Detention...

Guess who... yep, Thomas. I think it is bunk. He got detention on Friday for climbing up on a fence to check out the carnival that was being built over at the high school for homecoming that night. He and another boy were caught. They both served their detention today. I asked him how it happened and he said the noonaide, Mr. "O" blew his whistle, told the four boys who were at the fence to sit on the benches, he wrote out two slips and told two of the boys they got a second chance and gave two of the boys detention. The two who got away just weren't ON the fence at the time. LAME. I asked him if he knew it was wrong, and he said he knew, AFTER he got the detention slip. Can't they help the first graders out a little? This is the first year he is on this playground! So, I emailed the principal, saying I understood why, but could someone be a little more clear with the first graders what is allowed and what isn't (especially the first grade boys). She said she would talk to the teachers. Hmm. Then Glee has been having trouble with math, her strongest area last year. And I asked her teacher to explain what she expected and she basically said that Glee talks too much in class (and that is just not her, and she was moved today from a boy who talks... ALOT...) and that if she were paying attention she wouldn't have the problem she is having. I then explained I didn't understand the math, could she show me what she expected and I learned that in third grade they are learning to estimate... yes, to guess at the math. Here is a sample problem... "M" has 7 more than "Q." All total they have 43. How much does each have? And you are supposed to solve it by guessing. Let me outline it for you... 43-7=36... each has half of 36, with M having half + 7. Oh, and they don't know division yet, so they are supposed to "guess" the two numbers that are equal to each other that make up 36. Yes, guessing in math. It's madness. I taught Glee long division so she doesn't have to guess at her math. I know it was wrong, but she can do it, and seriously, guessing?

This year is turning out to be harder than I anticipated. Poor Thomas is trying to do the right things and ending up with wrong things, and poor Glee... she had a nightmare about a man with a crocodile head who wandered around school with other monsters and the croc man kept saying "I AM GOING TO EAT YOUUUUUU!!!!" We talked about how some dreams may have deeper meanings and she told me she had a sword in the dream and would scare croc man just by showing it to him. I asked her what she thought croc man was, and she said third grade (?!). So I told her the sword is her brain and she can use it to beat croc man any day! Poor girl... oh, but there were fairies in the dream too, who were like small children (preschool size) with dragonfly wings who have their own play area on the playground with fairy size equipment. Best dream ever she said.