Comments on: Life Happens Despite Our Plans

By: Daniel Willenborg

Daniel Willenborg — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:17:36 +0000

I’m reading your bolg two years after your son’s accident and it is right on the mark. Family comes first and teachers can leave a blank in their gradebook with the education system crashing down on them.

By: DSarver

DSarver — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 23:38:10 +0000

I absolutely agree on the make up work! I’ve always communicated to my parents that the child is more important than the student. I’ll never forget that when my children’s father died, my daughter’s 9th grade teachers made her make up everything while she was out grieving. She then was asked to participate fully in her classes upon her return. I find it hard to forgive people who aren’t merciful to children under certain circumstances.

By: Carolyn Foote

Carolyn Foote — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 14:20:16 +0000

I’m glad to hear that your son will be okay, and hope that he continues on a good path to health.

Thanks too for sharing your positive and compassionate outlook on homework. Sometimes we get caught up in the daily, and can’t see the larger picture.

Too often homework can become a family battleground, as well, or the source of stress at home. There has to be some sort of balance we can find that is good for learning, good for children, and good for the family.

Thanks for the reflective way you are sharing this experience.

By: Laura Miller

Laura Miller — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 12:45:06 +0000

I had a 5 year old student recently suffer a horrible accident. The accident almost cost him his life. This incident made me really rethink the whole homebound process. I’ve been his homebound teacher and I’ve sent him very litle work, and what work I have sent, I’ve told his family to only have him do if he feels up to it. Instead, when I go out to do his homebound visits I really “teach” and go over the important concepts we covered in class, instead of having him do a bunch of worksheets. I really think it is more important for the family to regroup and come together as a unit during this time and support each other than it is for him to complete a few assignments for my gradebook. His family has been through a lot and it’s difficult for them to focus on school right now. They need to recover so that when he returns to school, he will be ready to give it his all then.

I’m so glad your son is recovering and doing okay, Kim and I commend you for seeing a “lesson” out of this circumstance.

By: David O'Rourke

David O'Rourke — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 00:08:12 +0000

Wishing your son a speedy recovery, Kim. And you make an excellent point about the make-up work. Often in schools, and especially in High Schools, doing “the” work is such a fixed variable, and our teachers and administrators have no real desire to climb the last rungs of Kohlberg’s moral ladder — to understand that fairness isn’t always equal.

By: Chris Lehmann

Chris Lehmann — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 00:34:32 +0000

I’m sorry to hear that you and your son are going through this, but it’s wonderful to hear he’s going to be o.k.

And what an amazing thing for you to be able to reflect on how an incident like this can and should instruct your practice. I’m going to remember this entry the next time we have a sick student and we collect her assignments.” I’ll ask each teacher, “How can you boil the work down to the essential pieces so that our student can work, but also can get better quickly.”

Thanks.

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 21:22:30 +0000

Tallon is an amazing kid and he’ll have a great story to bring back to school – thank goodness. Be there for him, and heck… if you get bored you can always do some of that schoolwork (I’m sure you wouldn’t be the first mother to do that

Tell him to take care of himself and you do the same!

By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 18:32:13 +0000

I am so glad to hear that Tallon is going to be ok. you had my heart racing there for a minute.

Our kids are what it is all about and for me, my daughter trumps everything. Some days I feel like I let her down but I am really trying. She turns 6 on Saturday so I am going to volunteer at Kindergarten in the morning on Friday and then we have an afternoon for “the girls.” On Saturday Bill and I are doing to do whatever she wants. Right now she wants to sled but the absence of snow may pose a few problems so her back-up plan is bowling . . . .yikes.

Take good care of your son Kim.