I hope my kid grows up and annoys the hell out of me.

[Lyric]

Seriously. I hope he grows up and is comfortable enough and secure enough in his human worth that he defies my will at every turn, ignores my advice, rebels against my example, and becomes a strong, healthy, compassionate person who loves his Mom but doesn't want to live his Mom's life.

I encourage small amounts of rebellion, to this end. I teach him to question authority when it doesn't make sense, and if authority isn't willing/able to hold up to some questioning, then authority can go to hell. (He knows this does not apply to emergency situations where he must listen closely and obey without question to ensure his own safety).

I seriously think his first-grade teacher is planning to put out a hit on me. Should I buy Kevlar?

[LibraLiz1973]

1. roflmao...

I don't know... Is his teacher old and crochety? Cause if so, you may want to duck and cover

[Lyric]

2. Yep--a very typical prim old lady type.

I almost feel bad for her--she expects obedient, quiet children. Brendan is a wonderful kid, but "obedient" and "quiet"---HAHAHAH! He's obedient if you can tell him a logical, sensible reason why he should be.

He's well-mannered, at least. Hopefully that'll be enough to save me from the assassin I just *know* must be coming my way....

[LibraLiz1973]

3. No offense to anyone here who disagrees

But I find the old school teachers the WORST.
I never enjoyed them when I was in school and now that I am a teacher I find them hard to work with.
They never seem to find the joy in the children.

I get the occasional glare for some of my classroom antics..
But come on!! They are only young once and I'm not just trying to teach them.. I am trying to create memories.

I adored my kindergarten teacher because she was so unconventional- she is the reason I am a kindergarten teacher.
Not to mention the fact that at 33 I can honestly say I learned the most about life from her.

[Lyric]

7. He got extremely lucky with his kindergarten teacher

Because by some miracle, he wound up with the same kindergarten teacher that *I* had when I was in kindergarten. She was thrilled to be teaching the child of a former student, too. She's terrific--still just as good 22 years later as she was when I was 5 years old. :loveya:

I've had some conflicts with his 1st grade teacher, unfortunately. She's one of those rigid types who doesn't make allowances for kids who learn at different rates, and gets snippy if we teach him something at home that the rest of the class hasn't covered yet. She says it's "distracting" and detracts from her "authority as an educator". :puke:

I'm hoping 2nd grade will be a significant improvement.

[RetroLounge]

4. she expects obedient, quiet children?

In first grade?

Damn, she's old, but has learned nothing about kids...

:rofl:

The trick is to have them question authority, just not mine. :9

RL

[Lyric]

5. I don't mind him questioning my authority.

The deal is that he only has to listen to me if I tell him *why* a certain rule exists, or why I'm asking him to do something. I never ever use the "Because I SAID so!" line--and at this age, he'd never let a grownup get away with that cop-out, even if they wanted to.

Our only exception is that he knows that if I tell him it's important and urgent, he does what I ask first and asks questions later.

[Pacifist Patriot]

6. Now see, that is one drawback to homeschooling.

I too am teaching my child to question authority, but darnit that hurts when it's me! :)