Yesterday - worked 10 hours, 1/2 hour commute home, make dinner for 7 people, then rush out the drawbridge to Prince Michael's high school open house for another hour and a half. This is the life of the working American mom - Anybody want to trade?
Anyway, I'm not whining...just setting the stage. Prince Michael came along for the ride to the open house, not because he wanted to keep Queen Mum company, but because he couldn't remember the room numbers I had to go to so I could meet his teachers.
"We're going to be a few minutes late," I announced as we drove.
He looked in the brochure that was sent home about the event. "The parents are supposed to meet in the auditorium first for an introduction speech. They're probably just going to go over the school's Core Values."
The school's Core Values are plastered all over the facility. The kids are reminded of the Core Values on a regular basis. It's what they want each and every kid to take to heart.
"So do you remember the Core Values," I ask Michael in an inpromptu quiz, much to every teenagers delight.
"Integrity, Responsibility, Good Citizenship and ...," he pauses hoping the fourth will pop into his head quickly before any kind of speech ensues. Too late ...
"So what's the fourth one. Don't they talk about this stuff all the time?" I ask, a bit annoyed. 3 out of 4, another C. Michael is known not to be the most studious in the royal family.
"Respect," he answers quickly. "Mom, everyone just makes fun of the Core Values anyway. Even the teachers." Here he says, with sarcastic flaire, "One day I was going to poison the town's water supply, but then I remembered, 'Hey, that's against our Core Values.' Phew, disaster averted."
I had to laugh at my son's hypothetical scenario (at least I hope it was hypothetical). I did wonder then, why is the school so amped up on these Core Values. Is it because so many parents just don't parent (discipline)these days? Is there now such little parenting being done that the schools had to take over in order to function without their teachers getting beat up by the students?
The lesson here is that we shouldn't be waiting and encouraging our schools to teach core values. This is part of our job description. We should be the ones teaching respect, responsibility, good citizenship and integrity. The schools' job is to teach reading, writing and arithmetic (oh, and, in our disctrict, studio clay and chimes, too. I do love the occasional tea pot and pencil holder Prince Michael graces our castle with).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment