Complaining Parents and Upset Students......All In A Day's Work!!!

Every teacher knows the feeling.

When that email pops up from a parent…….no subject line…….no reason in your mind for the contact!!!!!!

You check the calendar.  Nothing coming up soon to warrant communication.  No payments due.  No picture day in the horizon. 

Check the gradebook.  Grades are good…..up-to-date…..

No bad behavior.  No negativity floating around like a bad aura.

THEN WHY ARE THEY EMAILING ME?????????   What is wrong?

What have I done?

What have I NOT done?

What have I said?

Every teacher KNOWS this feeling!!  There is NO WAY there is anything good coming from opening that email!!!!

You put it off for that Loooonnnnngggg  22 seconds, but that’s as long as you can wait………..

And then you open it.  You read it once……twice…..three times.

Your smile begins at the corners of your mouth -------you know the smile------the one that only Jim Carrey makes------no teeth but the mouth muscles are performing acrobatics like Mary Lou Retton.

You are beaming.  You are blushing.  You are preparing your speech and making a mental note to thank the Academy…….

You…………(ME!!!!)  have received an email to compliment you!!!!  Thanking you for getting their child to READ so much!!! 

But wait……….the day gets better. 

THE SAME DAY!!!!

It’s the end of the day.   The very, very end.  A student comes up and hands you a well-worn, folded piece of notebook paper.  It’s been through a lot. 

They hand it to you and inform you that you CANNOT read it till they leave.  Pleading eyes.  Please don’t read it in front of me.

Ok, teachers, back to the opening of this particular blog…….

“Every teacher knows the feeling.”

You are holding one of the following:

1.  Well-worded hate mail complete with advanced vocabulary and superlative adjectives.

2.  Confessional meant for their clergy  teacher.

3.  The beginning of tomorrow’s conversation with the student about the confusion of the opposite sex and how they just don’t understand them!!!

4.  Other.  (Read the word “other” with a negative tone.)

So…….here I go.  Unfold it.  Realize it is TWO PAGES!!!! which means SEVERE ALERT!!!.  It’s even STAPLED for goodness sakes!!!!

We shall repeat the above steps. 

And then you open it.  You read it once……twice…..three times.

Your smile begins at the corners of your mouth -------you know the smile------the one that only Jim Carrey makes------no teeth but the mouth muscles are performing acrobatics like Mary Lou Retton.

You are beaming.  You are blushing.  You are preparing your speech and making a mental note to thank the Academy…….

Ladies and gentleman……..I received a two-page letter from a student CITING EVIDENCE of how happy they are that I’m getting them to READ.

 On the same day as the email from a parent saying basically the same thing.