April 28: White slip

As a parent, my kids' experiences are my experiences. Meaning that what they do has a direct impact on me, whether it's happiness, sadness, frustration or any other range of emotion. It's just the nature of being a parent, I guess. Today was definitely a new experience, as my daughter came home from school with her first white slip ever. For those of you unfamiliar with the infamous "white slip", it's handed out for violation of a school rule or, in this case, for violating the school rubric. Not the sort of thing a parent goes around bragging about, nor the type of thing a parent should be sharing in a blog (shame on me!). But, I'm sharing this story because, if it's possible, I was both proud and disappointed in my daughter. Let me explain. The first thing you should know is that my daughter has NEVER gotten in trouble in school for treating another student with disrespect. So, this was kind of a surprise. But, from my understanding, at lunch, when the kids go outside after eating, a boy in my daughter's class had grabbed the hood on one of her friend's jacket and was pulling it. In my opinion, that in itself is white slip worthy, but none of the lunch Moms witnessed this situation. So, my daughter, in defense of her friend, kicked the boy in the bottom to get him to stop. Again, none of the lunch Mom's saw the kick, which makes me wonder what exactly the lunch Moms are watching during this outside time. Anyway, the boy told my daughter's teacher and she was sent down to the Asst. Principal's office. I found out later, this part of the experience scared her pretty good. They talked about the situation, and, basically, my daughter got the white slip as a result of taking physical action rather than using her words or reporting the incident. The next day, my daughter had to sit out outside recess as a "punishment". So, while disappointed at her because of her choice of actions to protect a friend, the fact remains that she stood up for a friend who was being mistreated by another student, and she also took ownership for her actions and accepted her punishment without complaint. And, that alone makes me a very proud Father.