Meet The Parents

I made a mother cry today. Let me explain...

We are having parent conferences. Another thing I love about this school where I'm lucky to be teaching is that we set aside the three days before Thanksgiving as Parent Conference Days. Yes, all three of them. It allows us fourth grade teachers (and fifth) to meet with more than just our homeroom students. We can meet with students whose homeroom might be the math teacher, but the writing teacher has a concern. It also gives our parents a lot of flexibility because we even have evening appointments on Tuesday until 6:30 P.M. In the time between appointments, I can start typing my report card comments and take care of all sorts of business I don't normally have time for on a regular school day.

About the crying---the mom was crying in gratitude. She was so grateful for the progress that her child had made this year, that she actually teared up. Wow. Now, that really makes my day. Gratitude, I mean, not crying. The student is the fellow I wrote about a month ago who gifted me after a trip they'd taken. I asked the parents, after he and I presented his portfolio of work from the term, if they had any concerns for me. Mom sighed, adjusted her glasses, and started in a sober sounding voice, "Well, Mrs. [EarthSignMama], all I can say..." She paused and I was really getting nervous about what could be so hard to tell me. Her son has an IEP and is officially diagnosed with a form of autism, so I know they have many concerns.

She continued, "...all I can say is that I'm so grateful for this school and for you. This is our son's best year. He is doing so well, he loves school. He loves you. He has never expressed so much joy before about being in school." By now she had removed her glasses and had to wipe her reddened eyes. Her son looked at her and smiled, "Mom, don't cry! I thought you were happy." His dad laughed and patted her arm. "She is happy...sometimes mommies cry for happiness."

They stood up to leave and they both thanked me again and left. See why I LOVE my job?