Tuesday, February 26, 2008

My Son Driving Means Better Grades for my Daughter

Way back when, appliances like vacuum cleaners and washing machines were marketed as labor saving devices that would give the housewife more free time. It was envisioned that free from the drudgery of sweeping and hand washing clothes, keeping a home would require much less time. Nothing of the sort happened. Instead, expectations were raised and the housewives worked just as long, keeping the house much cleaner than before. The same thing has happened to me as my son has begun to drive and relieved me of the job of taking him to school in the morning.

I'm a single father. By the time my daughter has finished her homework at night, we're both too tired to review it. In the past, I had checked it in the morning when I had time. Sometimes I got to it, sometimes I didn't. There's only so much you can do when you've got a hard deadline of getting your son to school on time and his school starts before hers. Now that he's driving, that's all changed.

This morning, he blasted off to school on his own and I spent the time going over her homework thoroughly. She had many simple mistakes where she understood the material, but had made a trivial error that would have resulted in points taken off. I was able to catch all of them. Her homework grades should improve dramatically.

Meanwhile, I'm not getting to work any earlier than before. I don't mind. I just can't wait to see her grades for the next semester.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is great when your kids start driving! It's even better now that they can't drive with their friends for a year.

All I know is that I was a knucklehead driver when I was 16, I remember once I verified that my dad's Galaxy 500 went 115 + mph, my friend in the passenger seat was white as a ghost.

It was a good thing that I lived out in the boondocks and there was nothing to crash into!

Ohioan@Heart said...

Ah, yes KT, but will it improve your son's grades?

Seriously, I hated having my kids learn how to drive. I hated the worry as they disappeared on their own at first. But now I love the freedom to do what the Mrs and I want, and not to have to deal with where they want/need to get.

Kelly the little black dog said...

According to this report, teens are no longer eager to drive. [T]he Federal Highway Administration quotes the number of licensed 16-year-olds in the U.S. at 29.8 percent in 2006, compared to 43.8 percent in 1998.

So what did you end up getting your son for a ride?

K T Cat said...

Kelly, his mom bought him a Volvo of some kind. They did not have an extra car. I had intended to let him drive my Altima, but there you have it.

Kelly the little black dog said...

I've heard that Volvo's are popular for new driver since they crash well. I remember Barry's brother got hit head on and walked away with minor injuries.

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