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We've all had experience with the power of peer pressure. And we all know the benefits of education. Well, we've gotten to see the two hand-in-hand in our household recently. Thanks to an in-depth (for second grade) study of the life of George Washington Carver and the lunches packed by her friends, Oyster has suddenly decided to try peanut butter. And--surprise! She likes it. Since late February she has eaten a peanutbutter and jelly sandwich at least 5 times weekly. A big change for a child who until then swore there was little on earth as disgusting as peanutbutter.
When I comment on it I am told, with a little disdain in the tone, that she is allowed to change her mind...REMEMBER. She points out that she used to like all kinds of things that she doesn't enjoy much anymore, like spinach, prune juice, and pumpkin. However, she also used to hate peppers, but now loves raw red bell pepper.
I guess she is like all of us, constantly evolving our preferences. And I guess you can't ever go back to really enjoy a taste you have outgrown. For Oyster it may be spinach. (For me it is YooHoo--that chocolate flavored drink of my childhood. I made the mistake of giving in to nostalgia and bought one a while back. Wow! What a totally shocking experience! I used to love to drink that? YUCK!!!)
Back to Oyster, peer pressure, and education. The child recently tanked her grade in one class. Up until the last week of the quarter she had 100% in language development. The school sends home weekly progress reports, so it is easy for parents to keep up. However, Oyster earned a B in the class for the quarter. Turns out she refused to do an assignment--write a hiaku, a task she had completed successfully earlier in the quarter--earning a big fat zero to average into 40% of her grade. Turns out at least one kid in her after-school program had been teasing her about being smart and therefore being different. No kid her age wants to be different, especially if others are going to make fun of her for it. So she proved she wasn't so smart. To them and to me!!
She got the grade she earned. I just wish she had chosen to earn a grade based on her abilities instead of based on her attitude. But, as Lit has pointed out, this costly mistake is considerably less costly in the second grade than in college. Let us hope the end result is worth it.
And kudos to George Washington Carver and the great peanut!
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6 comments:
Now I have to go look in my stash of juvenile reading and see if I still have the biography of GWC that I read in grade school. The man was a genius!
Thank goodness for the peanut butter breakthrough. Now I'll have something to offer her when she asks for a snack.
I hope she's not limited herself to smooth-creamy because I'm an extra-crunchy buyer, and I am limited.
You know, Jaz, the most difficult thing about parenting is that we can't tell our children all the lessons we've learned and have the impact we desire. So very much has to come through personal experience, and it's often not as painful to our children as it is to us and our egos. We know our children are perfect creatures, but sometimes they choose to disprove our notions. Guess they're just trying to prepare us for when they really, really screw up.
And I am oh so looking forward to that day...
Word is life has been eventful. Can we get a coded update?
Tests are scheduled for Friday. Grades get handed out the afternoon of May 4. We'll wait and see if I pass.
Thanks for asking.
Study hard. We'll be praying for you.
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