Last week when I was substituting for the day at Little Brother’s school, I took the opportunity to tell his teachers that he’ll be having some late nights this week. It’s Tech Week now for Pippin; the show opens Friday.
Basically, I wanted to let them know that he’d be up late–because I want to know if this is affecting his behavior and work at school. But they thought I had something else up my sleeve.
“I can change the deadlines for some of his assignments,” one teacher offered. She seemed surprised when I turned that down. I told her that we’d make sure the homework was done before we headed out for rehearsals.
He’s been handling 3 rehearsals a week (some of them running until after 10 PM) for more than a month now. But this week it’s going to be every night, and I didn’t know how that would play out in the classroom.
Apparently I am in the minority here. These teachers seem to be accustomed to parents who expect that academic requirements be adjusted when extracurriculars get extra demanding. Around here, it’s homework first. Sports, Scouts, or other non-academic pursuits, worthy though they may be, do not excuse any of the kids from their school obligations.