Parent Teacher Conferences

"I've never, ever, had a student like Scotty. He's....he's....just a mystery to me. He can be doodling, reading a book and fully participating in my class all at once. And this isn't a criticism. I'm just still trying to...to figure him out. I was actually quite a lot like your son, but I always got in trouble. He's getting an A in my class. He really cares about getting an A. He will tell me why he deserved an A if I give him anything lower than an A on an assignment. I will win that negotiation, but I like his drive. He's just really like no one I have ever taught." said his Social Studies teacher. "Scotty is the very best Science student I have. I tried to type out comments there on that paper I handed you, but how many times can you say, 'He is awesome. He is a wonderful Science student.' He was great dissecting the cow eye." said his Science teacher. "Well he really likes your class, and loved dissecting the eye." We say. "Well who wouldn't, really, I mean the cow eye is so amazing! I don't think people realize what is back there in the head. There is a lot of fatty tissue........." and she went on and on about the cow eye dissection. Of course she likes Scotty. They are the same person. "Scotty is really a little Math genius. He is such a sponge. He grasps these high level concepts so quickly....Usually there are gaps for the kids that show up having skipped a grade, but I have not noticed any with him so far." And then she went on to speak in a secret math language that only she and my husband understood, and I just nodded like I had a clue about what they were speaking about, which I did not. "Now, here in the grade book, anywhere you see that he has anything less than an A it is because I can't get him to show me his......(and here is where I think she is going to say "work" like showing all the work on a long math problem, right?) but instead she says, "assignments" before the end of class. He really needs to organize better. He usually comes up with his wrinkled homework from somewhere in his enormous backpack at some point during the class, but really it is due at the beginning of class. The rest of the class turns their assignments in in a bound composition notebook. Perhaps you should purchase him another one. I think he lost the first one." These conferences for Scotty are quite enjoyable. I mean who doesn't like to hear about their "conscientious, really good kid, very bright, kind and ambitious" kiddo. Next week we get to go talk about our "creative, rambunctious, funny, not-so-into-school" kiddos. I pray that the conversations to come are productive. That seems like a safe prayer.