Dictionary

Third grade has brought us a new weekly homework assignment: looking up the week's spelling words in the dictionary. It's a student dictionary, with plenty of photos and the like. But the book is also large and imposing and when he hauls it out to complete the assignment, I can tell that JT is rather proud to be working in such an important-looking book.

I have to confess that I'm somewhat surprised that he hasn't yet begun to engage in that time-honored school-kid homework dodge: using the dictionary to look up the naughty words. Sure, it's a parent-approved student dictionary, but surely it contains a few inappropriate words? No actual four-letter words, of course. You'd think that school yard favorite 'butt' must be worth a laugh or two. I looked and it's there, just waiting for my son to look it up.

But not my scholar. No messing around for him. On Tuesday, when I tentatively suggested that he use the dictionary for some messing around, he looked at me, scandalized, shook his head no and then got back to work.

Apparently, I am a bad influence in this household.