Saturday, July 8, 2017

The Power of Patience

Aren't we all?

There's one thing I could say about middle school: The teachers didn’t have a clue about your children, at least not in the beginning of sixth grade.  In their defense, how could they? I realized this the first time a middle school teacher yelled at Jordan. At my Jordan! I'm sure I don't need to tell you how mortified and overwrought she was.

All because she had an orthodontist appointment, and I picked her up a little early from musical practice.  Apparently, the protocol was to send an email first.  


The minute she slumped into the car I knew something was wrong. She was on the verge of tears, and wouldn’t tell me anything. Finally she mumbled, “I got yelled at.”  My instinct was to turn the car around, march into the school, and get right back in the teacher’s face, but at Jordan’s request, I refrained. I had the tendency to lose my crap when it came to people disrespecting one of my kids, and Jordan was not a fan of this reaction.


Who’s fault was it that she left early?  I picked her up. I made the ortho appointment, and I was still responsible for communicating with the teacher. So yell at me, send me an email. DON’T yell at my child, who had never, ever been reprimanded by any adult other than her parents.


Weeks later Jordan informed me that this same psycho teacher screamed to the entire ensemble that they “suck”, while she was looking directly at Jordan. Whether Jordan’s perception or an accurate account, I’ll never know. Again, I “went off” about this. I ranted about how Jordan didn’t have to participate in this extracurricular activity, especially if it was led by such a diva, and that the principal should be told, but again, I respected Jordan’s pleas and resisted the opportunity to get more involved.


Thankfully some colleagues reminded me that my job as a parent was to help my kids deal with situations like these, not bail them out and make their lives instantly easier. The funny thing is, years later this same teacher has shown herself to be a warm, caring person, who has made quite a positive impact on both Jordan and her brother. You just never know...


This leads me back to my original point: Middle school teachers do not know your children to the same degree as their elementary teachers did, but this is to be expected. It’s a new situation for everyone involved, and new situations require new levels of understanding and patience.


I was repeatedly being reminded that my job was to continue working on the patience portion of life.

Thank you.

Us Too

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