Stupid Swimming Lessons Update

{Stupid Swimming Lessons}

Swimming Lessons ended on Thursday night.  You may recall that I attempted to speak with the director before leaving the pool that night, but was unsuccessful.  I called to leave a voice mail message for her, when we got home.

I was pleasantly surprised when she returned my phone call Friday morning.

I wasn't quite prepared for the call and I had to scramble downstairs to find the Progress Report so I could  specifically read to her what was written {I always hate confrontational moments like this.  I get very flustered and more than likely sound like an idiot!}

Once I was able to successfully locate the Progress Report I felt like I was able to talk with her a little more easily, however, I was still nervous {It's that darn people pleaser in me!}

I was grasping at straws as I began trying to gently explain my frustration with; not only the comments that were written, but the attitude the swimming teacher possessed, along with his lack of communication, and confidentiality.

My mind was put at ease as we talked and she understood my frustration.  She explained to me that part of the lifeguard and swim teacher training discussed communicating with parents.  The training also included giving swimmers specific skills to practice as they waited for their turn to work with the teacher individually.

After talking with B, I learned that the infamous 'messing around' occurred when they were told to stay by the wall while the teacher was working individually with another swimmer.  B was not told to practice kicking or arm strokes {he has been told to do this in the past with other swimming teachers}.  Again, I'm not excusing my son's behavior, but I am better able to understand that it happened because he was expected to just stay on a wall with 2 other kids his age.  He wasn't given anything constructive to do, so he found something to do, which wasn't a good choice.

Before our conversation concluded the director thanked me for bringing these items of frustration to her attention.  She went on to say that the swim teacher would not be able to grow without parent feedback.  The director also stated that they always try to make the program the best that it can be and talking with parents helps with that.

Now that the situation is done and over with I feel better knowing that I stood up for my child in a respectful way. 

I realize that the swimming instructor is young {even younger than I gave him credit for initially} and doesn't realize the effect of his words and actions have.  I hope that he will use this opportunity to learn and think before he acts in future.

Part of my heart still aches knowing that my son wasn't really ever given a fair chance to show the swim teacher that he does know how to listen and be respectful.  B is caring and kind and he wants to follow directions.  He just needs to know what the exceptions are that he should be following.

Stupid Swimming Lessons

{WARNING: This Mommy is about to get ugly}

Alright so here's the situation:

B and G have been taking swimming lessons 2 days a week for the past month {This is not the first summer they have taken lessons}.

Last night was their last lesson.  When lessons ended they were given Progress Reports.

The Progress Report is broken up into 7 sections with various titles, such as Personal Safety and Stroke Development.  It ends with section labeled, Instructor's Comments.

B handed me his soggy Progress Report and I glanced at it.  As I scanned through it I was trying to help him dry off, alert G as to where we were {For some reason he wasn't able to find us.}, and bounce a fussy Baby M.

Now before I go any further I need to let you know that I am not one of those people who thinks that her child is a perfect swimmer and expects a + mark to be in each box.  For goodness sakes the kid is 6.  Having this kind of attitude, in my opinion, suggests that there is no room for growth.  Let's be honest here, we can all grow in some way.

Ok back on topic, when I got to the section labeled: Swimmer's Attitude I read,

2.  Listens to instructions and follows directions.
The teacher {who appeared to be a high school kid, but my better judgment tells me that he was at least a Freshman in college.} wrote: Messes around to {That's not a typo.  He really spelled it like that.} much with J {wrote out the other child's name}.

Now wait a minute, why am I just now learning about my child 'messing around too much' with another child?  If this problem was significant enough for you to bring it to my attention in the Progress Report maybe you, Mr. Swim Teacher, should have alerted Brent and I to the issue a little sooner.  This way we could have addressed it with B.  And maybe, just maybe it would have stopped.  Oh and on another note, I don't think it was appropriate for you to write another child's name on my child's Progress Report.  Have you heard of a little thing called confidentiality?  Since this 'messing around' was so troublesome, I'm guessing that you wrote my child's name on the other child's Progress Report.  Now in all honesty, I'm sure J is a lovely child and his family is just fantastic, but on the off chance that they are crazy psychos, I'm not too thrilled about B's name potentially being written on J's Progress Report.

Ok problem #2:

Under the same section heading I continued to read:

4.  Demonstrates caring, honesty, respect & responsibility.
The teacher wrote: sometimes/sometimes not.

Ok, could you elaborate a little here?  Maybe you could try this thing called a positive sandwich.  Here's what you do: start with something positive a child does, explain in a gentle, yet tactful way what needs to be worked on, and finish with another positive.  It's like the positives are the bun of the sandwich and the area of growth is the meat, get it?!  What specifically does he do correctly sometimes?  What specifically does he sometimes not do?  Again, I'd like to address this with B, but saying: "Sometimes you are caring, honest, respectful, and responsible and other times you’re not", doesn't help him to know what he needs to keep doing and what he needs to stop doing.

Onto problem #3:

The Progress Report ended with: Instructor's Comments.

Oh wonderful Swimming Instructor wrote:
He is a very good swimmer {Yay, a positive!} he just needs to stop messing around with J {Same kid's name written, again.} and the things we use and he will get 10 times better than he is right now.

Well thank you for the complement glad to know you could find 1 thing to let me know that he does well.  Now, back to this messing around with J thing,  it's obvious that you found it extremely troublesome {and rightfully so}, however, if it was that much trouble why in the hell did you not talk with Brent and I about this?!  I would have been more than happy to talk with B about the problem and get it corrected!

As I'm sure you can guess I was slightly upset after reading this shit junk.  In an effort to try and help B realize he made mistakes and that he needed to rectify them, I briefly explained that his teacher noted his disappointment with B messing around with J.  I continued to explain my disappointment and encouraged him to tell the teacher he was sorry.

So as we were leaving the pool B walked up to his teacher.  The teacher was standing and talking with a group of other teachers and life guards {It did look as if they were practicing some type of drills}.  He didn't even acknowledge that B was standing near him {I'm sure B did speak softly and it was more than likely difficult to hear his voice}.  Finally, B tapped him on the elbow; the teacher didn't even look at B.  B said, "I'm sorry."   The teacher, still not looking at B, muttered "it's cool."

It's cool?!  Ok his response, his attitude, and his body language tell me that he can't stand B and is very annoyed with him.

First of all buddy, the kid is 6!  While I'm not thrilled with his behavior, it is developmentally appropriate.  If you can't handle it, get another job!  Second of all, whether you like it or not you are a role model.  You put yourself in that situation when you took this job.  You did not demonstrate the attitude of a good role model!

I did try to talk with the director of the swimming lessons before we left, but she had gone home for the day.  I called and left her a voice mail message when I got home.

I also talked with B about his behavior and we came up with some better activities he could do rather than 'mess' around with J {Whatever the heck that means!}

This is from last summer when his teacher liked him.

{Stupid Swimming Lessons Update}

Growing Up is Hard

You may or may not be aware of G's larger than life personality.

He is an all or nothing kind of guy.

At 4 years of age he knows what he wants and what he likes and he will let his feelings be known, LOUD and clear!

G is obsessed with all things that are soft.  It could be anything from a blanket to a pair of pj's.

If it's soft he likes loves it!

Little did I know 2 years ago when I purchased a pair of fleece Santa jammies, that they would become his favorite!

 *Sorry for the elephant ears.  It's
amazing how difficult it was to find a picture of him wearing the pj's that he never takes off!








I would even venture to say that they are more than simply his favorite.  G is flat out obsessed with these pj's.  He wears these things all of the time.  As soon as they are clean they are the first pair he picks out to wear.  It's been like 100 degrees almost every day this summer and the kid still chooses to wear fleece pj's with long sleeves and pants.

The other day I made the mistake of mentioning that his favorite pj's were beginning to look a little short on him.


I'm not really sure what I was thinking as the words spilled out of my mouth.

Have you ever had one of those moments where you're watching and listening to yourself.  You hear what's coming out of your mouth and you know it needs to stop, but no matter how hard you try you just. can't. make. it. stop. {Yeah that's how it went down}

It is an understatement to say that he was upset about the pj's.  He was down right pissed!

I'm pretty sure the neighbors heard his disgust with me over the comment.

I guess I should learn to keep my opinions to myself.

I'm pretty sure he's going to hang onto these babies until he can't pull them on.

Do your kids obsess over anything?

What does The Tooth Fairy Bring?

Last summer B lost his first tooth.  Losing a tooth is a pretty big deal.  Brent and I were faced with a dilemma –How much should The Tooth Fairy bring?

I thought since it was his first tooth, The Tooth Fairy should bring him $5.00.  Mr. Cheap Skate Brent thought $1.00 was enough.  My argument on the situation was that B, like any 5 year old, would want to spend his money immediately.  There aren't too many options for a 5 year old that cost $1.00.  I also thought that the first tooth should be worth more.

Brent held strong to his opinion that $1.00 was plenty, stating that, B would expect $5.00 or more for each tooth.

We struggled to come to a consensus on the payout.  So I made a post on Facebook to get the opinions of our friends and family regarding the situation.  I explained our debate and that I thought the Tooth Fairy should bring $5.00 for two reasons.  1)  It was the first tooth and 2) He wouldn’t be able to buy anything for $1.00.  Just to be fair I explained Brent's point of view as well {See, I can be nice}.

Wouldn’t you know . . . most people sided with me!  Surprise, Surprise {Sorry, I had to get 1 more dig at my hubby, Love you babe}!

And so the Tooth Fairy brought B $5.00 and he was THRILLED!

B lost another tooth tonight.  He looks like a true 1^st grader now, with his missing teeth!

B has lost a total of 3 teeth and managed to chip 1 of them {He only had 2 adult teeth when the accident occurred.}.  Let’s hope he is able to keep the rest of his teeth safe!

Has the Tooth Fairy come to your house?  How much did she bring?

Mission Possible - Book Give Away

You may or may not be aware of the fact that I am a teacher.  I have made mention of it a few times, but to be honest I don’t like to highlight it too often.  It’s not that I don’t love what I do.  It’s more because too often I feel as if I have to play the part of a defender on a daily basis.  I don’t want to be judged as a teacher.  I blog from home and I know you may find this surprising, but those kids of mine don’t really care what I’m doing when they want/need something.  They will interrupt me at the drop of a hat {I’m sure none of your kids do things like this}.  Interruptions may cause a mistake or two despite my every effort to prevent them.  This blog is my space and I want to step away from the role that often takes a beating or is often used as the scape goat for the problems with American youth.

Eva Moskowitz

Arin Lavinia

I was provided the opportunity to read the book, Mission Possible written by, Eva Moskowitz and Arin Lavinia.  I am also very fortunate to be able to give away a copy of the book to my readers! 

Mission Possible is an information text that discusses why schools are struggling.  Suggestions are offered to improve learning for all students through the use of   rigorous reading and writing curriculums that are affective.

http://bit.ly/NgXHVm

Along with reading the book I was asked to offer my opinion regarding: Stagnation and why I think this country treats teaching so differently than it does other professions? 

In America we are constantly seeking the fastest way to accomplish tasks.  Often society looks to educators as the ‘providers’ of knowledge.  Oh and by the way, they want that knowledge given quickly, as in yesterday! 

Well I’m here to tell you that it is not possible for one single person to possess all of the knowledge there is, let alone have the ability to take that knowledge and pour it into someone else’s brain.  Knowledge is not something that can’t simply be given.  It is something that is learned.  Teachers help students to understand concepts.  Students gain knowledge about the world through their understanding of basic concepts.  Understanding and learning concepts takes time and practice.  When students aren’t able to demonstrate their understanding of knowledge adequately, who do people turn to place blame on?  . . . The Teachers, which lowers respect for teachers.

It’s difficult to compare educating to other professions.  In an office, for example, a typical day may consist of; working on assignments, attending meetings, and conferring with colleagues regarding various work related tasks.  Time is given to complete tasks and feedback is provided when mistakes are made. 

So often I think people overlook the fact that an educator’s first priorities are students.  Yes, teachers attend meetings and work on assignments, however, in between the meetings and paper work there are students, children, who are the priority.  Rarely is it taken into consideration that children have different needs than that of the average business client.

a Rafflecopter giveaway **I was compensated for this post.  All opinions expressed are my own.**

Movie Review ~ Magic Mike



Photo Credit

About 2 weeks ago a friend emailed me along with 3 of our other friends.  She proposed a Mommy's night out, which included dinner and a movie.  The movie just happened to be none other than, Magic Mike.

Immediately when I read the email I became extremely excited at the thought of going to dinner with friends {AKA uninterrupted girl talk, nothing is better!}.  I had not heard of the movie and asked Brent if he knew what it was about {Don't laugh at me.  I don't get out much.}.  Of course, he began cracking up at me immediately as he told me about it.  He couldn't believe that I had no prior knowledge of the movie.  The conversation ended with him saying, "Oh, Erin", and his typical head in his hand shake.

I responded to the email, as did the others, and we arranged to have dinner and see the movie last Wednesday.  I couldn't recall the last time I had gone to the theater to see a movie that wasn't a cartoon.  I was totally pumped at the thought of seeing a movie and not having to take someone potty during it!

Alrighty so here you have it, my opinion of the movie {Take it for what it's worth}:

Photo Credit

Channing Tatum, oh wow, he looks good and the boy can dance!  You can't help but like his character, Mike.

Photo Credit

Matthew McConaughey, I was SUPER disappointed in him.  He looked old and greasy!  And I'm not talking about that pretty little sheen that's supposed to look hot; I'm talking nas-tay!

The movie started out with a good story line.  Mike works several jobs trying to save every penny he can.  His goal is to attain his own custom furniture store.  At one of his random jobs he meets, Adam, a young kid trying to find his way in the world just after high school.  Mike takes Adam under his wing and helps Adam to get on his own 2 feet and off of his sister's couch.

The story becomes rather drawn out and takes a turn for the weird when Mike and Adam preform on location at a sorority.  Drugs were introduced and honestly I was turned off.  Things really went downhill from there.

It appeared that the movie was totally written by a man who was envisioning what he thinks women are interested in.  There were more bare boobs in the movie than anything else.  Personally, I'm not all about seeing naked men {which you don't see} and I 'm guessing my face was several shades of red throughout the club and dancing scenes.

I've never been to strip club and if the movie truly depicted what occurs in one I'd be too embarrassed to go {Not that I'm judging anyone who has been or enjoys going.  If that's your thing more power to ya!  It's just not for me.}

Ok so over all, it was great to get out and have some adult time, the movie had its ups and downs.  I'd say the movie is more dollar theater or rent worthy.

Have you seen it?  What did you think? or Are you going to see it?  Are you doing a girls night out?

8 Years Ago . . . - Memories Captured Link Up

8 years ago today I was on pins and needles.

2004

My mind was filled with excitement and anticipation.

I was nervous and worried.

2006 Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert

I am so amazed at how quickly things have changed in such a short period of time.

We have grown in many ways during these 8 years.

2007

Our ideas and dreams have gone through several phases. 

We have learned so much about life, love, and each other.

2009 Chicago

Happy Anniversary to my Prince Charming!

I Love you babe!

2011 Epcot

I'm linking up with Alison and Galit today for Memories Captured.