Teacher Conference

There's lots of things people don't share with you while you're pregnant like hemorrhoids, costs of daycare, temper tantrums in public places, and first grade homework.
There's a part of me that wanted to write that in all caps FIRST GRADE HOMEWORK so you will all understand my need to yell it.
I don't remember a lot of first grade other than getting my mouth washed out with soap for telling the teacher "my mom says to fuck off" or something of that nature when I was asked to turn in a homework project that required my parent's participation.

Now, my first grader who hasn't come to enjoy reading or writing very much yet has at least an hour or so of homework four nights a week and is required to read twenty minutes a day right now.
I don't disagree with this at all. I am glad he's being challenged and I am glad the homework needs us parents to be involved.
I am however at my wits end with this child who says "I DON'T WANNA!!!", cries a lot and then makes his body go limp and lies in the middle of the living room floor at the sight of a book or flash cards.

We had a teacher conference Monday evening. She reported on his progress; needs work on writing, and reading, is great at math. We talked about his behavior in class and participation which was good, but then she showed us some of his work that just wasn't done. Apparently the not wanting to do stuff attitude happens in class as well. She made a deal with him like we have at home and starting today we will see if it works.

He's really the opposite of me when it comes to school work, reading and writing. I loved it and revelled in the escape of filling notebooks with stories alone in my room. He'd rather do anything else.

I tried explaining that in life you can't just give up and say "I don't wanna." If I did that I wouldn't have a career and we'd probably live on the street. He answered with "As long as we can plug in our tv and the Playstation."