April 6, 2010 part 2: Dialogue

Not quite a fight

This dialogue, or one almost like it, took place between a student and me last week.

Jake approached me while I graded used the last minute before class started to finalize next week’s lesson plans.

S: Hey, you marked me unexcused on Tuesday afternoon.

Mrs. J: Yes, I did.

S: Well, why?

Mrs. J: I marked you absent because after lunch you didn’t return to class between lunch and when we went to see part two of Mr. Scott’s presentation.

S: I didn’t know we were supposed to come back.

Mrs. J: Do you remember that before you left for lunch I reminded everyone to come back to homeroom before going to the speaker?

S: Well, yeah.

Mrs. J: So, why didn’t you come back?

S: Well, everyone else was walking to the auditorium so I just went with them.

Mrs. J: Was everyone else with their TA teachers?

S: Yeah.

Mrs. J: So that should have been a reminder to you that you were supposed to come here.

S: I don’t see what the big deal was.

Mrs. J: Well, you got marked unexcused because you weren’t here. I guess to you that is a big deal.

S: Well, you marked me unexcused at the end of the day too.

Mrs. J: Yes. I did that because you never returned to class after the speaker was done.

S: But you told me I could go to the bathroom.

Mrs. J: Yes I did, but I did that at 2:40. When you weren’t back at 2:55 when class ended, you became absent.

S: That is so stupid.

Mrs. J: It is not stupid Jake. Attendance is a teacher’s way of knowing where you are in case something happens.

S: Yeah well now the office called my parents and I got in trouble all because you marked me absent so it is stupid.

Mrs. J: I’m sorry you feel that way Jake but that is how things work. You need to be responsible about being where you need to be. That’s the end of it.

S: (walking away) God, this is so dumb. You never listen to anything I say. This is dumb, stupid attendance, stupid speaker. I was just in the bathroom. God…

Mrs. J: Jake, that’s enough. You don’t need to disrupt the entire class with your angry comments. We’ve got learning to do.

S: But

Mrs. J: Jake, we’re done.


Summarized Dialogue:

I answered the phone and before I could even utter the usual pleasantries she was off, telling me it had been forever since we’d talked and we needed to catch up. She asked how I was and I responded with an unenthusiastic “fine” before asking her what was new. She started by telling me that the house was up for sale an that she and Mike had made an offer on a house on the Southside. “I know, Southside, expensive right? But we can do it I think. It just means no more spending anything ever.” She listed the things that she wouldn’t be able to do, no more late night movies, amazon browsing or trips to McDonalds with the kids. I asked what Mike would be sacrificing and I think that was the only time during the conversation that she paused. “Nothing I guess” she mused. I asked her if this was something she really wanted to do and she jumped in to describe the house to me: wood floors, acres of land, single level, five bedrooms, huge kitchen. I thought it sounded amazing. “Of course this will mean that Jilli and Alli will have to change schools and Cori and Maddi won’t be able to go to Rachel’s Place for 4K but we’ll deal with it.” I told her that I was sure that she would find an equally wonderful 4K site on the Southside because of course that is where all the rich families lived, rich families not like us. She agreed saying that it was hard to believe that she could be “one of those” families living in a $250,000 home. I couldn’t even imagine that I said, especially between buying diapers, paying for daycare, and affording the mortgage on our $130,000 home. “Your home is cute” she said, but her words sort of hung there in the air, like she couldn’t think of anything better to say. Then she raced on saying she needed to go because Cori was drawing on Maddi with a marker and Jilly needed to be picked up from school and Alli needed to go to dance. “Talk to you later” she said and hung up as I said goodbye.