing with tremendous loss, as is the other surviving member of his family. Some details cross over; some do not. He is also in therapy in each reality, and the two counselors offer very different insights on how he should cope with his dilemma.

The show is thought-provoking, and so far the writing and plotting have been more than enough to capture both our curiosity and our imaginations. Isaacs does a good job portraying not only the intense emotions of such an impossible situation, but also the logistics of a man juggling two lives.

Seriously? If you've ever looked at one of your Words With Friends game boards and letters and wondered where the heck they came from, then this might be the show for you.

Target Audience

It often happens that I hear a movie or other such media project dismissed as being aimed a little too directly at adolescents. It seems that if something is too accessible to kids, then it must be flawed in some way.

Hm. Maybe the amount of time I spend with people under the age of 13 has distorted my perspective. Or, maybe? Those critics need a little more tween time.

Either way, I thought The Hunger Games movie was super!

The View From Twelve

Here in my corner of the world, it's been a week dominated by ZAP (read my post from last year for a primer on that particular topic), mice in our team area, and The Hunger Games movie. Having my sixth grade students participate in their own Slice of Life Story Challenge adds perspective to it all. Here are a few excerpts of their thoughts:

ZAP

I had no idea what that stupid game Zap was, until today. Basically its purpose is too humiliate boys like me.

OK so yesterday the counselor came in and talked about zapping. And personally, I don't see the problem. It's just a game, and they take it so seriously. I mean everyone says no anyway. They just had to overreact for everything!

It's just a joke, and nobody forced you to do it, so I kind of just ignored the counselor. But then, at lunch, my friends and I were discussing it, and I learned that one of them was told by the person that she asked out that she was ugly and he'd never date her, and that really hurt her. So, I erased everything off my hands.

Our Little "Problem"

Today in homeroom we found out that there were mice in the room!!!!!!!! We all had are feet up and we always were scared. We scared K. like 4 times and she was screaming! It was soooo funny. We couldn't stop laughing! 

THG

I love the Hunger Games, I love it so much that I can't even describe my love in words. For people who haven't read this book or don't read very often this book has more adrenaline then hang-gliding.  Trust me, I know.

HAPPY HUNGER GAMES! AND MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR!  LOL HUNGER GAMES JOKE! I'M SUCH A GEEK!

I'm hungry for the Hunger Games. :)

I'm pretty excited about the movie, except for the obvious concerns. I mean, what if they butcher up the movie so bad, that it doesn't resemble anything close to the original story? I mean Hunger Games is so good, that I kind of doubt Hollywood can produce any thing that is as good as the book.

Friends AND Family

My sister-in-law teaches art at the same school where I work. We have the same last name, so there is inevitably some confusion from time to time. Aside from getting the wrong mail in our boxes, and the odd phone call mis-transferred from time to time, the students are always curious about our relationship, and they don't hesitate to ask questions.

Today was a typical example.

Kid: Is she your sister?
Me: No, she's my sister-in-law.
Kid: What does that even mean?
Me: She's married to my brother.
Kid: So she's in your family?
Me: Yes.
Kid: Are you friends?
Me: We sure are.

We sure are.