I have a new pet peeve. I know it's hard to believe someone as tolerant as I would have pet peeves, but believe it people! The newest thing to make my list is the use of innocent children for monetary gains. Here are two recent examples.
First, the school is forever doing fundraising. Being a charter school, we get a lesser % of funding than the other schools in the district, so I suppose it's a necessary evil. However, I think we should play by some rules, and the first of those being LEAVE THE KIDS OUT OF IT. Seems like a month doesn't pass by without there being a "gram" for sale. There were trick-or-treat grams, which were witches hats, and very cute at that. Then, there were santa grams, which were elf hats. Also cute. Now we have cupid grams for Valentines Day. As if the gift I've already gotten my kids isn't enough. As if the handmade Valentines aren't enough. As if the goodies we are making for all the kids in her class aren't enough. There is now this added "gimme" for the kids, the cupid grams. It's not the idea of it that I have the problem with. I mean, we did this when I was in high school and it was cool to buy these for your friends and surprise them. No, that's not the problem. Here are the problems, in no particular order.
They come to your classroom and hand them out to everyone who's ordered them at one time. And this starts in Kindergarten, when the kids are too young to really understand buying them for their friends and that whole process and when it's all about guilting the parents into making sure that their child isn't the only one in the class who is left without. Apparently at Christmas time, there were two kids in our class who didn't get the elf hats. Our teacher didn't want them to be singled out and went to the office and bought two santa grams for these students so they wouldn't be left out. How sick is that?? I guess they used to have them in the office and the kids would go down there to get their grams and then it wasn't such a big deal if they didn't get one because it wasn't so obvious since they weren't all handed out at once.
It makes me want to NOT buy them, and just explain to Morgan ahead of time that she won't be getting one. But you know what? They are "only $2", which is such a small price to pay to have your child feel included. Nice little scam they have going on, right?? I swear if there are leprechaun grams next month, I'm putting my foot down.
My other example is at Morgan's dance school. This is the second year that Morgan has been there. Last year was a little sketchy, but we talked to the director about our grievances and she actually worked with the parents on a compromise that would make everyone happy. I thought that was pretty exceptional and decided to give her another shot this year with ballet. Only, more than half of her dance instructors left after last year and while her instructor this year is a very nice girl, she's just that. A girl. I think she may be in high school? College at best. Anyway, she has a hard time instructing the girls and keeping them focused. They would rather make silly faces at each other in the mirror and slide on their ballet shoes around the studio. So, she has taken to bribing them with candy. Like EVERY week. It really irks me. I mean, Morgan should listen in class and do what she's asked to do because I PAY FOR HER TO TAKE CLASSES and because she's told to. Not because she may get some Starbursts at the end if she does. So, my plan is to let her finish out this year with her friends in her class and then shop around for a new dance studio for next year. Anyway, they are having a "promotion" this month, where if you bring a friend to class with you, you get a shirt or something like that. Big whoop-di-doo. Except, when you give these slips to a teenage girl who the girls absolutely adore and have her tell them how cool they are and how they should give them to all their friends to invite them to dance class, the girls get all whoop-di-doo about it. Seriously, you would have thought that Morgan was handed five winning lottery tickets. She is bound and determined to invite her friends to her dance studio, and I cannot, in good conscious, recommend this dance studio. Notice they did NOT run this by the parents or give the slips to the parents.
Grrrrr.
Please do not use my child to further your agenda. Do I need to put a disclaimer on her?
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