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I sent a kid to the principal's office last week for being reckless on the playground and then arguing with me about it and being disrespectful to me. No biggie.
Well, it turns out the kid is one of my son's classmates, and my son told me that the kid was saying bad things about me in class. I told him that this was fine, because that kid's opinion doesn't matter to me. My son said, "I mean, REALLY bad stuff." (I assume he was calling me a bitch or worse.) Again, I assured my son that this was no big deal, and that the kid was just blowing off steam, and angry because he got busted. Then an idea occurred to me, and I told him that if the kid keeps talking about me like that, my son should simply say, "I dare you to go and say that to her face!"
That would be awesome!
Ah, it's nice to fantasize, isn't it?
I swear, I want to ask these kids if they would talk to their parents the way they feel free to talk to me, and I'm afraid that the answer in many cases is yes. If I had ever called (or insinuated that) either of my parents a liar, I'd have been slapped and not seen the light of day again for weeks. I think it's a shame that there is so little supervision or discipline in these kids' homes that they feel free to be so disrespectful to adults.
Well, it turns out the kid is one of my son's classmates, and my son told me that the kid was saying bad things about me in class. I told him that this was fine, because that kid's opinion doesn't matter to me. My son said, "I mean, REALLY bad stuff." (I assume he was calling me a bitch or worse.) Again, I assured my son that this was no big deal, and that the kid was just blowing off steam, and angry because he got busted. Then an idea occurred to me, and I told him that if the kid keeps talking about me like that, my son should simply say, "I dare you to go and say that to her face!"
That would be awesome!
Ah, it's nice to fantasize, isn't it?
I swear, I want to ask these kids if they would talk to their parents the way they feel free to talk to me, and I'm afraid that the answer in many cases is yes. If I had ever called (or insinuated that) either of my parents a liar, I'd have been slapped and not seen the light of day again for weeks. I think it's a shame that there is so little supervision or discipline in these kids' homes that they feel free to be so disrespectful to adults.
