h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As a parent I am cornered into going to my son's parents evening. If I don't attend I'm viewed by shallow people as to not care for my son's well being at school, but if I do attend I invariably fall out with the teacher and my ex husband. (Surely, if the school had any major concerns regarding my son they would contact me directly!) Anyway, off I go, I flick through the screwed up paper with it's tattered corners and rubbings out..... ahhhh bless isn't my son wonderful!!

The time comes to sit infront of the teacher to hear about some child unbeknown to me: he is either wonderful, creative, bright and helpful or he could do better, he fidgets, he daydreams, he talks all the time. We usually swing between the two. But not today, the teacher thrusts a letter into my hand and ask's me to explain this, I sit back and read, and the glow of pride fills me!

I will share this letter with you:

Dear Miss X

I am sending this document to tell you some facts about why homework is no use and boring. Whenever I do my homework I find it boring, stressful and sometimes gets me in a mood.

Also some people (like me) have better things to do for example (learning joinery and playing football). I want to be a joiner and have lots of requests, so thats why people do not have time to do homework.

Furthermore when you tell the teacher that you have not done it you get a big, big telling off, My view is homework should be banned.

Yours sincerely
XXX

A huge smug smile engulfs me and I laugh, tears roll down my face, the teacher looks slightly taken aback, I think she expects me to view my concerns and be appalled, instead I say "that's fantastic, can I have a photocopy". The teacher twitches rises to her feet and suddenly my quality time discussing my son and his attitudes, abilities and school work have come to an abrupt end.

Needless to say, that was the best parents evening I have attended!

Hi, Blondemoments, and welcome from another pery-oxide blonde!

What a wonderful letter: you must be so proud of him! I would have demanded a copy, too. It sounds as if he knows exactly where he's going.

My mother once faced our needlework teacher down. I was Bottom Of The Class (the disgrace!)because my tacking stitches weren't neat enough. Ma laughed like the proverbial drain and pointed out that someone had to be bottom, if only to keep the others up. In any case, Ma said, she thought that English and Maths were more important...

These days apparently nobody does tacking. Clearly I was ahead of my time.

Thanks for that.....

I must admit I take after my own mother where teachers are concerned... I have an inbuilt defence mechanism which makes the hairs on my neck stand up..... my own mother once punched a deputy head for throwing a blackboard rubber at me (this would never happen in today's school, as white boards only exist). So yeah, I was suitably impressed with my lads letter writing abilities and for the strength within himself to express an opinion and stand up to authority at such a young age..... visions of him chained to Downing Street railings in years to come demanding his human rights be taken into consideration because he failed to hand in his geography homework on time.....lol