Burst My Parental Bubble Why Don't Ya!

So Friday I arrive at Stevens classroom expecting a fabulous first parent teacher conference.....POP! Burst goes my bubble! Instead I sat for 35 minutes and listened to Stevens teacher Ms Kojak try to sell me on the wonders of ADD drugs. Apparently Steven can't sit still during circle time and has been spending most of his time sitting in the "refocus chair". Also he swings his arms when he is standing in line. Uh, excuse me, he's six! According to Ms Kojak, she is having problems teaching the other students because of Steven. She described Steven as impulsive and scattered. She didn't just burst my bubble with a needle she burst it with a stake and plunged it straight into my heart. The only good report was that he is a very smart boy and is on a grade 1 level in math and language. So in conclusion if I drug him into sitting still he'll excel even more and I'll have a well behaved genius.
This kind of thing really makes you look at your parenting. For the next few hours after arriving home I watched Stevens every movement, how he talked, did he jump from one topic to another. Then I started calling everyone who has ever spent 4 minutes with Steven and asking them if they thought my son was scattered. Now I do realized most people are too polite to say "Jo, I'm glad you asked! Your son is the most annoying scattered impulsive little shit I've ever encountered! Have a great day!" So I called the one friend I have that will "tell you the straight out, slap you in the face truth and you better not cry because you asked" friend. Best of all she works at the school so she sees Steven when I'm not around. She answered my question by laughing. Oh shit here it comes. But wait...She is saying Steven is the last kid on earth that needs to be medicated. He is one of the most well behaved kids in his class. She then goes on to give me the dirt on some of his fellow classmates and within minutes my parental pride is returning. So now I'm even more confused. Who do I believe? Is Ms. Kojak so stressed out dealing with a bunch of unruly little brats she wants the whole lot medicated? Is Steven acting like a little angel in front of Mommy's friend and then turning into the spawn of Satan in the classroom? I'm definitely seeing that a few observation days in the classroom are in order.
After I got off the phone with Slap You Upside the Head friend I went directly to interrogating Steven. Ms Kojak said Steven won't sit on his "pockets" during circle time that instead he sits on his feet or crouches so I ask him to show me how he sits during circle time. Sure enough he sits on his feet. I asked him if that was how you are supposed to sit and he says no you're suppose to sit on your "pockets and criss cross applesauce". I asked him why he doesn't sit the proper way and he replies, "Because I like to sit in the refocus chair better." Bingo! He likes to sit in the damn refocus chair and he knows how to get the prime seat in the house, sit on your feet. So I explained to Steven that he was being seated in the refocus chair as a punishment not for a more comfortable vantage point. So with this little bit of news, he's not so keen about sitting in the refocus chair. Hopefully with this revelation he'll get a better report next time.
That evening Hubster and I went bowling and one of Steven's classmates mother also bowls on the league. I asked her how her conference went. She sighed heavily and told me almost word for word the exact conversation I had had with Ms. Kojak and that her son Devin spends the majority of the day in the refocus chair because he won't sit still during circle time or stand still in line. Hmmm. So I'm feeling a tad bit better, but that doesn't mean Steven and I won't be practicing sitting on our pockets criss cross applesauce.