This morning he did the same thing…forgot the wallet, the pass and his phone. I had to get to work and I said no way am I taking you back home. This time I gave him 8 quarters and said you’re paying me back tonight. In the interim he called my husband (the softy) and my husband drove to the school with his phone and wallet…so basically he bailed him out. Part of my feels if we bail him out every time he’ll never learn. The other part of me is coming to the realization that my son (who has been forgetting his lunch since kindegarten) is not going to change no matter how hard a line we tow.

I guess I haven’t answered the question directly. I think it just depends on your kid and if you really think he’s going to learn…if not…..is it really worth the stress?

I remember being in high school about (gasp)15 years ago. I had on shorts that were about an inch too short (but perfectly acceptable to my parents before I left the house). One of the assistant principals saw me and put me in ISS until my mother could bring me something else to wear. I was an honor student and a freshman and I was scared to be in ISS with all the misfits (turned out I learned they really weren’t that bad). But the funny thing is my mother brought my clothes to me and made me change. Then she let the principal have it because I was missing trigonometry and some other high level classes because I lacked an inch of material. Of course she did all this out of earshot of me – she wasn’t going to berate the principal in front of me for respect reasons. But she was right – I should have remained in class til she could get there with my clothes.

So it sounds like you and his school did the right thing (allowing the exception). It was probably a good learning experience for your son.

Is there anything we cannot learn from the Simpsons!

Man, I’m so glad out of the minimum prison security education system.

You are not wasting their lives in a public school are you?

So, I think the punishment doesn’t fit the crime, and can’t believe that they don’t have a better way of handling the situation, since many fortune 500 companies deal with this every day.

What’s the penalty in TX for forgetting your driver’s license? A fixit ticket?

He does need to learn to keep it with him. However, he IS learning a lesson about how people, especially children, are often subject to ridiculous consequences for small, inconsequential-in-the-larger-scheme actions. Seriously. I’m 37 now with three kids and when I think back to the crap I had to put up with from my parents and other authority figures when I was their ages… it just boggles my mind.