Dear Parents,
I am rarely angry. In fact, generally speaking, I am the soul of patience and compassion. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the opportunity to be filled with a burning rage for the afternoon! What an interesting experience! And the added bonus of self-control by holding my tongue and not swearing at you, yelling, or berating your second-rate offspring! You are too generous.
In case you weren't listening to me earlier because you were too busy yelling at me on speakerphone (another new experience! Both of you yelling at once! What novelty!), I would like to make a few key points clear.
Main Point: It is not my fault that your son is inevitably destined to drop out of school. That pleasure, I'm afraid, must belong to the two of you and your spawn.
If, however, he stays in school here are some useful tips for you to keep track of him:
Do
1. Think about the situation in its entirety before yelling incoherently at a teacher.
2. If you think in September that your son may do better with a teacher whose class he has not previously failed, switch teachers immediately.
3. Take away his damn cell phone.
4. Don't just check his grades online! Check his attendance as well! Perhaps if he is late to 4th period more than, say 10 times a semester, you should ask him to shorten his marijuana time with friends at lunch so he can go to class.
5. Take responsibility for your own kid.
6. Be concerned before finals week if you son has a D or lower in Spanish I... for the second time in his high school career. And don't be surprised and infuriated with the teacher that it dropped to an F. Perhaps it was because the student failed. Weird.
7. Read the class information sheet that was sent home in September. I promise it explained in detail the grading policy, deadline for making up tests, participation, and cell phone policy. Oh oops... that was the second missing assignment of the year.
8. That should have been a red flag.
And, just for future reference, calling me a heartless person without compassion who should have taken responsibility for the situation was not very kind. Or accurate. I assumed that a 17 year old, whom I check in with weekly, should be able to a) Learn the material that he missed last time around; b) Use the plethora of resources around him, including the two special Spanish-speaking tutors, for extra help; and c) Advocate for himself. If he can't, you didn't do your job either.
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