Real, Literal Tears

As a parent, one absolutely expects tears to be shed over boo-boos, discipline and hurt feelings. Maybe even over bed time and missing out on something because you are sick. But, what we experienced earlier this week was a little shocking to me.

Katey brought home math homework. It was all about telling time. The first few problems involved writing the time shown on an analog clock-no sweat! And then came the next part: "Write out the time as you would say it." Seems pretty straightforward, right? This is how the next 5 minutes played out:

Katey writes 3:30 as Three-ThirDEE and 4:45 as For-ForDee-fIve
I shake my head in confusion and tell her she needs to spell the words correctly.
"But Mommy, it says to write it as you would SAY it, not as it is really spelled."
"Katey, it means to write out the time using words, correctly. You know how to spell them right and you need to do so."
Tears are now streaming down her face.
"Katey, why are you so upset about this?"
"Because, Mommy, it says to write them like you say it and the spelling isn't how you SAY the words. I need to do it how the instructions say."

And it went on from there. In the end, she wrote the words using correct spelling and agreed that if her teacher said it was incorrect that she could blame me...which led to the following:
"Mommy, if Ms. Dunleavy says you were wrong, I will ask her to write you a note and tell you that you were wrong. I'll also tell you."

Where does she get that NEED to be right, anyway? (says her mom who may or may not frequently insist on being right as well)