Let me take a moment to vent about my teenager who I love so very #$%* much. *sigh* Ok, I was her age once and I remember dragging out of bed every morning and heading off to school, but twenty-one years is a long time and well maybe I don't remember it well enough to have sympathy for her. She hates it, hates school with a passion! Almost every morning the last couple of weeks she asks me if she can stay home, only once did I relent because I think she really didn't feel good. So every morning we argue before she leaves, which makes both of our days start out poopy! Her poor little sister is usually caught in the drama and so also has a wonderful start to her day...not.
Why? Why do I make her go? Is it for the education? *rolling my eyes at the public school system* Do I really hate her and just want to torture her? (that's what she thinks) Maybe I want her to suffer the pain I did in school, no that can't be it. Kids are so cruel to each other, that is the main reason I considered home schooling them.
The bottom line is... everyday of her whole adult life she will need to get up and go to work and sadly that is the best thing school does for our children. With the exception of a few brilliant, caring teachers who give a damn, school is merely conditioning for later life. Just a way to teach our kids how to cope with the day in day out blahs. In our society today with all of its modern conveniences, we just don't have enough at home to provide that kind of conditioning. Most of us don't live on farms where we can send teenagers out to do chores for hours on end, help plow a field or bring in a crop. Our basic survival now comes out of a tap, a grocery store and is handed to us. There is no cow in our back yard crying to be milked or hungry squawking chickens to feed. As long as a teenager knows how to operate a microwave they will not starve!
I think back to when I was a kid and remember all of the things that my parents did, (that at the time I hated) that contributed to my strong work ethic and I am grateful now. At the time getting out of bed on a Saturday morning to help rake leaves instead of watching cartoons really sucked, but now I understand my Dad and I hope I will be able to give my kids what he gave me. What I really wish I could do is take my teenagers to a third world country where school is a privilege and truly give them a sense of how much they have to be grateful for!
Anyway, any suggestions on how to get a burned out kid to school would be more than welcome!
Melie
If you believe you can or you believe you can't, either way you are right. Henry Ford
3 comments:
My first thought was a cattle prod...but that's not for everyone.
How about some positive reinforcement? It sounds like she has done the social thing to death and now doesn't know what to do with herself. I've seen how smart she is, and maybe an incentive would help her prove it. Decide on a certain GPA to obtain and a comparable reward: diamond studded cell phone case, gift certificate to the mall, 5 less beatings a week, whatever. I can't imagine the daily struggle and I hope it gets better for all of you. Hug them both for us.
I accidentally posted that last comment from Cindy's account. It was from me.
Peace and Love.
That's so funny, I swear I was just thinking...Lindsay and Cindy have been married so long they are starting to sound alike! LOL Thanks for the encouraging words, today was a good day :). The incentive is a good idea, they do get $ for 'A's and 'B's, maybe I need to increase it! :)
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