Missed it by that much...

And so it happened that less than a week from the "lofty goal" post, I have already missed my first 'every day' post. LOL. What happened? Well, nothing, really. The kiddos got out of school early, and the rest is history.

One of Tyler's teachers decided to put her students' responsibility to the test. She made it such that an assignment was due on a day the students not only got out early, but also on a day that the students were not even going to that class that day! It was up to each student to find a time to make sure they delivered their completed assignments during the day. Our little student didn't quite make it.

Of course, his thought process went like this: We didn't even have that class, so I couldn't turn it in. considering he is 13 and a boy who has recently discovered the world of girls, I can see that happening. So, after supper, we came back home to get the assignment from his folder, then I drove him back to the school to turn it in.

We have raised our child to be very polite. Sometimes he misses, but sometimes he is polite to a fault. He did not want to cut in front of the parents waiting in line for parent-teacher conferences in order to turn in his work. I explained that it was okay to excuse yourself and simply explain that he would be only a minute while he turned in an assignment.

As it so happens, several students had not turned in their work by the deadline. Because the deadline was actually ANYTIME during the day, and since the teacher was there late for the conferences, Tyler will get full credit for turning in his work.

I think the idea behind what the teacher wanted was a good one - teach responsibility. I do not know if she actually ever told the students that they would have to find a time to turn in the work since they would not have class that day. I would hope she told them, but if she didn't, I think she missed a key component.

You can expect students (or anyone for that matter) to be responsible, but children need to be TAUGHT what it means to be responsible. Often, we adults assume the children know what to do because WE know what to do. They just don't though. At some point in our lives, we had to learn what to do, and the same thing with them.

Sometimes, the child DOES know what it means, from previous teaching/experience and still does not act responsibly. In those cases, the child must be re-educated. sometimes that requires a little more 'application' than others. But the truth is, adults sometimes need a little re-education in responsibility, too...

I guess we never stop learning...and re-learning...