hills and valleys

The other day was not so great; it may have started with the lack of sleep the night before or just the immense responsibility that follows me like a shadow. By 2:30 pm on Thursday my patience had run low, my students were frustrated, and so was I. One student in particular was not engaged in the class activity and when I spoke to him he responded with the oh-so-aggravating "uh huh, sure, okay" with just a tinge of attitude. I was so upset that I could not get through to this student and felt the tears rising. Thank goodness I remembered that I had to look presentable for parent teacher conferences later that day. I got through the class with no tears shed, but with a feeling of impotence. But get this, only twenty minutes after class ended the same frustrating student graciously helped clean up my lab so that it could be squeaky clean for the parents. WTH

Parent teacher conferences (PTC) had its ups and downs. Teaching is tough when I feel like I want my students to succeed more than they do. Meeting the parents showed me that they too feel their children are not prioritizing their school responsibilities; this was strangely comforting to hear. It seems that an epidemic of senioritis has struck early this year, which scares me...A LOT.

One of the scariest moments from PTC occurred when a student got a little lippy with his parents after they expressed concerns about the student's relationship with his girlfriend. The father quickly rose from his chair, got up in his son's face and threatened, "You wanna keep up that attitude? You better be careful before you get smacked right here."

Thank goodness I was not alone at the time, my mentor was also in the room. As I witnessed this my heart was pounding and I was frightened, but my body did not react. I remained neutral and reminded myself that the father's reaction was not out of the ordinary for my student to experience. The conference ended shortly after the incident and I was assured that the family would have words when they returned home and that my student would not cause any more trouble.

My favorite moment from PTC occurred when a student introduced me to her mother. Her mother greeted me with the warmest hug I've ever received from a stranger. (Dominican mothers pretty much rock.) It felt great to be welcomed by my student's mom; it felt even greater to report on her daughter's positive progress in chemistry.

PTC taught me a little more about my students' backgrounds (for better or for worse), which I hope will benefit me in the classroom. You know, I'm beginning to understand the adage "it takes a village to raise a child."

P.S. Apologies for not updating in more than a week. October's been hectic.