Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Recess detention for drawing

Look up the Skeleton Coast ... its MUCH worse!!

Thanks for making me laugh, guys

I'm probably making too big of a deal out of it... DS seemed to take it in stride. I guess if kids get red X'ed all the time, it loses its scare value. And I haven't heard of kids getting teased about it... I think they see it more as a badge of honor.

Sounds like when cadets have to march tours at our military academies. His elementary experience will serve him well if he pursues that option.

This may have worked out to his benefit then. Now, he's really 'one of the guys'. I'd let it go, I think, at this point. Yes, I think it was a totally inappropriate punishment. But if it's an isolated incident, and your son is taking it in stride, I'd count it as a mark of your son's growth for handling it.

Maybe if the drawing was of a one dollar bill with all the details, he would've gotten extra credit instead of recess detention!!! Or, if anything, his prison cell walls will be nicely decorated!

Drawing doesn't necessarily mean you're not paying attetion; doodling can be a way to keep you mind fairly wakeful during a dead-dull lecture - studies have shown that folks allowed to doodle tend to retain MORE than people who are not allowed.

Anyhow, if it keeps up, maybe you can ask the teacher to query your ds as to some relevant info she think's he's missed. If he usually knows the answer, maybe he could be allowed to keep doodling. I was a serious doodler in class, usually in the back of the room, but always had a correct, and often pithy response for teachers - thinking they'd really really caught me off guard they'd select me for a tough question and I'd nail the answer, because despite the doodling, I really was listening.

It was Alice's Restaurant/Alice's Restaurant Massacree by Arlo Guthrie. They made it into a very funny movie. I can still seem him making friends with the mean-looking guys on the bench (I think they decided he was okay when he subsequently announced that he'd also been charged with disturbing the peace).

(The song was based on a true story)

Val

And thanks for mentioning Alice's Restaurant, Val... my DH put it on the Netflix queue for me!

DH says, the next thing will be DS coming home from school with a teardrop tattoo.

Thanks, OHG. I have to remember that my son is not me (and that's probably a good thing!) As a kid, I would have completely gone to pieces over something like this.

If this was Mr W, I'd work with him to dig up some papers on this and give them to the teacher. That would be a real push back.

LOL