So, we all know that Lovegirl can be…chatty. And that this can get her in trouble in school. She’s been doing much better – we talk about rules nearly every morning, we pray for a spirit of obedience, and on occasion, I threaten her. No write-ups in quite a while and she’s been pulling either one or no sticks (They pull sticks for minor infractions. 3 pulls = a write up) for a good long haul.
Yesterday when I pick her up, she’s looking all terrified.
Me: Lovegirl, hey. What’s wrong?
Lovegirl: I got in trouble for passing a note.
Me: What? You were passing notes?
Lovegirl: Not notes Mama, just one. I passed a note.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. So I chose laughter. Especially after I saw the note. My child is pretty smart, but ma’am, when you pass a note on an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper, at least have the good sense to fold it up. The folds you see in the picture are mine…
It reads: “Emily meet me at swing set sine yes or no” Emily’s choices were “Yes and no, Yes, No I do no care at all”
…and the note from the teacher
Um ma’am? While I will tell LG not to pass notes, I think a note home because a 7 year old passed a note is a little ridiculous! Just tell LG to knock it off and keep it moving.
So basically, my kid passed a note in class and I don’t care. The teacher thought it egregious enough to warrant a note home. Where do you stand on this one?
Oh, and that line about only having enough paper for each student to have one piece? Puh-leeze! I know I sent two tablets of that stuff to school at the beginning of the year – don’t pull the paper-poor card. Those kids should have enough paper to write their dissertations.
SMDH! Call me crazy, but I don’t think that was serious enough to warrant sending a letter home. LG is 7 years old. A simple “LG, please do not write notes with your school paper, lets complete our work with it” said to LG (by her teacher while in class) would have been sufficient.
Pretty much my line of thinking as well.
If there was only enough paper for each student to have one piece then that means since LG choose to write the note, then she couldn’t do her work. I think that not doing your work warrants getting in trouble. BUT since the teacher’s note home was about the note and NOT the fact that LG didn’t do her work, I call BS on the whole no paper thing. The teacher is a lier, pull her outta that school, change states. The end.
She does say that LG didn’t do her work.
My issue is that I think the teacher should stop calling and sending notes home for every little thing. Tell LG to quit playing around and do her work. The end. I think that’s classroom management. Yes, I like to know what’s going on. No, I don’t want to know every single time you have to tell LG to knock it off or focus.
You are hilarious!
We are agreed that a note about a note is… ironic… and overkill. Also LOL My momma would have a stack of notes enough to paper her house, her momma’s house, her momma’s momma’s house if my teachers sent one home every time I passed a note! It got MUCH worse in middle school. Let me come down there and teach her some of my fancy folds. OR by high school, we were passing entire notebooks back and forth. Much more surreptitious. FIGHT THE POLICE, LG!!!
You are NOT allowed to hold note-folding clinics next time you’re in town!!! On second thought, you can teach me – I need a way to pass time in meetings
As a former elementary teacher, I can say I have never sent a note home to a parent tattling on their child writing note(s) in class. Isn’t that a waste of another sheet of paper?
Pserendipity called to tell me that her child got in trouble for wasting paper too. Maybe there is a shortage of lined paper in the county?!?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA that note is funny! One choice was “I do not care at all”, these kids now days crack me up.
Uhhh, I went to Catholic school when the Nuns could crack you with a yard stick…and still I got in trouble at least once per week. So in my opinion Lovegirl is an ANGEL!!!!!
A note to explain that your child passed a note??? Why didn’t she just write her note on the back of the other note. See…she’s not “green” at all!
LG probably needs to be under the watchful gaze of a Sister Maria Concepcion….
I’m pretty sure my laughing while “fussing” may be why LG doesn’t always take me seriously!
Agree with all – the teacher’s note home was unnecessary. This should have addressed directly to LoveGirl in class. Should it continue to be a problem, then a note to the parent would be understandable.
Pretty much what I was thinking. I don’t mind a note home, but for the first occurrence of something relatively benign?
In real life she wrote you quite the lengthy letter? About a note? OK O_O Of all the things to REALLY write a letter to parents about this would not even be in my top 100.
When I read Lovergirls note though I giggled like a kid cause 1. Seven year olds write really big (we used to tease B all the time) 2. I don’t care at all as an option? WIN! LOLOL
She’s definitely my kid – does not care at all! I hollered!!
As someone who used to teach, sometimes the response is not about the infraction, but about the desired consequence. Sending notes home got her to get her chattiness in line. A note home seems to be effective, so it will likely be my first go-to response for irritating behavior that is likely to be recurring. Now, the whole thing about 1 sheet of paper seems to be BS, but whatevs.
I thought about that too. I go between wanting to know when she’s not acting quite right so that I can step in and not wanting/needing every little detail that I think could be handled with classroom management skills.
when teachers act this way it’s usually because they’re singling out your child for whatever reason. keep an eye on it, and keep checking in with LG and if you think its a growing problem request a conf with the principal after having a conversation with the teacher. just speaking from experience.
Will do – thanks!
This would be my concern…. right here.
“Oh, and that line about only having enough paper for each student to have one piece? Puh-leeze! I know I sent two tablets of that stuff to school at the beginning of the year”
I was thinking the same thing! It’s not like she paid for it….shoot.
LG’s note. In the words of Sissy, that ish is two drops of pee funny!!! I got so tickled that I had to share it with Mistah.
Now, on to more serious matters. LG must be taught the fine art of note folding.
http://www.wikihow.com/Fold-Paper-Into-a-Secret-Note-Square
Girl, that child of mine…
She shall neva – I mean neva! – see that wikihow….
I don’t think i’d care much either. Its not that serious. I would just tell my child to wait until after class to talk to her friends. The long letter the teacher sent was a complete waste if you ask me.
I’ll be honest – something about the note’s tone irritated me.
Is it wrong that my first thought was to send a pack of paper in with LG?
I agree, sounds a bit petty. Unless she had spoken to her several times before (which I sure she would have referenced).
I would have sent in a pack of extra paper with a note titled- Parent Donation and another note just saying that I had spoken to LG passing of note and wasting of paper.
I tend to be more on the passive- agressive side
Umm… I’d write a note back to the teacher and be snarky as hell saying “I only had enough paper to write you this note, but I felt the contents were important enough to use it. I’ve told my child not to write notes…..”,
that was funny. My kids SWEAR the teachers take all of the supplies for their own kids. They are always out by February or so.