Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The thing I learned today

Whenever my grandfather saw me he'd ask, "What did you learn today?" And I had to tell him. It was a good exercise. He died 17 years ago this month. My nickname for him was Doc-doc Buddy, or just Doc-Doc. (He was a doctor, did you guess that?) I still miss him. But I digress.

Fern is not being the model student these days. She has taken "missing assignments" to new lows, dropping a 95 average on tests to something a lot lower when you factor in zeros for homework grades. Her teachers are more than happy to email progress notes to me, but usually they only remember when I email them first, easier for them to reply that way. They are busy and I understand that. That means I'm the one who needs to remember to write them first.

So, being a programmer, I learned how to program a cron job to email them once each week so I don't have to remember myself. This is the code:

00 12 * * 5 (echo "This is an automated weekly email to check how Fern is doing in your class this week.";echo;echo "Thanks,"; echo "Anne";)|/bin/mail -s "Fern" teachers@middleschool.org

So, what this does is send an email every Thursday at noon to her teachers that says:
This is an automated weekly email to check how Fern is doing in your class this week.

Thanks,
Anne


Pretty cool, huh?

What did you learn today?

10 comments:

just me said...

silly me - I only know how to put a reminder in my Outlook

just me said...
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Unknown said...

I learned that I too need to remember to check on my son's class assignments.
You are putting your cleverness to good use. Fingers crossed the kids will pull out of it with our help...

Unknown said...
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AM Kingsfield said...

I have a hard time remembering to check agenda books every day. I just called my daughter over to me. Thanks for the reminder!

Anonymous said...

When will you hand the responsibility for her work to your daughter?

Helicopter parents are one of the reasons that my husband left education. Remote controlled helicopter seems particularly tragic!

I pity the teacher AND your daughter.

Anne said...

Welcome, Anonymous.

I have given the responsibility to my daughter for two quarters now, no, make that years, and she fails to show me she can handle it and turn assignments in. I hate being a helicopter parent, I much rather sit back and watch the good grades roll in, but it's not happening. Her teachers have told me over the past several years, she's Ivy-League smart, and her grades don't show her potential. So, now I'm being more active before she goes off to high school.

John said...

I need to read your posts in the proper order. I guess I need to adjust my Google Reader.

Lorraine said...

That is cool. I need to do something like that. Feelin' your pain, my dear. I'm starting to think that there should be an extra year stuck in high school somewhere so that when kids hit this letting-it-all-go-to-hell phase they still have a chance at graduating!

Keith Rittenhouse said...

WOW, I recall missing family as well!

How have you been doing?

Let me know!