Conferences.

Mom: Well I never really know what he gets up to, I mean does his handwriting look right to you? I said to my husband that if his handwriting didn't improve perhaps we should get him a laptop. Does he get along with Bill? I ask because Bill's father was the coach of the soccer team and one day he had to substitute Job and then Job spent much of the weekend in tears, oh god it was awful, do you teach the times tables by rote or do you do some kind of actual teaching because when I was in Grad school I had to learn the US Constitution word for word I think it was really useful but also totally unfair, like if you didnt really get it, you didnt kinda, get it. Once there was a kid in his class and he really didn't understand Job, not because he didn't speak properly but more, emotionally, I used to say. Oh, look at that is that his math book? Can I see it? He really never talks about math at home, we have a hell of a job , oh my god 'Job' do you see? I just made a pun out of his name! That never happens. Right, where was I? Oh, the math homework and are you going to move the desks around again because last year Ms Bean used to move them around but she used to let the children vote on where they would sit, I thought that that was a really cool entry into democracy. uh hu.


Another Mom: So do you do alot of handwriting in class because I think it's really important, I remember that my mother had a bunch of letters written by my father from Vietnam and they were in the most beautiful handwritten script and I just thought how awful that my daughter won't be able to go there and live that life as he did and write such beautiful, thoughtful letters because all they do now is use computers.

Dad: So is he messin about? That's all I want to know. Is he messin about? Can I tell Julie that the boy's not messin about?

Sometimes I just like to let them talk.