kitchen table math, the sequel: brainstorm

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

brainstorm

I don't know why I didn't think of this before.

Ed just came up from the basement to brief me on tonight's reteaching efforts.

And I realized: I need to write this stuff down, date it, and send it to the district.

I don't need to argue with the district. (Well, I do, and I will, but that's another story.)

I don't need to demand, request, or plead for remediation.

Remediation is not going to happen.

I just need to write up what we're doing, put it in an email, and send it in.

Then do it again tomorrow.

Schools are required to save emails; I'll be saving my emails in any event. Also, I'm a journalist, and thus have some knowledge of the law pertaining to journalism and notes made by journalists (or by anyone, I presume).

As I understand the law, contemporaneous notes are strong evidence that what you say happened, happened.

So: notes. Contemporaneous notes.

Ed says to send these notes straight to the administration & not bother the teacher with them, and I think he's right. This teacher is obviously pretty good (or better than pretty good - don't know enough to say), is widely viewed to be good, and has inherited the class he's inherited.

If I were in his place, I would, I hope, be doing diagnostic assessment and remediation, but I'm not in his place, and he works in the department he works in.

The IUFSD math department does not do diagnostic assessment or remediation.

They do extra help.

If extra help doesn't help, kid gets demoted to next level down.

That's it; it's not going to change.

Not now, anyway.



So, tonight's homework log:

These are contemporaneous notes, the notes I took listening to Ed. Notes are not edited, revised, or polished.

note:
Ed holds a Ph.D., is a professor of history at NYU, heads the Institute of French Studies there, took engineering calculus in his freshman year at Princeton, and is an expert teacher (Distinguished Teaching Awards, UCLA & Eugene Asher Award)
His first job, out of college, was teaching algebra to GED students in Newark, NJ*


homework log 9/26/2007 (Ed B. - Catherine notes on Ed's description of the night)

Chris was confused between solving an equation and simplifying an expression.

Ed told him: it has to have an equal sign to be an equation

if you’re simplifying, you don’t have to do the same thing to the other side - because you haven’t changed the value

because he’s got purely procedural learning, he doesn’t have conceptual understanding of what an equation is versus what an expression is

in his two years with ________ , he has not learned what an equation is

the reason you have to do the same thing to each side is that you’ve changed the value, so it’s no longer equal until you do to the right side what you’ve done to the left - when you’re simplifying you’re not changing the value

simple, classic problem; the guy saved in two months $100; in the second month he saved $20 more than the first month

classic bar model problem [Ed's observation]

Ed to C.: this problem tells you what’s on the right side of the equation, because you have a total

Ed: “Then I said, ‘what is your let x = statement’

if he had been doing it on his own, he would have said x + 20 = 100

he wouldn’t have said x + x + 20 = 100 (bar models show the second x clearly)

when I took him back through the let statement I said, “What is your first month?”

C.: “x

“What is your second month?”

“Oh! It’s x + 20; there are 2 x’s.”

It helped to put the second variable in parens

he’s still having trouble with distributive property

he has never taught to set up an algebra problem formally

he has never been taught to write, “let x be _____ "

he doesn’t really know what a variable is; he doesn’t understand it

once Ed showed this to him, he said, “Oh, I get it!” and is now solving simple algebra problems easily

he’s doing distance problems very well; he learned these for the first time 2 days ago

Catherine retaught the distance problems last night (9/25/07). Chris came home from school saying, “I understand them a lot better now,” but in fact couldn’t do any distance problems at all.

He’s doing them well tonight, after Ed retaught distance problems again.

brainstorm
homework log #2


* Reading through Ed's CV, I have to say that I find it staggering, all over again, that the math chair told him, and me, "I will not discuss curriculum and pedagogy with parents." December 13, 2006

48 comments:

Karen A said...

I like this idea! Let the district know exactly what is happening and where C's math gaps are, and why they exist.

concernedCTparent said...

You really would be making their job easier. This is a play by play diagnostic record. Of course, it only makes their job easier if they really want to do something about it. I suppose that's a horse of an entirely different color.

Catherine Johnson said...

I like this idea! Let the district know exactly what is happening and where C's math gaps are, and why they exist.

THANK YOU!

It's a great idea, if I do say so myself.

WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF IT BEFORE?

It's always this way; the best ideas are often the simplest, and yet no one thinks of them.

Like pet rocks, for instance.

That was a simple idea, and yet it took millenia for someone to think them up.

Catherine Johnson said...

ok, seriously, though it is a damn good idea

I did a little Googling around on the subject of "contemporaneous notes" last night, and sure enough: contemporaneous notes are "strong."

Catherine Johnson said...

EVERYONE SHOULD BE DOING THIS


You, too, Concerned (with your homeschooled child).

You don't need to send the notes in to your district. That's going to be a bridge too far for a lot of parents, and rightfully so.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS MAKE THE NOTES ON OR CLOSE TO THE DAY YOU TAUGHT, DATE THEM, AND KEEP THEM IN A SAFE PLACE.

At least, that's the way I understand law and precedent, etc. If you've got a set of notes you made contemporaneously, you don't need to have shown them to anyone in order for the notes to carry a strong presumption of truth.

(This is my impression based on quite a few years following media law from a distance. I'd bet I'm right about this, but anyone reading this should know that I haven't looked up the case law.)

Catherine Johnson said...

My point is: my preference would be that all afterschoolers (and probably all homeschoolers) keep contemporaneous, dated notes about their home teaching activities.

If and when the time comes that these notes can be used as evidence of ineffective curricula and pedagogy in our public schools, you will have them.

As far as I know, there is no expiration date on contemporaneous notes.

Many, many, many parents don't want to expose their kids' learning struggles to the eyes of not-very-sympathetic administrators.

NO KIDDING

(I always think: Poor Christopher. He has to serve as poster child for Irvington Kid Not Learning Math At School. Meanwhile he's got peers who learn everything thrown at them, so what's his problem???)

I say that with strong respect for his peers. He's got some seriously brainy kids in his class -- he's pretty brainy himself and, in math, they're way out in front.

Catherine Johnson said...

spaced repetition:

* afterschoolers and homeschoolers should take dated, contemporaneous notes

* contemporaneous notes, I think, are notes taken on the day an action occurred, or close to

* keep the notes where you can find them (this is a direction I need)

* you can use these notes as evidence of ineffective curriculum and pedagogy after your child has left a school - you can use the notes as evidence after he's graduated high school

* contemporaneous notes don't go stale

* if you want to use them now, there are probably different ways to go - Ed decided that simply sending them "to the top" would be the simplest and least provocative IN OUR DISTRICT AT THIS TIME

* when I say "least provocative," I mean least needlessly provocative

Catherine Johnson said...

The funny thing is that of course this is what I've been doing with the blog.

All along I thought: This will be a public record, in real time, of my school's failure to teach my child math.

And yet I didn't make the obvious connection that a public record would be contemporaneous notes.

Catherine Johnson said...

sheesh

Catherine Johnson said...

true confession time

Some of you have been reading ktm since the first version, back when C. was in 6th grade (now in 8th).

No doubt some of you wondered what I was doing writing about two real teachers and one real principal using their real names.

That decision bought me a lot of trouble. Threats from the union, district emails printed out by an anonymous source and sent to my house, etc.

I didn't consult an attorney when I wrote those posts, but I did consult my own knowledge of the law.

I followed two core rules:

* contemporaneous notes - that is the beauty of a blog, and I knew it at the time - every school event I described on the blog was written close to the day it happened

* I wrote truthfully in all cases, across the board

............

other rules:

* I posted "documentary evidence" (sorry, that's pretentious) whenever I could (scans of tests, etc.)

* I tried to indicate, always, when I had experienced an event directly, and when I had been told about an event.

* I tried to indicate that I was aware that my version of events would be disputed by the school -- BUT THAT THIS FACT IS NOT RELEVANT TO MY CHILD'S EDUCATION. My point: the only thing that matters to me is whether my child is or is not learning math to mastery in his math class at school. I can document the fact that he is not, and I have documented that fact on ktm-1 and 2.

Catherine Johnson said...

last but not least

Not too long ago I informally consulted an education attorney on the issue of the union's threats.

She gave me details of the law that I didn't know, and advised me, informally, to take down ktm-1 just to be on the safe side.

(I should add that Carolyn would have been fine with whatever I felt I needed to do.)

I didn't seriously consider taking the site down. Once the union made public threats against me, and was allowed to do so in a district meeting, the die was cast. The site will stay online until educational reform has happened here.

Let me stress this point: for me to consider taking down the old site, the district would have to hold itself publicly accountable for increasing all student achievement. Gifted kids, bright non-gifted kids, average kids, below average kids, SPED kids, disadvantaged kids. (If I've left anyone out, pls add them in, too.)

Here's the most interesting thing the education attorney had to say.

She said that the union's attorneys would have been all over every inch of ktm-1.

Every inch.

Good.

The attorney's informal opinion -- or impression, perhaps I should say -- was that parent speech on a blog is protected.

In my own case, it just so happens that I am a parent and a journalist.

Ktm-1 and ktm-2 have been, for me, in part, a form of advocacy journalism. In part.

Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are both involved in the question of whether I have a constitutional right to publish a contemporaneous account of my experience in my own public school district.

Catherine Johnson said...

OK, now that I've delivered my Free Speech statement....I agree with Karen & Concerned.

A daily record of afterschool remediation will be useful to the district.

Sure, it puts the district on the spot.

But they're already on the spot.

Contemporaneous afterschooling notes also give the district (some of) the evidence it needs to pressure the math department into changing its practice.

When you think about things from the perspective of the administrators and school board, THEY DON'T WANT INEFFECTIVE TEACHING.

period

Persuading entire departments to change their practice is a HUGE headache for administrators & school board members.

The notes I send are a "freebie"; the administration can do with them what they please.

Tracy W said...

Didn't you say something, back on KTM-1, about with an autistic kid, merely recording how often a behaviour happens reduces its frequency?

Merely recording how often you are re-teaching your kid may have an impact.

Independent George said...

...The attorney's informal opinion -- or impression, perhaps I should say -- was that parent speech on a blog is protected.

...Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are both involved in the question of whether I have a constitutional right to publish a contemporaneous account of my experience in my own public school district.


Catherine - exactly what did the union threaten you with?

I'm not a lawyer, and perhaps I'm being naive, but I honestly don't understand how KTM-1 could not be protected speech. That seems to be exactly the kind of speech the 1st amendment was designed to protect: a private citizen expressing criticisms of her local government. Short of defamation, I really want to know how they could possibly prevent you from being able to criticize your school and your teachers.

Also, I don't understand why being a journalist would convey additional protections; if anything it seems to me you would have fewer, since (I presume) the standards for libel would be higher (I could probably claim on my own that I was Bill Gates' illegitimate love-child without anyone batting an eye, but not if it were published on page 1 of the New York Times).

I'm admittedly not a contitutional scholar, but I honestly can't understand how there could be any other interpretation. I'm genuinely curious about the legal issues.

Karen A said...

Catherine, FWIW, here are a few quick thoughts. If you had the time, an introductory (or even follow up) email that chronicled C's journey to Algebra might set the stage (and might also help in explaining why the gaps exist).

That is, begin in fourth grade, or whenever it was that you first learned that there was, in effect, a track to Algebra in 8th grade, and then describe the efforts you have since taken to see that he was on that track.

You could mention Kumon and how you also began your own journey to master the subject matter so that you could have sufficient competence to try to plug the gaps. This would give you the opportunity to discuss or at least introduce Saxon Math and Singapore Math (and other resources, as appropriate).

Also, you could mention how you learned about the NCTM Standards, their effect and impact on the curricula chosen by schools, and how many college math professors and other professionals who actually use math in their respective fields have launched the "Math Wars." Provide them with links to websites such as Illinois Loop, Mathematically Correct and NYHold.

You could also gently mention your frustration of what you considered to be ineffective math instruction in 6th and 7th grade.

My thought is that this would lay the foundation for why the gaps exist (and that it's not because of some intellectual defect in your own child), and how difficult it is for a parent to try and remedy the effects of ineffective math instruction (whether it's the fault of the curricula or the instructor).

Karen A said...

Part of the method to the madness (so to speak) of my above comment is that to the extent you can anticipate in advance any possible argument, and then refute it through your own evidence, then so much the better.

And of course, you make an excellent point: administrators can't really want ineffective teaching. You are simply reporting from the field, or from the trenches (so to speak), and using your skills for the betterment of all.

I think the presumption has to be, going in, that of course the administrators would want and value feedback; after all, feedback is essential to learning and growth at all levels.

(Whether or not they do, of course, is another story; the presumption, though, has to be that the ability to receive feedback is the hallmark of people who have integrity and strong character.)

Catherine Johnson said...

Tracy

omg, you're right!!!

Absolutely. Yes.

In fact, the research on recording behaviors may have been done primarily with dieters.

Years ago (gosh -- 15 years?) I needed to go on a diet, so naturally I read all the books I could find on the subject.

What I learned was that the ONLY form of dieting that worked at all, and had been shown to work, was a behavioral program in which people wrote down everything they ate.

The writing down part - the recording of behavior - was the part researchers believed had the effect.

Same research with autistic kids -- you're right!

good memory - wow

Catherine Johnson said...

The fly in the ointment here is that I'm sending the notes not to the teacher, but to the administration.

So....I don't know whether the "observed behavior" effect will hold.

Of course, the administration may choose to forward the notes to the math department --- frankly, I can't predict.

I've mentioned before that Ed and I were impressed with the new asst superintendent of curriculum, so really, the plan here is simply to put it in her hands.

She can decide how to "use" these notes; she can also decide not to use them.

Catherine Johnson said...

Short of defamation, I really want to know how they could possibly prevent you from being able to criticize your school and your teachers.

I don't feel like looking at those emails again, frankly.

The union president mentioned, as I recall, defamation and a year-long campaign of harassment against a teacher.

He may have had one other term, too.

I was taking a pretty big leap assuming I just naturally knew what defamation is or is not.

hmmm...

Actually, looking at a couple of web sites now, I probably followed the basic rule concerning defamation, which is (I gather) that you can state any opinion you want, no matter how harsh, and you start to enter iffy territory when you state opinions as fact.

And even there, I know from years of writing that it's basically impossible to bring a defamation of character suit and make it stick.

Everything I said was true, by my own lights; most of what I said was that my child wasn't learning math -- and that was CERTAINLY TRUE, as the school acknowledged on numerous occasions.

Also...it looks like to have a case you have to demonstrate that the defamed person was harmed, which is pretty radically not the case here, since tenure was awarded.

Catherine Johnson said...

Interesting point that being a journalist wouldn't increase protection.

I think it would, but I have NO idea.

Anonymous said...

An equation is a sentence which asserts something. It has a subject and predicate and can be either true or false. An expression is not an assertion, think of it as an incomplete sentence.


Two plus two
Two plus two IS five. (false)

Catherine Johnson said...

I think the attorney who informally advised me was being conservative, which is as it should be. She told me there was no statute of limitations on defamation (iirc), which meant that as long as the site stayed up I was potentially open to litigation.

(But that raised a question for me: can you take down a site? Isn't it cached? I DON'T KNOW!)

I have a vague memory that there was some small area of the law the union might conceivably be able to get me on, which of course makes sense. There are ALWAYS small areas of the law; that's what you pay lawyers to find.

This affected my thinking --- as far as I can tell, if someone wants to come after you, they're going to come after you, whether you shut down your web site or not.

I don't think taking down an entire web site, which took all of us a couple of years to create, in order to maybe prevent a possible lawsuit makes a lick of sense.

In fact, I think such an action would be the opposite of sense.

I'm speaking politically; the attorney was giving me an informal legal semi-opinion as a favor, no more. (I think she gave me the correct informal legal semi-opinion, btw, and I'm grateful.)

I should add that her opinion was also that it was very unlikely the union was going to do anything. She said their lawyers would certainly have gone over every inch of the site; I think she may have pointed out, too, that any kind of lawsuit would direct a great deal of publicity on the school and the teacher. (Can't remember whether she pointed this out, or whether I brought it up.)

Let's see.

The jist was: "They probably can't do anything to you, they've almost certainly already gotten an legal opinion as to whether they can or can't, but I would take the site down just to be safe."

That was pretty much it.

Catherine Johnson said...

Good point.

I'm not going to do a history of C. since 4th grade in this case, only because the administration has heard so much about the math situation here that it would be old news.

Remember, "Math Dad" has been HAMMERING this issue, and this man can hammer.

The whole district has pretty much had non-stop parent fury about math start to finish (let's not forget the K-5 TRAILBLAZERS parents --- they're WAY unhappy.....)

Math in IUFSD is a mess. They know it, we know it, there's nothing more to be said (not at the moment).

She can use the notes, not use the notes, hold them in reserve.... I don't know much about administration.

And that will be fine.

Part of the method to the madness (so to speak) of my above comment is that to the extent you can anticipate in advance any possible argument, and then refute it through your own evidence,

Catherine Johnson said...

Somewhat paradoxically, Chris is in the best situation he's been in since 5th grade. This teacher is fine, or better than fine. We're probably not going to have to have a nervous breakdown over math this year. We're going to be doing a huge amount of reteaching, but that's not new - and nor is it particularly this teacher's "fault."

We are where we we are.

Catherine Johnson said...

Hi, Myrtle!

I have to get around to writing my post on "discrimination learning."

The "cumulative practice" people think that cumulative practice (practice every single thing you've learned every single day) may help with discrimination learning.

I think that's a distinct possibility.

THANKS!

concernedCTparent said...

Your brainstorm is brilliant indeed. I was thinking about your suggestion to keep contemporaneous notes for the homeschooled one-- I certainly should. To some degree I already do as I follow a lesson that I've put together and I keep notes in separate notebook about what we've done each day and note any issues that need resolving, rethinking or better planning/execution.

It's the two I afterschool that I need to pay better attention to.

Keep in mind that I have a kindergartener who is a)being taught to read phonetically at home by direct instruction and b) is learning math using standard equation format for adding and subtracting (fact mastery).

I also have a second grader who is afterschooled quite intensively in a)Math b) Grammar/Writing/Language and because he should be in a gifted program and our district has none, I have to keep him challenged by sending additional work to school (logic, math, challenging reading material).

The school will be quick to take credit for my children's academic success using reform math and balanced literacy when in fact, direct instruction, hard work and much effort is the reason behind it all.

This afterschooling process is absolutely worth diagnosing and contemporaneous notes would be the way to go.

You, on the other hand should turn those notes into a BOOK. Really!

concernedCTparent said...

... absolutely worth documenting

Doug Sundseth said...

First, IANAL; this is not legal advice; see a 1st amendment lawyer that you are paying for advice for real advice.

That said, on the defamation issue, the issue was commentary on public employees' performance of their duties. As I understand the law, that would put this firmly within the ambit of Sullivan v. NY Times, and they would have to prove "actual malice" to recover anything.

Actual malice requires a statement made with knowledge of its falsity or reckless disregard for its truth or falsity. (Note that statements that are clearly opinions are protected.) In practice, that means that it would be kicked on a pretrial motion. You might be even able to get sanctions against any lawyer that would seriously try to press this, since it's pretty clearly a frivolous claim.

Let's just say that I'm not even slightly worried about the statements that a posted in those threads, and I got a bit heated at times.

Catherine Johnson said...

That was a very Doug comment!

I guess we all know that was pretty much my line of thinking, without the actual content, unfortunately.

Catherine Johnson said...

Here's a question, if you're still around.

What is a public employee?

Apparently teachers are not "civil servants," because the school board pays them, not the state.

A teacher would still be a public employee, though, right?

Catherine Johnson said...

Here's what I've learned.

Here in my district I have now been "threatened" with "legal action" twice. Not by name, but in both cases it was clear to all concerned who the intended target was.

In both cases (union & school board) the actual threat wasn't a threat to take legal action, but, rather, a threat to "look into" legal action (union) or to "consider" legal action "in the future" (school board) if I dared to use the top secret board email list to communicate with my fellow parents.

conclusion: It is a terrible idea to threaten to consider legal action.

Also a seriously bad idea to tell the world you are going to "look into" legal action.

Catherine Johnson said...

ummmm...

I think that's "whom"

"whom" the intended target was

Catherine Johnson said...

common sense point number two

If you have a formerly loyalist parent so unhappy about the math instruction that she is writing a blog about her problems dealing with teachers, principals, school boards, etc., you have a very significant problem

you have a problem that can't be solved by threatening to consider legal action

Catherine Johnson said...

common sense point number 3

where there's smoke there's fire

what are the odds that I would be "the only parent complaining"?

what are the odds that C. would be "the only child having a problem"?

last but not least, how great an idea is it to make such statements to the parent involved?

Catherine Johnson said...

That's really all you need (see below).

I was thinking about the school being a black box, as far as parents and the broader public are concerned.

But afterschooling is completely invisible to anyone who isn't doing it, and our schools don't intend to look into it.


I was thinking about your suggestion to keep contemporaneous notes for the homeschooled one-- I certainly should. To some degree I already do as I follow a lesson that I've put together and I keep notes in separate notebook about what we've done each day and note any issues that need resolving, rethinking or better planning/execution.

Catherine Johnson said...

SPACED REPETITION:

EVERYBODY!

CONSIDER TAKING CONTEMPORANEOUS NOTES ON YOUR AFTERSCHOOLING/HOMESCHOOLING ACTIVITIES!

DATED CONTEMPORANEOUS NOTES!

Notes don't have to be fancy; don't have to be coherent. The model is journalist's scribbles, during an interview.

They just have to be contemporaneous & dated (if other people know more, and I'm sure someone does, let us know).

You don't have to do anything with these notes. Just keep them. They may come in handy some day.

Or they may make a nice wedding gift when your mathematically literate grown child gets married & settles down.

Catherine Johnson said...

I'm basically creating a paper trail on myself.

Catherine Johnson said...

and one more thing (hah!)

I really hate the whole overlawyered America thing.

Really, really hate it

I was the last person on Earth to respond "well" to a legal threat

a couple of years ago my neighbor (whom I love, obviously) was getting on my case about my crazy dogs, who were intimidating and harassing anyone who came to her house via scary dog enthusiasm and competitive two-dog greeting assaults (we share a driveway - we share the same plot of land, really)

she said, "Someone's going to sue you" ----- red alert! red alert!

Instantly I went from "I must do something about my crazy dogs" to "The dogs are staying put."

INSTANTLY

Catherine Johnson said...

ok, here's a story that will gross everyone out

when I was giving birth to Jimmy, towards the end when everyone was so desperate even ED, THE HUSBAND, had started crying (back labor, protracted, etc.)....my obstetrician said amiably, "Well I would use forceps, but these days I can't do it, not in this legal climate."

He stood there and, in front of us, made a medical decision not on the basis of best practice (in his view) but on the basis of the legal climate.

I never really got over that.

Doug Sundseth said...

The difference between a "public employee" and a "civil servant"? I don't know, but I'm willing to speculate that the difference they were alluding to was a difference in the laws relative to hiring and firing. (The Civil Service is often regulated by particularly byzantine regulations enacted by the legislature -- at the federal level, there's a Civil Service Commission that was intended to stop cronyism and patronage, for instance.)

At any rate, the subject was a "matter of public interest" (another term of art), and the comments were all germane to that matter.

Threatening to look into the possibility of legal action is what lawyers do when they know that they can't allege anything more specific. (For another example of this sort of posturing, see the letter sent by the Clinton "counselor" to a NY restaurateur in the last couple of days.)

To my eyes, it looked like an attempt to create a chilling effect on negative commentary. I'll refrain from giving my real opinion of the tactic and the people who employ it to avoid language inappropriate for a family-friendly website.

Catherine Johnson said...

Now that I've told that story I will point out the obvious, which is that school districts are dealing with parents.

Parents.

People who would die for their children; people who, in years gone by, did die simply bringing their children into the world.

I have seen my husband cry twice.

Once when I was giving birth to Jimmy, and then once again, one year after Jimmy's diagnosis. He was crying about Jimmy.

I know, rationally, that Christopher learning math is not a matter of life and death.

But I don't know it in my mother's heart.

When you activate a parent's protective instincts, and my district chronically activates parents' instincts, you're asking for trouble.

Karen A said...

Well, since you opened the door, so to speak . . .

I HAD a forceps delivery with Child No. 1, and I vowed that any subsequent children would not come out that way!! : )

Catherine Johnson said...

These weren't even lawyers!

When the board sent out its mass threat-to-consider-legal-action email, I assumed an attorney had written it and asked Ken about it.

He said no attorney would have written such a thing! (He explained why, but I've forgotten now.)

I just find it incredible that A SCHOOL BOARD would send out a mass email threatening to consider legal action without FIRST checking with an attorney, or at least getting an attorney to provide the language.

(This is all over with now, btw. The board has completely changed.)

completely

The board has changed so much I actually can't conceive of such a thing happening again.

(Part of the change is: TWO LAWYERS HAVE JOINED THE BOARD.)

Threatening to look into the possibility of legal action is what lawyers do when they know that they can't allege anything more specific.

Karen A said...

I think Catherine's point about a parent's protective instincts can't be overstated. Something magical seems to happen after childbirth when it hits you with full force that you are utterly and entirely responsible for the well-being of this helpless infant.

From my past life as an estate planner, I seem to recall that one of the most difficult decisions that parents face when drafting a will is whom they should name as the guardian of their children.

Catherine Johnson said...

I HAD a forceps delivery with Child No. 1, and I vowed that any subsequent children would not come out that way!! : )

I can't say it sounded appealing to me at the time.

Thank God those years are behind me.

PaulaV said...

I know this isn't a "tell me your delivery story", but I wanted to add that my first son was a vacuum delivery. He was ten pounds and his shoulder was broken trying to get him out. It was awful.

The second son was a breeze!

PaulaV said...

"Now that I've told that story I will point out the obvious, which is that school districts are dealing with parents."

What bothers me the most is the pervasive attitude of schools trying to parent students.

Just the other day when I picked up my son for a doctor's appointment he asked if he had to get a shot.

The principal, sitting in the office, heard him and responded, "Is that any way to greet your mother?"

I had my back to her and I turned around and simply stared at her.

My child wasn't screaming or throwing a tantrum. He asked a question. Trust me, if he had been unruly, I could have handled it.

What makes her think she can overstep boundaries like that?

She put me in a difficult place. I wanted to tell her to mind her own business, but my kid was standing there so I said nothing.

LynnG said...

I don't really want to hazard any opinion as to why your lawyer told you to consider taking down KTM1, other than it can be incredibly expensive to defend yourself legally even if you have a great case.

The real threat is not that you'll lose, it's that you'll lose your house winning.