In Which Sheila Speaks Her Mind...

And wishes she could speak so openly in real life...

Dear Marking Judge,

My kids worked hard this weekend, for the project you judged them on, and in the end the lesson they took away was this: style, however inept, generally trumps over content. There you are, a public school teacher, where scholarly hard work should be valued and nurtured, but what you ended up praising and valuing was cheesy window-dressing. We all watched while the kids who did the best were not recognized, while the ones who made the crowd cringe with their over the top emoting won top honours. You reminded me of the time my daughter brought an S word to kindergarten for S Day and the teacher wouldn't let her use it because it was too hard a word. My daughter was confused, not to mention crushed. Your message would seem to be Don't Aim Too High. Is that really what you want to be remembered for?

I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was.

Dear 4-H Parent,

When you are ready to volunteer for club events, when you are ready to come to meetings with your child instead of dropping her off, when you are ready to show up at club events and cheer on your child, and finally, when you are ready to teach your child that taking on a position of authority means acting responsibly in that capacity, then and ONLY then will I show any willingness to listen when you criticize me for my supposed inadequacies. To answer your questions, yes, I think I AM good with kids. Yes, I think I AM a pretty good leader. I also don't mind spending countless hours of my free time running a group for which I receive no pay, although in light of recent events I'm beginning to reconsider a bit. Can you say the same? Then put up or shut up.

Dear Neighbour,

I know you love your dogs. But your neighbours - all of them - find them oppressive, aggressive, and intimidating.

They also bark too much.

Love,

Sheila