School Projects

I hate big school projects. For one thing, it is way beyond many students to organize their time and energy to get through all the steps necessary for successful completion. Another thing that really bugs me is that some parents get far too involved and make the normal kids who have to do it all themselves look really bad. When you work at the school your kid goes to, you’re never sure if the teacher is looking down on you because your kid so obviously did everything himself and it looks like it, or if they appreciate that this is a true reflection of your child’s understanding and abilities, not his parents. I firmly believe a kid should do his own work.

I will never forget Eric’s 7th grade science project. All the projects were on display in the hall for a couple of days during parent conferences, and his display was the most talked about, must-see project that year and probably ever since. The title was "The Effect of Urine on Plants". The display was two tomato plants, one that had been watered normally and one that had been watered only with Eric’s urine. Naturally, it was a very stunted, sickly looking plant, and we all nearly died from the fumes in the car the day we had to transport it to school. Eric and the other 7th graders thought it was quite fascinating. Yes, I worked in the office of that school and got to hear the comments of students, their parents, and teachers. I was so proud. One parent told me that when she was growing up, her brothers often urinated off one side of the porch, and her mother could never understand why everything she planted there died!

Today the big 8th grade science roller coaster project was due. I wonder how many students were still putting theirs together last night? Nick and his cute little partner worked separately on calculations and write-ups over the past couple of weeks but just got together Monday after school. They worked on it again yesterday from 5:00 to 10:55 p.m. I’m sure the only reason for this terrible last minute crunch was Nick’s misfortune of being at the beach last Thursday through Sunday. Last night Will could hear them laughing and chatting as they worked and expressed to me his belief that they weren’t just working on a project. I told him there's nothing else going on, Nick told me she's at least a 9 on the Ditzy Scale. Will headed to bed at 10:45 and quietly suggested that I "hurry them along". Why do I have to be the bad guy? I believe they’re doing their best. "They’re both blond," he muttered. They finished a few minutes later.
This afternoon all the projects were on display in the school cafeteria. The sixth and seventh graders came through and voted for their favorites. Nick and Sunny had a very large container of licorice when it started, and it was gone by the end of the period. They got a lot of votes. But they were not the only ones giving out candy and getting a lot of votes.