She'd be so much better at school if it wasn't for.....

her attitude.....(parent teacher interviews at the high school....what a joy)
gee I wonder where she gets her attitude from.....HER FATHER....well okay maybe not...maybe it is ME....my mistake...I encouraged my children to speak and have opinions....(knew I should have gagged them at birth :) )It wasn't that I was afraid to speak up as a child...no that's not true...I was....I get on really well with my mother and can and still talk to her about most things....but let's say the choice of stepfathers wasn't the best...and I think I hid away in a world of make believe and books rather than step out and voice my opinions and wanted my kids to be different...to have their say...I might not agree with them but they have the right to say it....but trying to teach a balance of your rights and respect is not always easy...and trying to teach them all that there are times and places for ways of talking...for example over the last school holidays I went to visit a friend on two different occasions, on the first there were other people there who don't swear (or very little) and on the second occasion was with the group that are a bit more casual about their language and I knew that the first visit I had to be a little more careful about my choice of words....something at my age I'm used to doing I guess and something that my kids still have to learn that that how you talk and act with your friends is different how you do with your teachers/workmates/some members of your family etc....so attitude has a lot to do with maturity too....and how far you can stretch the boundaries and what you think about other people.....
DD(13) doesn't think too highly of her English teacher and while I understand that (I don't think I do either) but I've tried to explain that having "attitude" (anyone with kids especially teens knows what I mean about "attitude") in class isn't going to help....I've also told her that they best revenge is to do the unexpected and get a damned good grade in English, too pass with flying colors and show her teacher that she's wrong about DD(13) and to try without the "attitude"