Accountability Monday & Other Stuff

Not much to report this week.  Didn’t lose any weight, but i’m okay with it.  I am fighting this killer cold that started with a nice bout of nausea.  It is difficult for me to eat normally when I’m sick.  Nothing tastes right – and nothing feels right in the stomach.  So, the fact I maintained is good.

Changing subjects (and I am signaling which is odd for me, ask the hubby), I read an article this morning that kind of got me annoyed.  I read and participate on a locally run site called “urbanMamas”.  Neat place, even if you aren’t local.  Anyway, they post a variety of topics, and their comments end up having fantastic discussions around them.  The one that sparked my interest (at least initially) was one around Kindergarten becoming the “New First Grade”.  I liked the topic.  Why? Because it is becoming the new first grade.

The discussion annoyed me when they claimed this was due to the “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) act.  Why did it annoy me?  Because we have been on this path long before this act.  I don’t like the act; I would never support it, but I can’t lay the blame for this issue there.  Do I think it may be contributing to the educational paranoia around school and student performance? Yes.  Given my personal experience with teachers who don’t want to give kindergarten and first graders homework because it is simply busy work, but got bullied into it by the parents – I will have to include parents on the list.  While parents mean well, I don’t always feel they help….at least that’s my feeling not only as the spouse of a teacher, but as a fellow parent who has witnessed it.  Another story.  What would you put on the list of factors that have led us to this point?

On a not completely unrelated topic, I have decided this past weekend that I need to become the overly involved parent where Tae Kwondo is concerned.  If you read my Hubby’s blog, he outlined his frustrations with the tourney this weekend, costs associated, etc.  The oldest and I have had a couple of preliminary talks about commitment to an activity, but there will definitely be follow-up.  You see, she is good at this sport.  It comes naturally and is really helping her gain control over her limbs.  (She is uncoordinated like the Hubby, so I always vowed I would try to help undo his genetics.)  She has a lot of people who believe she can become a black belt, she wants to become a black belt, but her attitude sucks, to be blunt. 

She has started blaming others for her performance.  In her latest belt testing, she expected a perfect test.  She made this decision to get a perfect test the day before.  When she didn’t get it, her response was “it’s unfair”, “it’s the judge’s fault”, and all of my favorite blames.  (Please read that with the sarcasm I intended.)  This weekend, when I asked her if she wants to get better so she can win sparring matches, she was kind of like “ehh”.  Ehh?  Not a great response to a parent who spends 4 days a week sitting in a dojan for lessons.  And, I won’t even get into the money we are spending.  So we discussed whether or not she wanted to continue with Tae Kwondo.  She was annoyed I even asked – of course, she wanted to continue. 

So, as my father would so eloquently says, she’s going to start getting a kick in the ass.  Practice will be part of our nightly routine now.  Because in Tae Kwondo, fitness is important, we’re going to spend some time on this too.  I’m not going to go overboard, but I want her to understand what commitment is.  What passion is.  What its like to set a goal and meet it – and not at the last minute, but with practice.  She’s a good kid, but I don’t want to her always coast through things.  I don’t care if she wins.  I want her to at least try her best, and know she’s given her best.  It is something I have personally found invaluable in life, and something I will work hard to make sure my kids get. 

One Comment Add yours

  1. Good for you. I know it can be frustrating when you invest time and money into an activity and they do not give it their all.

    I had that issue with DB and soccer. He wanted us to sign him up and we did, and then he would whine and would not try. I ended up lecturing him in the car about how I like to do activities with him, but I would be damned if I was going to stand around freezing in a mosquito infested field to watch him mope and bitch.

    Then I threatned to take away his evening tv allotment if there was not more effort and less whining.

    Magic words. Now he really tries.

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