'Tis the season for a little break...

Thanksgiving is over. It was a wonderful break from the routine of daily living, but along with Thanksgiving left my patience, my sanity, and my... Well, I am not going to elaborate quite yet. This time of the year, you expect students to be wild and far too ready for a two week vacation, but I did not realize I would be this ready, too. Thankfully, Christmas break for me and my fellow educators is only 11 school days away.

Recently, I was talking with a fellow blogger about how we sometimes wish we had created an anonymous blog so we could say whatever we felt and it couldn't be traced back to us... Sometimes those stories would just be hilarious tales we are too embarrassed for all of our close family and friends to know, and other posts would be a way to vent, which would, in many cases, probably put my job in jeopardy. 

Without going into much detail, because this is not an anonymous blog, of course, I will use my freedom of expression in a way that I cannot use at my place of employment.

Many of the teachers at my school have deemed me the diplomat. They often call me and ask if I can come help write an email to an angry parent, because they are not quite sure how to phrase how they really feel in a way that won't get them sued. I'm not sure how I've have been given this prestigious honor, but it is quite amusing. Maybe they just realize how many times a week I am called to the office for a parent conference and deem me as experienced (and it's only my first year!)?

 I have wonderful relationships with the parents of most of my students, but things can, and many times do, get a little strained in two situations: around interim/report card time and when their child is disciplined.

If you have been following my blog, you know there are a few things that college does not prepare a teacher for. As a continuation of a previous blog post, I would like to add just one more thing I was not ready for:

• Blame.

I was never told how many parents of students do not place the blame on themselves or even their own child for receiving failing grades, refusing to do work, or even punching another kid. Apparently, it is usually the teacher's fault. How do they rationalize this pointing of the finger? Well, they do it in many ways, but I'm not ready to disclose all of their little secrets on the world wide web quite yet.

I do wonder, though, when it stopped being the responsibility of the student to write their own homework down, and when it stopped being the responsibility of the parents to ensure they have completed everything assigned. I know sometimes students cannot be trusted to write down their homework (even though it is written on the board before they enter the classroom and it is a part of the classroom procedures), so our school provides several resources for parents to retrieve such information. However, when the grades come out and the student is failing a class because they are not completing homework, too often the parent turns on the teacher and says it is because their agenda is not being signed every day. However they conveniently overlook the fact that it is the students responsibility to take the agenda to the teacher to be signed. 

Maybe everyone is just a little testy at this time of year, because we were teased with a little 3 day break and then expected to go back to normal after gorging ourselves with too much turkey, pumpkin pie, and college football.

Don't get me wrong, I do have some awesome parents who are very supportive and are working hard  get their child the best education. These parents who suggest changes at home before immediately calling for an IEP meeting to complain are precious and worth a million. I am not trying to generalize and say all  parents are overwhelmingly hard to deal with, because that would be an incorrect statement. I enjoy working closely with parents and am glad to be consulted when problems arise.  I love my students--they offer great ideas and keep me laughing on a regular basis.