Taking a Stand
Last week, Zoe and Talia came home from school all in a dither.
The next day, the girls walked in the door with long faces.
Mr. C is the principal, someone we all very much like. He is fair and really, overall, a great guy and wonderful principal, in my opinion.
Much to my surprise, the girls sat down this weekend to write the letter. Tim and I both discussed the situation with the girls, and I transcribed what they said, trying to leave most of the letter in their words. Zoe and Talia ended up composing a respectful piece telling Mr. C. that they did not agree with the teachers' decision, and that a good number of kids still are behaving as they should be. They also gave a few suggestions of what they thought might help the situation, one of which was opening the lines of communication between the school and the parents (even now, I've heard nothing from the school regarding this "bad" behavior that has been going on.)
We printed out the document. The girls signed their names at the bottom, after practicing their cursive signatures a couple of times. We folded the letter, put it in an envelope, and Zoe wrote Mr. C's name across the front. The plan was to hand deliver it the next morning (Monday).
The girls almost forgot the item they worked so hard on when it came time to leave for school yesterday morning, but aside from that, I have to say that I am really proud of these girls. They truly believe that the teachers could be doing something different with this situation, and given the opportunity to voice their concerns, they took it. There is no way I'd have done this in Fifth Grade. And there is no way I ever thought my quiet, introverted twins would have chosen to take this on. But take a stand, they did, and I am unbelievably pleased by their actions.
Mr. C caught Talia at lunch yesterday. He said he liked the letter. I am betting he was surprised that of all the kids in the Fifth Grade to say something it was these two. We have yet to see what happens.
***
By the way, you might have noticed that when I have a conversation with both girls, they each tell a bit of the story, and by the end, I know the whole thing. This happens, every time. They tell stories together as if it is being told by one person, although they also use the pronoun we a lot (go figure). A weird twin thing, I think.
Z: Mom! Some kids got recess taken away.
T: But we didn't, since we were in the art room.
Me: Why? Why did recess get taken away?
Z: The kids were apparently not behaving.
T: We don't know what they did.
The next day, the girls walked in the door with long faces.
T: We all got recess taken away.
Z: But we didn't do anything wrong. It's just that the majority of kids are misbehaving.
T: And now we have to do spirit classes during recess time.
Z: Yeah, the teachers gave us a list of 33 things we did wrong.
T: If we have a problem with it, we're supposed to talk to Mr. C
Mr. C is the principal, someone we all very much like. He is fair and really, overall, a great guy and wonderful principal, in my opinion.
Me: Well, do you have a problem with what the teachers are doing?
Z: Yes.
T: Yes. We might lose out on going to the amusement park.
Me: Then I guess talk to Mr. C. Write him a letter. Do you want to?
Z: Yes.
T: If Zoe does.
Much to my surprise, the girls sat down this weekend to write the letter. Tim and I both discussed the situation with the girls, and I transcribed what they said, trying to leave most of the letter in their words. Zoe and Talia ended up composing a respectful piece telling Mr. C. that they did not agree with the teachers' decision, and that a good number of kids still are behaving as they should be. They also gave a few suggestions of what they thought might help the situation, one of which was opening the lines of communication between the school and the parents (even now, I've heard nothing from the school regarding this "bad" behavior that has been going on.)
We printed out the document. The girls signed their names at the bottom, after practicing their cursive signatures a couple of times. We folded the letter, put it in an envelope, and Zoe wrote Mr. C's name across the front. The plan was to hand deliver it the next morning (Monday).
The girls almost forgot the item they worked so hard on when it came time to leave for school yesterday morning, but aside from that, I have to say that I am really proud of these girls. They truly believe that the teachers could be doing something different with this situation, and given the opportunity to voice their concerns, they took it. There is no way I'd have done this in Fifth Grade. And there is no way I ever thought my quiet, introverted twins would have chosen to take this on. But take a stand, they did, and I am unbelievably pleased by their actions.
Mr. C caught Talia at lunch yesterday. He said he liked the letter. I am betting he was surprised that of all the kids in the Fifth Grade to say something it was these two. We have yet to see what happens.
***
By the way, you might have noticed that when I have a conversation with both girls, they each tell a bit of the story, and by the end, I know the whole thing. This happens, every time. They tell stories together as if it is being told by one person, although they also use the pronoun we a lot (go figure). A weird twin thing, I think.
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