Attack of the lone clapper

So I have a few things to vent about, not sure who to vent to right now because hubby is gone but here goes...

1. Going to baseball games for my youngest son is rather strange, it seems as if there is no real grouping happening with the parents. I say this because they don't cheer for the other kids...for instance, when a kid hits the ball, especially in tee-ball, you cheer, no matter what, you cheer lots, clap etc. Atleast that has been how it was in our other league...this new league it seems almost as if the parents come to the games to socialize with eachother, they only clap and cheer for their own kids and not the other kids on the team...consequently R has a lone clapper in the audience, me. I guess that I should not be complaining, there are other kids who have me as their lone clapper too...not sure what the parents are doing but they sure aren't encouraging their kids. Sheesh! But, I clap for all the kids, cheer too, louder and longer for mine but all the kids should be cheered on...hopefully the other parents will catch on too.

2. R's teacher is really beginning to bug me...she is really negative, not giving R any in the way of positive reinforcement. I understand in the situation that R is in, there is probably not much to give positive reinforcement for right now...but I really feel that if she were to give him kudo's once or twice a day (not too much fucking work is it?) she would see a world of difference. As it stands right now, R isn't completing much work in the classroom, when he does, however, she grades it and if there is one thing wrong he gets it back to redo...this goes into the finish up folder and today there was a stack of about 15 papers in it...a little overwhelming for a 1st grader with an incredibly short attention span to try to tackle on his own...with NO supervision or guidance. So he gives up, you can see it quite often too. Add to this that most of her criticism is unconstructive and you can just see him shutting down when she starts talking about something he did wrong. She is also getting really nit-picky...used to be if he had one thing wrong on his paper she would send it home, now it goes in the finishup folder, if he was distracted she would send him outside to collect himself, now she gives him the equivalent of his name on the board which won't be erased till next week! I remember when I was a kid, you started each day fresh...he has to wait till the next week to start over...so if he gets his name on the board on Monday he feels like "what's the point in trying this week...I can't get my name erased!" Ugh...frustration, I wish, I wish I had forced his move to another class at the beginning of the year, but I fooled myself into thinking that she was being truthful when she said she would make allowances and have tools for him to stay focused...now he is so stressed he is crying at the drop of a hat. I mean really, his father leaves for the army, I get a new job, and she is getting nit-picky...WTF...there is atleast ONE thing that can be changed here...it is her...I just don't know if it would be a good idea to move him now, so close to the end of the year...i just see him slipping into that gray area of hating school and feeling like he is drowning...it scares me, grrrrr!!! He is such a smart wonderful boy...I just want to slap her...I am certainly going to recommend her retirement at the end of the year if nothing else.

I think that may be it...sorry for the venty post but I am working #2 through and I had to get it on "paper" so maybe I can get thru it.

C