The Report Card

I know I'm a good teacher.

I always knew I'd be a good teacher.

I've wanted to be a teacher since kindergarten.

Although I also wanted to be an entomologist (bug scientist) and an FBI agent, being a teacher was always number one.

Although I've been a great teacher from day 1, I became an even better teacher when I became a mother.

You do things differently after you become a mother.

You not only think about the teacher side of things, you think about the parent side as well.

What would I do?  How would I think if I were this child's parent?

Now I approach things differently when I call a parent (which I had to do yesterday) or write a parent letter.  I think differently about my response when a parent writes me a letter. 

I guess you could say, I put myself in their shoes.

This not only applies with my students but also with my children. 

I now think differently when a preschool teacher comes to me with concerns for my child.  Sometimes, and I probably shouldn't do this, I even think, "They don't have children, so I don't think they fully understand what they're talking about."

And then I get my 3-year-old's report card:

I couldn't read it as soon as I got it.

I admit, I was very nervous.

I slipped it in my large teacher bag and waited until I got home.

I sat down in my big recliner and looked over it very closely.

You see, I know my child is very bright.  I expected outstanding scores in everything (except maybe behavior). 

Well, I was in for a surprise.

I was disappointed.

Obviously his teachers don't think he's as smart as I do.

I know my child has excellent fine motor skills.

My 3 year old can count to 20.

He knows all his shapes and colors.

Any of my family members can back me up on this one.

I was hurt.

After a few moments of disappointment, I realized:

How many of my students' parents feel the same way when they get the report card that I write?

In fact, a couple weeks ago I received a note from a parent.  This was before I received Diesel's report card.  The note was a concern from a parent.  Their child was behind in math.  They were only on the -2 test (when they should've been on the -9).  The parent said they pass the practice tests at home, but they are obviously not passing them at school. 

The parent thought I should move the child up a level since they could do it at home.

I thought about this for a while.  I still think about my decision and whether it was the right one.

What did I do?

Well, I bumped them up a level.

Why?

Not because I agreed with the parent (which the parent probably thought I did).

I did it for the sake of argument.  It was not worth arguing with the parent.  It's her child.  If she wanted him bumped up, it was her choice. 

Did he pass the next math test?

No.

Has she wrote another letter?

No.

But now I see where she's coming from.  When I received her letter a couple weeks ago (again, I have to emphasize, before I got Diesel's report card), I thought, "Who does she think she is?  Telling me how to run my classroom.  She must be lying.  Her child is not able to pass the test." 

I admit, I could be wrong.

Maybe her child really knew his -2s.

Maybe I made the right decision (for the wrong reason) in bumping him up a level.

I need to remember to think like a parent... and a teacher at the same time.

This was my favorite page:

I could take this a bunch of different ways.

I'm going to take it as good.

Blank is good.

However, I really would've appreciated a nice comment about my Diesel.  Just so I could scrapbook it.

I'm going to remember this as a teacher.

I've never written comments on a report card.

From now on, I will write comments.

A good one.

No matter how rotten the child is.

Yes, that's a picture of my son's excellent fine motor skills.  He's threading beads on a needle. 

I just had to prove it.