A few weeks back, I reported on a student of mine, Mindy, who'd become somewhat of an intrepid traveler. Unhappy with NYC schools, her mom sent her to Washington State. Then, unhappy with Washington State, she brought her back and put her in my class. When I moved Mindy to a lower level, Mom became frantic. She appeared at the guidance office several times claiming that this change had caused irreversible psychological damage.
Mindy, however, reported that she really liked the new class. Mom withdrew her objections, and began to praise the wisdom of the transfer. A week ago, however, one of my colleagues had to cover Mindy's new class. As she knew Mindy, she asked where she was.
"She's not in this class," reported one of her friends.
"Who's Mindy?" asked another.
It turned out Mindy had never actually reported to this class she was so happy with. No wonder she liked the class so much. It turns out when you never show up for classes, those nasty teachers rarely inconvenience you with questions, tests, homework, calls home, or any of those other things that get in the way of what's really important.
My colleague called Mindy's mom.
But, faced with the prospect of actually having to show up, Mindy became unhappy once again. Going to school was one thing, but having to attend classes was a deal-breaker.
So Mom came to school, withdrew Mindy, and is now sending her out of the country. Hopefully she can find a new one that won't burden her with all this education nonsense.
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