Did You Turn in Your Papers?
Dylan had four days off – a long weekend – and on the fourth day, I mentioned his “zero” issue. With four missing assignments in physics and one in algebra, the zeros were adding up.
“Go get your missing work,” I told him, “and make sure it’s all ready. Put it in a place where you won’t forget to turn it in.”
He hemmed and hawed. “It’s already in a place where I won’t forget to turn it in.”
“Okay, then put it in the car. Put everything in the car that you will need for tomorrow.”
“What about my lunchbox?” he whined. “My lunch won’t be ready until tomorrow!”
I sighed. “Then put everything else in the car and just take your lunchbox to the car in the morning,” I said. “Are you sure everything is ready to be turned in?”
“YES,” he said. “Oh my GOD!” And he stormed off to load up the car. After four days off, it must have been extra exhausting.
The next morning, he came downstairs five minutes late. “What am I supposed to do?” he asked, as if he hadn’t been going to school for 11 years already.
“Put on some shoes and socks. Then get your breakfast; get your lunchbox and get in the car,” I told him. And he did. Eventually.
As we pulled up to the school, 45 minutes later, I reminded him: “Turn everything in. All four physics assignments AND your algebra assignment. And don’t forget that you need to turn in your SSL form, too.” (This last form is so that he gets credit for three months of work on the school play. He was supposed to turn it in last week, but didn’t.) “Will you remember all of that?”
“YES!” he said, as if I were truly bothering him with all the reminders. He took his stuff, and went into the building.
Seven hours later, he came out.
“Did you turn in your papers?” I asked, as nicely as I could.
“Well, apparently one of my physics papers wasn’t finished. But I turned in the other ones.”
“Weren’t you supposed to check that yesterday, before you packed them up?”
“I don’t know. I guess so.”
“Don’t you think four days was enough time to finish all of your late work?”
“Maybe,” he said.
“What about your algebra homework? Did you turn that in?”
“I didn’t have algebra today.”
“Don’t you think you could have found a moment to turn in your paper anyway? It’s already two weeks late!”
“I didn’t even see her.”
“Maybe you could have gone to her room and you would have found her there.”
“I’ll turn it in tomorrow,” Dylan said.
“And your SSL form, so you can get credit for all those hours?”
Dylan put his head in his hands. “No,” he mumbled.
We turned the car around, and went back to school. He grumbled, groaned, griped and slammed things around. Then he turned in his SSL paper.
“THERE,” he said, getting back in the car and slamming the door. Hard.
Like it was my fault.
And so it goes!!!!!