The Snack incident

I guess I should start by saying how grateful I am to all of you that took the time to read my last entry and contact me about it. I have received numerous emails, phone calls, and texts, and I appreciate them all. I feel better about things today. I am blessed and relieved to be surrounded by friends that "get me." I am not mad or upset in any way. I WAS bummed. Sometimes, that is just the way things are.

But, more importantly, I learned what it feels like to be an outside parent of a public school kid. I know what some of my parents must feel like after 7-8 years of teachers with grouchy or know-it-all attitudes calling with negative things to say about their kid. I know what it feels like to think that the teacher neither likes or respects your family. I can easily see how that feeling could jade a parent's opinion of school, teachers, and administrators in general. I could see how if there are more negative encounters than positive, that this feeling of indifference or frustration could even be passed down from generation to generation. I know what I personally can and will do every time I talk to a parent from here on out. My "incident" was TINY compared to some interactions with schools. What if O was a behavior problem or learned slowly? How much more of an issue would this have been?

On her behalf, O's teacher is well-educated, organized, and has 30 years of experience. She challenges the children and has high expectations of them. She balances a class of 20 6-year- olds daily and sooths parent relationships. She is good at what she does. I know O is learning in her class. I hope that we will be able to let this blow over and move on. I will continue to be kind and supportive, and I know that our face-to-face interactions will be few and far between. In the mean time, I will focus on what I can do to be a better teacher.