Early Warning System

So, I'm back. Holidays are hectic, huh? Takes a while to recover. Seems like my life centers around laundry. How many clothes can one small family wear? I have talked to my husband and children about the possibility of nudity as a lifestyle choice, but given our level of fitness and the current temperatures in Asheville, NC, we all decided that wouldn't be pretty. So, off to wash I go. . .wash, dry, fold, put away . . .wash, dry, fold, put away, argue with five year old daughter about the appropriate length of a shirt (thanks Bratz commercials!), wash . . .you get the point.

On the Senior Project homefront we are still fighting the battle of apathy. Last semester was a real eye opener for us in that we finally realized that our students need more than the threat of a zero to motivate them to meet deadlines. A family consumer science (read: home ec.) teacher gave us the idea of actually citing the kids for their missed deadlines. She showed us a pink slip that she used at her previous school to notify parents and administrators of a failure to turn in a major assignment. In our "post mortem" meeting after Board Night the administrator on our advisory committee mentioned that she would like to be involved with any of the kids who continued to turn components in late or not at all. We decided to mush (say: moosh) these two ideas together and make our own pink slip.

Our graphics department designed and printed up "Pink Slips" to hand to the kids after any missed deadline. For now, we decided to go with the major deadlines, not the forms deadlines. The slips are printed on quadruplicate (is that a word?) paper with a copy going to the teacher for reference, the student, an administrator, and one to me for filing and parental contacts. Our proposal letters are due Feb. 6, so I am interested to see how this new little "incentive" works out.