One Bad Apple

As the saying goes.  And it's oh so true.

We have been truly blessed with an awesome elementary school that our girls go to.  We have had great teachers and great experiences.  We've been there since Jewlz was in Kinder....6 years now.  That's 6 teachers for her and 3 for Mia.  9 teachers so far, and we finally got one that is not on top of things.  I have been extremely disappointed this year.  Is it because last year Juliet's teacher was beyond awesome?  Is it because being a teacher myself I have certain expectations?  or is it because we are parents who pour into our kids and are always involved in their education.  Fault me for any of those reasons, I accept it.

This year Juliet has not been pushed to excel.  Her teacher this year is just surviving.  I understand that.  I've been there, but it hasn't lasted an entire school year for me (thankfully).  I'm on the other side now and as a parent I'm finding it unacceptable.  Assignments are verbally assigned and parents are not notified until 2-3 days prior to due dates.  Weekly newsletters are sent home with incorrect dates.  Field trip forms are sent home and once returned to school we are not made aware of plans until the day prior to the field trip.  (this is just the tip of the ice berg)

Mike or I have always attended every one of the girls' field trips.  Always.  That's important to us.  We have graciously driven to help out and ridden the bus because we're needed.  Tomorrow's trip is to Six Flags.  Juliet has been looking forward to this for months!  Mike is planning to go and she can't wait!  We go often, but this time she gets to be there with her friends and not her siblings, so it's a big deal.  And she's thrilled that her Daddy will be there with her to ride the big rides!  BUT because of severe lack of communication on her teacher's part, Mike won't get to go.  He works until 8am and we were just notified TODAY (because I asked, not because we were notified) that they are leaving the school at 7:45.  School doesn't start until 9am, so that's a big difference in time!  Why, as a teacher, would you not tell your chaperones that you would be leaving so early?  I would always send home multiple reminders to my parent chaperones.  As would so many of my colleagues. 

It's been tough this year to accept the miscommunication...and then it's been difficult not letting Juliet see my disappointment.  I don't want her to grab any of my frustrations with her teacher.  She only needs to worry about doing her best at school and making good choices all day long.  That's enough to think about for a 10 year old! 

I really want to let her teacher have a piece of my mind!  LOL  But how is that going to help anything?  There are only 6 days of school left and all I want to do is pull Jewlz out for the remainder of those days and start our summer early!  Yet, what does that teach her?  Nothing.  What kind of reputation would that leave us with?!  We still have 6 more years at this school!  But I can surely tell you I won't be requesting this teacher when Mia gets to 5th grade!

I just received a little story :

When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his Biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school.

I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits."

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your momma put in a long hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides... A burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!"

You know, life is full of imperfect things... And imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each others faults and choosing to celebrate each others differences, is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.  

 Love the people who treat you right and forget about the ones who don't .

I'm being convicted again to let it go.  I have all year.  I have let things go and today I was brought to the point where I just couldn't let it go.  I'm saddened that my daughter is sad.  I guess I just don't know what to do with that anymore.  This is a new realm of things for us.  How do we protect our kids forever?  Do I pull them out of public education so I can control what influences them?  That's definitely not the answer.  Is this a part of them growing up and becoming more independent?  I think it is.  But it's surely not easy.  I hope she (and I) learn from this year's frustrations.  and I pray we don't have a repeat any time in the future!