Boss Hogg
in Giggles on October 26, 2015
So, last week we had our first Parent/Teacher Conference of the new school year. Today is Monday, and I am just now recovering enough to jot down a few of the highlights from the meeting that occurred on Thursday.
Yeah…it was that good.
First of all, let me preface this statement with the reminder that I have three children. My oldest has moved on to high school–which in and of itself could be a walking, talking nightmare–but it isn’t. Ethan has made the transition from middle school to high school rather effortlessly. His grades are better now, than they ever were before. I am stunned. My daughter, has made it abundantly clear that she goes to school simply for the social connections that can be found wandering the halls. The classes and learning that have been forced upon her are a necessary evil that she has resigned herself to manage. Even with cheerleading and a seemingly never-ending supply of social engagements, her report card reflected that something is sticking inside that brain of hers beyond extensions, liberties, and back-hand springs. My husband and I considered that a win. Two out of three isn’t bad.
That brings us to the last one…the young one…
What I am about to tell you is true. It is not doctored for entertainment value. The only things I have changed are the names of his teachers to protect what little sanity they may left.
A couple of years ago, Elliott was diagnosed with ADHD. I really didn’t buy wholeheartedly into it. I thought he was just a bit high-strung. He is VERY intelligent, and I simply thought he was bored in school. I still think that. But, after much persuasion (and pleading) from his teachers and a recommendation from his doctor we put him on a low dose of an ADHD medication. It helped with the wiggles. It helped him focus, but it also annihilated his appetite. He couldn’t or wouldn’t eat, and he became lethargic. In a year’s time Jeff and I noticed some major differences in our kid that we didn’t like…so we pulled him off of the medication. We decided we would parent the kid that God gave us. We did this three weeks ago. Elliott began to bounce back…and I DO mean bounce.
He has been walking up the stairs…on the outside of the railing. I got him an exercise ball to sit on while he does his homework…he bounced so much that he popped it. The havoc that has been our homelife for the last three weeks has been a cakewalk compared to what he has been doing to his teachers at school. The very first question I was asked upon my arrival was:
“Has anything changed recently in Elliott’s life?” I began to sweat.
“Why do you ask?” I say, shifting in my chair.
“Well…we’ve noticed some changes in him over the last few weeks that are troubling…”
“Troubling? Can you give an example?”
Please bear in mind, his homeroom teacher is a very sweet, little bitty thing, who would never say anything negative about anyone. So, the conversation she was about to have with me was brutal for her. She begins:
“Well…he’s been argumentative with his Social Studies teacher. He’s impulsive and refuses to raises his hand in class. He blurts out the answer, without giving any of the other children time to answer, and then he gloats because he gave the right answer–”
“Is he right?”
“Yes–but, he’s not being kind about it. He’s disruptive in class….and then…there’s…well…this week has been rough for him. In my class he got up while I was teaching to go to the sink to wash his hands. But instead of using the paper towels by the sink, he turned and wiped both his hands and his face on Ben’s shirt. Then went back to his seat and sat down as though nothing had happened.”
I almost fainted. I was about to say something, until she help up her hand to stop me. She wasn’t finished. There was more.
“And then yesterday, in Mrs. Carter’s class, during the explanation of the lesson, he informed her and the class that because he had been absent recently, and no one cared to gather his make-up work for him and get it to the office, this lesson was unimportant to him…he then proceeded to lean back in his chair, and prop his feet up onto the desk.”
“Like Boss Hogg??”
“Well…yes. I suppose.”
Mic drop.
What in the wide world do you do with that?! Needless to say, the Boss did not see the light of day over the weekend. His homeroom teacher and I quickly put a contingency plan into place to deal with the likes of a blooming little crime boss like the one that seems to think he is above the law.
Here’s hoping your day is the Boss!
-Dallas