What kind of parent are you? Are you the type to believe your child over everything else or the parent who knows your child well enough to know they are probably twisting the truth?
Josh, though not officially a parent (but close enough), is the type to always think Corbin is not telling us the truth. He sees Corbin's stubborn streak as what it really is.
I, on the other hand, am wrapped right around my kids' fingers, and I think they know it. If Corbin tells me it was someone else's fault, I'm all over it.
I think we need to meet in the middle somewhere.
Yesterday after work I asked Corbin how his day went. He paused, thought, and replied, "It was kinda OK".
I stopped and said, "Spill."
Corbin started, "Well Ms. *** is a meanie! She doesn't even give me a chance to do it before she writes my name on the board!!"
It took some prodding to get the actual story out but from what I can understand, this is what happened:
Class assignment was to do a poem.
Corbin copied Ms. *** poem rather than do his own.
Ms. *** told him, "No Corbin, that's not what you do. You have to make your own."
Corbin sits and processes and can't think of what to do.
Ms. *** writes his name on the board because he is not cooperating and doing the task.
(In his class your name goes on the board in the green section for a warning, then yellow you miss part of recess, and then red a note goes home to parent- Corbin has been in the green a couple of times- never in the yellow and red thus far.)
So, Josh would look at this situation and say, "Corbin was just being his stubborn self and not trying." I would look at this situation and say, "Corbin wasn't allowed the proper processing time he needs when doing new things."
And then Josh & I will argue until I say, "Hey, I don't want to hear anymore about it!". End of conversation.
I did help Corbin make a poem using the format she wanted last night, so if it comes up again today maybe he'll get it. Oh and I did talk to Corbin about respecting his teachers and not calling them "meanies", even if it is just to me (and even if I want to agree with him).
