Over the next few months, I would make installments, until the final payment in mid March. $739 later, we were paid in full and come hell or high water, he was going on that trip, despite his insistence that he was not. Here's why: "It's stupid. My friends are on other teams. I don't care about learning about the history. We can't even go to the Holocaust." (Due to remodeling, this exhibit would not be available in the tour.) His words, of course.
When the time came for the parent and student meeting, where they would get information on chaperones and buses, he and I went. By this time, I felt confident he had been persuaded to go. Because really, who wouldn't want to go? What a great opportunity for these students! Yes, they have a busy schedule, starting with the 5:15 AM departure on Tuesday. They were expected to be up at 6 AM every day and wouldn't be returning to the hotel until 9:30 or 10:00 PM each night. By the time the buses arrived back in town late Friday night, they would be exhausted. But in a good way. Who wouldn't want to tour DC for four days instead of going to school?
Tommy. That's who. But he was going if I had anything to say about it. Because I knew he would enjoy it the moment he boarded that bus. Because
I knew things might not go as I had hoped when he got his itinerary and saw who his chaperone was. Apparently, he had requested two other teachers, and specifically requested not to have this particular one, and yet, he was assigned to this one. "I'm not going," he said.
Okay, I could sympathize with him to a point. In all fairness, his closest friends are in other pods this year. So his choices for roommates were limited, to say the least. But this is due, in part, to poor behavior choices he made last year. So, you know, you reap what you sow. There are consequences for your actions, and sometimes you don't see them until much later. At least, this is what I told Tommy, but it basically all fell on deaf ears. He was not going with this particular chaperone, and it was already bad enough that he wasn't on the same bus with his closest friends, nor would he get to room with any of them.
As bad as his behavior was last year, he more than made up for it this year. Grades, behavior, everything - impressive, to say the least. So with that, I went to battle for him and because of his noted improvement, they actually went out of their way to accommodate him. He was moved to be with one of the two chaperones he had requested, which meant displacing another student. All was well again.
Until last Wednesday night, when he started to get sick. He missed school Thursday and Friday. He went to school yesterday, though he felt miserable. I decided to comply with his request to see a doctor because if he didn't feel better by Tuesday,the day of the departure, he was absolutely not going on the trip. His words, again.
We visited the doctor Monday afternoon. The flu test came back negative, and he was diagnosed with a sinus infection, although this being accompanied with a fever of 100.6 was indeed, odd. Still, the prescription for antibiotics he could start taking Monday night would surely have him start feeling much better by Wednesday. Unfortunately, he could not be convinced of this.
The buses left at 5:15 AM Tuesday morning. Bus 4 had one less student than anticipated. My quest to have him accompany the other 8th graders on this trip failed.
Hello, Brightspark? We are due a refund of $669, thankyouverymuch.
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