Parent Interviews = Fun

I've never had a problem with parent interviews before.  They were fine.  They didn't cause me any stress or worry.  Until now.

I went to the one interview slightly, okay very worried, because I'd gotten a note home about behaviour in my son's agenda a couple of days prior.  I made him write a note saying sorry to his teacher.  And he has been doing great academically, so I was hoping this was just an anomaly.

It's not that he has ever been a child who behaved badly.  I mean, all children behave badly, but you know what I mean.  He is just very active, very energetic.  He is constantly on the move.  He stands on his head.  (Literally.  All the time.  And where did he get that?  My husband and I don't just stand on our heads.  I know that's surprising.)  And if someone asked me to just randomly pick an adjective out of the air to describe him, it would never occur to me to say 'obedient'.  However, I would say 'sweet' and 'smart'.  In any case, we had not had a single issue all through JK and SK, so I guess I became complacent.

Anyhow, I sat down in front of his teacher, full of hope.  And the first thing she says to me is, "Do you know what your son said to me today?"  I shook my head mutely.  She continued, "He said, 'whatever' and put up his hand (as in 'talk to the hand')."

I'm not sure I could have been more mortified than I was at that point.  And I thought to myself, "REALLY, honey?  Really?  Not the day before, not the day after, but the actual DAY of my parent interview, you have to be rude to your teacher?!  Your timing is impeccable."

I think the teacher could tell by the horrified look on my face that I was afraid things were really bad.  Luckily, she hastened to reassure me that she had a class full of boys, and he wasn't the only one she saw this behaviour with.  And he is doing extremely well in other areas.

Still, I wonder what I am doing wrong.  I feel like he should know that is completely inappropriate.  I'm always talking about good manners. I would like to think we have a pretty good discipline structure.  Yet he seems to always want to test all his limits out.  Sometimes over and over again!

The teacher said she has realized that he just needs to be constantly engaged.   At all times.  I agreed with her, and said, "Yes, please - just keep him busy.  Make him mop the floors or something."

She hesitated, "Um - I was thinking more along the lines of extra projects and things."

"Oh!  Of course, of course...that's what I meant too..."

(That was a joke about mopping the floors.  Although maybe that would make him think first before being impolite, and if so, hey - I'm all for it!)