Just A Quick Thing...

THERE COMES A TIME IN EVERY PARENT’S LIFE WHEN YOU’RE MOVED TO WRITE A LETTER TO THE PRINCIPAL, SAYS KATE SIDLEY. THE QUESTION IS, SHOULD YOU? SHOULD YOU REALLY?

My good friend phoned the other day with a question. Her Grade 3 child’s work had been marked wrong when it was right. The teacher was mistaken on a matter of grammar. Should she write and tell her, or just let it go?

(In case you’re wondering why she asked me – I’m the perfect person for this, being an editor, an annoying grammar pedant, and the survivor of approximately 30 years of children in school, cumulatively, you understand, and thus not prone to sweating the small stuff.)

I like to let schools do their job and I’ll do mine. I go to the parent/teacher meetings, and to the odd sports match, and occasionally volunteer for something worthwhile, but mostly I leave them be and expect them to do the same. Sometimes, though, one needs to make a point that doesn’t justify a meeting, but which will ruin your peace of mind if not expressed.