To Whom It May Concern At My Son's Middle School: If you do not find my son's name on your sixth-grade class list, it's not for lack of trying. I attempted to register him at least two and a half times. And in two languages. When the forms arrived in our mail this spring, I diligently verified the home address and phone numbers printed on them as instructed. They were correct, according to the phone book, as that's where I needed to check since I received the forms for someone else's boy at a different school. In all fairness, the school also sent me a form with the right information … [Read more...]
For Whom the School Bell Tolls When Graduation Looms
Yesterday is a blur. It is a convergence of two strong, independent streams crossed by time, so deeply intertwined that hindsight and distance often render them as one. That, of course, is not fair to the individuals bound within. Fortunately, a confluence has a way of splitting again, and two roads are always diverging in the now, stretching well into tomorrow. This is where we stand, with the window of elementary school officially closing behind the last one out, and the boys each moving up an academic notch, to middle and high school, respectively. Between them we shall leave no path … [Read more...]
Parents: Don’t Dread Middle School
Middle School Makeover author Michelle Icard talks about how that time that many parents dread -- the middle school years -- can be fun and exciting if we leave the baggage from our time in school behind and modify our parenting style on our latest Modern Dads Podcast (click that link to listen in). The Parents' Phrase Book author (and L.A. Dads Group member) Whit Honea also joins us to talk about his son's transition from elementary school to middle school and the realization that his son may be ready, but he's not! … [Read more...]