Turns out I have a lot to say these days. Third day in a row.
About two weeks ago, we bit the proverbial bullet and purchased iPhones for our two older children. They are in high school, very active, and they'd previously been on a cheapo Walmart Trac-fone type plan. And, the adage is true: you do get what you pay for, and in the end, Total Wireless's service was just not working out well for us. At all. So, the niblets are now on our plan and new phones it is. My daughter has been asking...nay, pleading, groveling, even for an iPhone. You can imagine her exhilaration.
Well, like a freaking genie, wish granted. Under very strict stipulations, mind. The phones get turned it, we can check them at any time, they can be taken away *snap* just like that. Okay. Understood. My daughter has her phone for all of two days before she has a major meltdown, disrespect and all, and *snap* just like that, the phone is gone for a week. She's very very very sad, naturally. However, after a very morose Day One With No Phone, she starts behaving nicely and treating her family members with, you know, RESPECT.
Good, we think. She gets it. Then, she comes to us yesterday. Pleading, begging, groveling, even...with the sob story that there is a video assignment for Health class and could she please please please have the phone, just for the day, to be able to record this video? It was quite the persuasive effort and we eventually relented and let her have it - for the day only. To her credit, when she got home from school, she put the phone right back where it belonged. She was even conciliatory with the fact that we tacked on another day to the end of her sentence.
My husband grumbled, though, under his breath, about how ridiculous it was that the school just assumed everyone would have access to phones for schoolwork. That teachers depended on it. I saw the man's point. This morning, I checked for her phone for messages, and there were two texts from the Spanish teacher. The notes and exercises for today's quiz.
*Insert angry as hell emoji here*
This is aggravating, and what's worse, I don't know how to go about fixing what I see is becoming a problem with education. I get it, most kids do have phones and it really is a good way for teachers to connect and communicate with students, because Gods know they don't bring the damn notes home anymore. But the underlying assumption is that all kids have cell phones, and they have them all the time. And when a parent tries to discipline and take these precious belongings away - the child suffers academically.
Well, guess what, school? I'm trying to teach my daughter a painful lesson here...and it was working until I started feeling a smidge guilty about interfering with her ability to be informed about classwork. However, that feeling has since evaporated, to be replaced by one of irritation: technology is interfering with my parenting! And I won't have it.
Spanish grade be damned. Let the curse of the Madre Mal fall on my head.
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