The teachers over the years were going to have my kids in speech therapy. They didn't like the way they answered questions. It's so short and curt they sound so angry but they have the right answer. Oh and not disruptive in class or gym,the only ones who didn't complain were the gym and math teachers. They have a dialect even though it was English they were speaking. The teachers were also going to have them in anger management. I'm saying WHAT... Telling the teachers, NO my kids are not angry, YES they have a dialect that is Russian. And if you want to change my husband and brother-in-laws just try it, NO they don't smile they don't feel the need too. But I'll make sure we have a talk with the boys and tell them to SMILE.
Marilyn, I feel for you. When my son was in high school, a counselor attempted to label him ADHD. Reason behind it? He gesticulated with his arms. Good grief, after almost twelve years of French Immersion, and a Celtic family, I would have been surprised if he didn't. I went to confront Ms. I read a book once.. Without first mentioning I was a psychologist, I explained the situation, gesticulating myself. Lol. Suggested that if my son had been female, nothing would have been said. She wouldn't back down until presented with my creds. So stupid. Book smart, people hopeless. In your case, no accommodation was made for cultural differences. My Russian friend never smiled at me until we became friends, he considered it insincere. He also tends to speak in a concise fashion.
my kids have Sephardic Jew (Mediterranean) which is a mix of Spanish and French on my side of the family or where ever other Sephardic family's wound up after the Spanish Inquisition it could be Italy, Salonika (Greece) Big population in Morocco. They migrated that far east, if not farther and as far north as Holland, England and Scotland (where they have their own Scottish Klan plaid). and mostly Russian on my husband's side. They had Pip with all the things that were wrong as his brother's were to have, but inactive. They wanted to put him on Ritalin and I changed schools and went private school. I talked with the principal about it, she told me he didn't need that and was really disgusted hearing what they wanted to do. She told me to give him coffee in the morning with his breakfast. Did the trick
Awesome Marilyn, I am so pleased things worked out so well. It is sad that some peeps apply rigid standards of behaviour with no wiggle room whatsoever. Even as kids, our energy levels vary. My mom was high energy all her life, had a great career, kept busy well into her late eighties. No one thought there was anything wrong with her.
That's very interesting about your Russian friend not smiling at you and calling it insincere. I never knew that. My late husband was a forming engineer and had fellows that worked under him. They were scared of him, and asked me why he didn't smile and never talks in sentences just words? I'd tell them it was just his way, and didn't mean to be cold standoffish. Last thing he'd ever win would be a popularity contest lol. He was a genuine Jack Palance, in that movie City Slickers. Curley got respect and so did my husband, (even looked and talked like Palance). Palance is of Russian decent.