Sunday, February 24, 2013
Parent-Teacher Relationships
Valentines Day
A woman bursts into my classroom between classes, carrying two small red bags. Small, slender, and pretty, she is all business. She explains that the bags are for my CT and me. Another substitute, I think, looking to be requested next time my CT is out for the day. Many of them leave candy after subbing in her classroom, hoping to be called back. Since my CT is gone at a district meeting for the day, I smile and thank her.
She thrusts her hand at me. "I'm ******'s mom."
My smile widens. I accept her outstretched hand, thinking of how I'd just placed her child on a tally system the day before. That same tally system had caused my CT to call this mother about her son's behavior during my class. I brace myself for a possible confrontation with this petite woman about her child.
I decide to start off with a compliment. "Oh, it's so nice to meet you! ******'s ..."
Her hand tightens around mine.
"It's handled."
Matter-of-fact.
No-nonsense.
"I just wanted you to know it's handled."
I stand in shock as she sweeps from the room. I had never met someone so direct. It would take a bigger or more foolish person than I to cross that woman. Unless I was her son.
Heaving a sigh, grateful to be alive, I peek into my goodie bag and cannot help but laugh.
A small bottle of water. A package of some energy drink powder.
She knew exactly what her son's teachers needed to make it through a 90 minute class period with him.
I share this story because it shows how wonderful my students' parents really are. It's almost a little shocking to me to see just how supportive of the school and its teachers they really are. It was evident during parent-teacher conferences, and it continues to be apparent through every interaction we have. Clearly, strong and healthy relationships with parents make our jobs as teachers so much easier because even though my Juniors are extremely challenging, they are generally very respectful which I am certain is a value taught to them by their parents. So, this is a shout-out to all of the parents who aren't afraid to push their children to their full potential and hold them to high expectations! You are awesome!
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What a wonderful reminder of appreciation. I know sometimes when it comes to teaching I feel like the "bad guy" and parents point their finger straight at the teacher. It's good to know that this mother cared not only for her son's well being, but for yours, too!
ReplyDeleteYou received a kind gesture, and it's great to know that she cares about her student. Way to go! Also, way to go on creating a rapport with that mother, she'll always trust your judgments!
Have a wonderful week!
That is awesome for you to have such a positive experience with a parent. We all hear horror stories of parents who are not very supportive or even counterproductive in their students’ education. I have not had that an experience on either side of the issue; however, I only have parent teacher conferences as a experience. In that instance, I can say that parents were generally supportive. Although I can say that the support was not always effective.
ReplyDeleteOne instance was with a mother of one of our seniors who showed up and seemed very concerned and serious about her son’s grade. My CT told her that we were in the middle of a journal project that would help her son’s grade. I also let her know that there was another project coming up that was of great value and that if he did well, the points would also boost his grade. She assured us that he would be turning in his journal project and would make sure he worked on the other project. When classes resumed he showed up with nothing. On top of that, he was suspended and missed three days of research time for the second project.
You are lucky to have had a good experience Theresa. It will be helpful when a bad one creeps up on you. While my experience was not bad, I can say it was sad and even unfortunate. You’ve done a great job and the payoff is not only good for you, but for that student.
Thanks for sharing this story, Theresa. Its nice to not only hear a story about a parent who really seems to care, but is also able to relate to the other adults handling the situation by using good humor. I think that sometimes it is easy to forget just how much most of the parents genuinely care, due to the fact that we so often only hear the negative stories. I have one student who will be leaving for spring break early the prior week. She fortunately had a parent who was heads up enough to send me a letter almost a month early letting me know so that we could get all of her assignments in order so that they might be completed before she even leaves. A less amusing story, yes, but still nice to see a parent who is very heads up in regards to her daughter's education. I can only hope that more such experiences occur in the future.
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