Unrelated to yesterday's posting concerning cyber-bullying, a new twist on "forging a parent's signature" came to my in-box this morning. A teacher told me about an email she received, supposedly from a parent, even including an electronic parental signature. Wow. See what I mean by both "creative and deceptive?" Well, had I had the technology as a student, I would have been tempted to employ such measures, especially if I tried to hide something from my folks. Well, the story goes on to reveal that the teacher smelled a rat, and after a brief interview with mom and dad... you get the picture.
A few years back, I knew of a case in which a student was intercepting his grades at home and keeping his parents in the dark as to the on-line grade access designed for parents. He cut and pasted some school logos, made the "grade report" to look frighteningly similar to the mailing piece, and for a couple of semesters he kept the demons of his low grades at bay. Yup, he sure did. After a few confusing parent conferences, the truth came out, the parents were shocked, and the student confessed, genuinely contrite. Such is a potential reality in the present age.
Parents, your precious little one, when fearful of potential consequences due to poor performance, can stoop to such "creativity." Any student can. Fortunately, such occurrences are rare. However, we implore parents to approach their children's lives with a "trust and verify" practice for these middle school years. Trust that you have trained him up well to this point; verify that it is indeed the case. You'll hear us say things like this a lot, and for good reason. We want what you want, a well-adjusted boy of maturing integrity, willing to confront his shortcomings with correction and encouragement towards healthy self management.
