Dear C,
Although mothers like the one you describe are thankfully few and far between in the public school system – no doubt reflecting their inferior standards of educational and career achievement – what we do seem to have is an abundance of parents who are convinced of their child’s innate genius. Take the woman who solemnly informed me that the reason her son has been held back a year is because he finds the school curriculum ‘unchallenging’. Or the one claims her 5th grade daughter’s exclusion from a magnet school reflects outrageous discrimination against out of sync children (the learning disability du jour) and has nothing to do with the fact that the kid still can’t read.
Thank you for so selflessly adopting the mantle of Advice Giver to the Less Fortunate. For my part, I would be delighted to defer to your superior judgment on just what is wrong with my children. As it is, I can’t figure out why the state won’t accept either of them for the Gifted and Talented Program next year. If only they could see that what they label ‘bad bullying habits’ in reality represent frustrated leadership skills.
Faithfully,
P.
