OOPS!  I Messed Up Again!

Two days ago, my daughter Mary came to me, phone in hand.  She had just talked to our school administrator, and it wasn’t good news.  While reviewing our transcript and plugging numbers into the Bright Futures scholarship software, Rebekah noticed that Mary was a half credit short in Spanish.  Bright Futures, a state scholarship which has specific academic and volunteer hour requirements, pays 100% tuition and fees, plus some towards books, so it’s nothing to sneeze at.   How did we get into this pickle?  After talking to another mom a while back, I thought I understood that three semesters of college Spanish was sufficient, but I now know that her son was in a different situation. So much for my assumptions!  I take full blame for this error.  Rebekah and Mary had both questioned me about it last year, but I was being stubborn -- and WRONG!  They have both been VERY gracious with me about this.  

What to do?  It’s only a month before graduation!  Well, this is the beauty of home schooling.  I asked Rebekah if Mary could fit in an intensive independent study course within the next month, and she said we could.  Then I consulted with my father, who speaks fluent Spanish, has taught Berlitz and college classes, and has all sorts of resources to send us.  We are in the process of designing an in-depth course which will satisfy the official requirements AND prepare Mary even better for her mission trip to Bolivia.  (This aspect will include some Bible study and memorization in Spanish, as well as a research paper on Bolivia for the cultural studies portion of the course.)  Mary has already spent several afternoons in a Spanish tutoring group with a bunch of the kids from church, so at least she has a jump on her 75 required hours.  She also took her last college exam yesterday, and only has one module of AP English left, so her school schedule is freed up some.  However, she is going to be one very busy señorita this month!

Apparently this Spanish credit is not the only thing I messed up!  A few weeks ago, Mary came home from her second evening of work at Banana Republic (a clothing store in the mall) ago and informed me that I had deprived her of a very important life skill by not sending her to public school.  It’s one that would have “opened a lot of doors” for her.  What is this crucial skill?  Opening a locker!!!  It took her 15 minutes to learn how! J I guess I’ll have to give a class in “Lockers 101” to each of my “students” from now on -- if I can even remember how to do it myself!   (It's a life skill I don't have to use very often.)  It’s funny, though, that the same night Mary learned to use a locker at work, a customer came in with two small but rowdy children.  Mary told them that they were going to play “the quiet game” and that if they won, she would give them a sticker.  They actually cooperated, much to the relief of their harried mommy, who was able to shop for a half hour in peace.  Mary’s manager commented that she must have had some experience with kids, to which Mary replied that she had eight younger siblings.  Even if she couldn't open an employee locker, I'm delighted that she excels in creative customer service!

[Update in July: We ended up hiring a Spanish tutor who gave Mary a lot of assignments and feedback.  She graduated June 5, so apparently she survived the ordeal. As I write, she is on her mission trip in Bolivia using her Spanish skills!]