After reading Stacey's post about the month of thanks and reading several friends' Facebook posts, it came to me that one thing I am thankful for is caring parents. Those parents who take the time to come to conferences when I'm sure there are other things that need their attention. Conferences are different in high school. Although they can sign up online for a time and they don't have to see every teacher, not as many parents come to them. Some because their kids are doing well and they don't see the need and others, well, maybe they don't come because it's just to depressing.
I had a good crowd this week. Not swamped, but quite a few parents showed up. I am happy they all came, but here are a couple who stood out.
I am thankful for the parents who showed up at 7:00pm Thursday, apologizing for being early, but wondering if I could fit them in. I gladly did. The only problem, and one they didn't realize, their conference was actually supposed to be Tuesday night.
I'm thankful for New Boy and his mom and dad, who although late, made the time to come. I loved that they really moved here because their son had been campaigning for years to move to the area to be closer to family. They moved from a suburb of Chicago. His high school was almost as big as our whole town. We talked a long time about how New Boy was adjusting. They were thankful that on the very first day, students went out of their way to befriend him and make him feel welcome in our little school. New Boy is VERY happy with the move. And now we can move on to academics.
I'm thankful for the mom who introduced herself as if we were meeting for the first time, although this is the fourth child of her's that I have had in class.
I'm thankful for the parents who come that I don't know--their presence often explains a lot about their child.
I'm thankful for the parents who come right from their job because they know that being a parent is really their most important job.
And, because in my experience I've learned that some parents think teenagers are disposable, I am thankful for parents who care.
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And, like your other parts of teaching, you see that this is so important to make things work, Deb. Parents are such a key, even with teens, to make strides with their children. What a wonderful tribute you wrote.
ReplyDeleteI used to love parent conferences where a parent was silently cringing inside waiting for the bad news about their child, and getting none, would by conference end, be grinning and working with you to help make it an even better year. Some were just so discouraged and even scared to come through the door. Glad you had so many to be thankful for!
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