The Last Two for September

Wednesday 27th September
Had a phone call at work this lunchtime from OD’s PE teacher: “this is the fourth week back at school and your daughter hasn’t attended a single PE lesson yet. I went looking for her yesterday when she should have been in class and I found her in the computer lab”. I apologised, obviously. I explained the problems I’ve had with getting OD to attend. I said I was committed to trying to get OD to attend every lesson of every day of every week. What I didn’t say was “PE? Who gives a shit! My priorities are getting her to Science, Maths, French, and all the other subjects she is sitting a GCSE for. PE? You can stick it up your arse love”. OD later told me that she’d been in the computer lab catching up on her Science coursework as she felt this was a better use of her time. Well, whilst I agree with her I did rather feel that if she spent studied a little more at home studying and spent a little less gossiping on MSN every evening she wouldn’t be in this predicament. She looked at me as if I were mad.


Friday 29th September
OD wouldn’t get up this morning. “I feel ill”, she said. “My legs hurt and my stomach hurts”. After twenty minutes it was clear that she wasn’t budging. “You can forget your pocket money this week and I don’t want any friends over” I barked. She gave that ‘as if I give a shit’ stare and said “if I feel better later, I’ll go in this afternoon” she said. I didn’t believe her, but before departing for work I left this note:

'The more time you take off school:

- the further you get behind your classmates and the more difficult it is to catch up
(so that the girl who was so bring now knows less than the thick kids)

- the angrier your teachers get at you (and so the less likely it is that the will
want to help)

- I become increasingly disinclined to pay for the things you wants (e.g. hair cuts,
clothes, concert tickets)

You know all this - so why continue to bunk and make a bad situation worse?

Please attend this afternoon.

I love you,
Dad xxx'


At 11:30 she called me to ask how the new tumble dryer worked as she’d just hand- washed her uniform. She then went in this afternoon. Well done. I was really pleased and I told her this.

Of course, the question now is which of the three lessons she had this morning had she not completed her homework or missing coursework for and was desperate to avoid a bollocking for? English, Maths or RE?