Sometimes it doesn’t pay to be the smart kid.
Andrew, who is in 7th grade, gets anywhere from 3 – 5 calls per day from his friends as school. I don’t even know if you can call them friends since he just met them this year and he doesn’t hang out with them outside of school. His cell phone rings like mad after school. It gets so annoying Ken and will scream, “Turn it on vibrate!” Every day these kids call Andrew to ask about homework. They either want to know what the homework assignment was, when it is due, how do you do the homework, or what the right answer is. It’s incredible. I told Andrew he needs to start charging these kids like $5 per phone call or something.
This has happened in prior years, but this year it has happened more than ever before. Andrew said a lot of kids are really struggling with not having the teachers catering to them anymore. The teachers don’t care whether or not you copied down the homework assignment or paid attention during class. Andrew has always been a good student and I am so proud of him that he is continuing with his good grades in junior high. I knew this year was going to be the true test of his intelligence. Unfortunately his intelligence is attracting a group of people who think he is the homework hotline.
Yesterday one of his regulars called him and I was shocked (but proud) to hear Andrew lie to him. I heard him say, “Sorry dude, I finished the math homework in class and I didn’t bring it home.” When he hung up he said that they kid wanted to compare his answers to Andrew’s because he kept getting bad grades on his homework assignments. Andrew said he seen the kid goofing off all during class with another kid. He said, “Its his problem that he didn’t pay attention, not mine.” I asked him, “So you really don’t have the homework at home?” He said, “I have it, but I am not telling him that.”
I think this was the first time that I was ever proud of my child for lying.
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