E Mom E

I recently took Evan and his friend Ethan to a Butler Basketball game.  Evan was getting all pouty and when I asked him what was wrong he told me that he would talk to me later.  After dropping Ethan off Evan confessed that I was 'embarrassing' him.  Great.  This is starting all ready.  I can't remember what I did but it was embarrassing and he got upset.  We have now established a code.  E mom E means that I am embarrassing him.  He can say this as I am doing something and no one else will know (unless you read this blog).

Statement to live by.

As I indicated in my last post Evan has struggled in his 'new' school.  There appears to be many students that don't make the best decisions and don't really care what adults and or teachers think.  If they are like this at 10 what will they be like at 16?  Anyway, Evan needed to talk to me this evening.  His classroom has now been assigned 'jobs' where they earn 'money' and can also lose money for inappropriate behavior.  Evan's teacher has assigned him as hall monitor.  He is to walk in the back of the line and if anyone is talking (halls are a quiet zone) or messing around he is responsible for notifying them that they owe a $1 to the teacher.  If they back talk him, he has been given the 'authority' to take another $1.

Well, Evan says that he has had to fine almost everyone in the class at one point or another (and I believe him because of the stories that he tells and the teacher has agreed with).  So now the student's are bad mouthing him and indicating that they are going to get him back because he is telling on them.

I told him that he was given a job to do and he has to complete the task doing what he believes is right and not to worry about what everyone else is saying.  So after a little more discussion he said, 'Doing what is right is not always popular and doing what is popular is not always right.'

Profound words for a 10 year old.  I hope he remembers them forever.

Friends.

Evan struggled last year at his 'new' school  (due to redistricting) and told us he didn't have any friends. We somewhat dismissed it and just told him that it would take a while to find them.  Well we are in year 2 at the 'new' school and I don't like what I hear.  Evan continually talks about how 'bad' the kids are in his class, how no one 'understands him', how people think he is 'weird'.  This is hard for a parent to hear.  Evan's class has so many behavior issues that they had to write the substitute teacher apology letters, and we got to deliver them because she lives in our neighborhood.  At our parent teacher conference his teacher alluded to problems in the class with behavior but she thought she was finally getting them under control.  Evan comes home daily with stories.  But there is a bright spot in this dismal year, Ethan.    The first or second day of school Evan came home so excited that he had met a boy that liked all of the same things that he did.  Ethan took school seriously.  Ethan was respectful to his teacher and adults.  Ethan had just moved into the school from West Virginia.  All I can say is THANK GOODNESS.  Just tonight we had a message from their teacher Mrs. Singleton and it said that she hadn't gotten the spelling test graded before the end of the day so she was calling to let Evan know that he scored 20 out of 20 and that he and his buddy were the only ones that scored 20, again.  If they score 20 out of 20 on their pre-test on Wednesday they don't have to take the test on Friday.

Evan has play dates at Ethan's house many Friday afternoons.  They sing in choir together and we are in a carpool with his parents.  He has gone to a Butler Basketball game with me.  They are now on the same basketball team.  And I have asked their teach Mrs. Singleton NOT to separate them in their class 'pods'.

I can only hope that Evan has found that lifelong friend that will stick with him through thick and thin and they will guide each other to responsible decisions and behavior for many many years.