Wednesday, October 20, 2010

There Exists a Fine Line Between Reward and Bribery



I just got back from the Man-Cub’s Parent/Teachers conference. The school utilizes a round-robin approach to the conference, gathering all of the teachers together at one table for the appointment rather than forcing parents to wander from classroom to classroom and, I really appreciate that.

I also appreciate the kind words that each of the teachers had for the Cub; it’s rewarding as a parent to hear that other adults enjoy your child almost as much as you do. It’s also nice to hear how much the Cub’s standardized test scores have improved and to see all A’s and B’s on his report card; in fact, the good grades almost negate the fact that I also learned that the Cub is extremely girl-crazy (ok, this I didn’t so much learn as have confirmed for me by five independent adult witnesses) and that passing gas as loudly as possible is his idea of high humor.

Eh, it’s a trade-off.

After the conference, I joined the Cub in the gym for a quick presentation of his science fair project which, while failing to place in the Finals, still managed to pull in a good grade, adding an A to the above-mentioned report card, a report card that is going to cost me $31 since I had the brilliant idea to pay the children for their grades this year ($5 per A, $3 per B). Some might view this as a bribe, some as a reward; I personally couldn’t give a shit either way because, hello, Honor Roll!

And I am totally getting the bumper sticker.

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