Three Cheers for the Teachers

[pluckyduck]

Hip, Hip -- Hooray!

I always appreciate good and caring teachers, but after spending the last couple of weeks fighting my way through school red tape, I am especially appreciative of good teachers. My boys are awfully blessed.

As I told Mrs. B, Dan's teacher for the last three years (she moved up ), "I don't trust systems, I trust people." I'd never trust turning my precious kids over to some system...a system won't take care of them, but a good and caring person will.

Three cheers for the teachers in my boys' life and three cheers for the teachers here at EA. It is an amazing profession. Imagine making that much difference in so many people's lives!

Hip hip, Hooray!
Hip hip, Hooray!
Hip hip, Hooray!



Andrea

[jnbmoore]

YEAH!!

Does this mean he's not going to have to change classes all the time????????

Bridge

[jenninca]

Andrea, that was good to hear. I had an exhausting week. Yesterday I got to school at 6:50, left school at 5:00, fell asleep at 6:00, got woken up by boyfriend at 7:30, went to bed again at 12:00, and just woke up at 10:00. This year is going to be a tough one, (they're worse than my kids last year!!!) and I'm requiring about 11-12 hours at work a day just to kind of keep on top of things. Then I work all weekend on it, too. It's comments like yours that keep me going.

Cindy

[pluckyduck]

Originally posted by jnbmoore
YEAH!!

Does this mean he's not going to have to change classes all the time????????

Bridge

Well, he does have to change, but there are human beings taking care of him.

The circumstances are far from ideal -- school construction is behind schedule so his homeroom is two classes combined, for a total of 50 children. 50 children in a room for a child who zones out when on sensory overload! I was so upset, I cried for two days before school started.

My point in my thread, though, is that it is the teachers who are making the difference. I talked to everybody, from his case manager, to his speech therapist to his primary teacher to his homeroom teacher, and everybody is watching out for Dan and believe me, everybody cares. They are simply a great bunch of people.

The flip side of the negative aspect of the circumstances it that it is an opportunity for Dan to become more independent. Knowing that there are half a dozen people watching out for him, it's easier for me to just let go and see how far he can take the independence. He's got a safety net.

And Cindy, to you. I know that the first years of teaching are the hardest.... I hope you have parents and students who appreciate you and your work.

Andrea

I agree with you, Andrea.

My daughter's Kindergarten teacher (the same teacher... once in a private program; once in a public program) was absolutely dreadful. She taught my daughter to be afraid to show her abilities, to be ashamed of being so bright, and to do no more than the minimum expected. She instilled in my daughter the dread of handwriting. And she caused my daughter's perfectionistic tendencies to be worsened to the point where my daughter would freeze whenever she was asked to do something new.

This teacher was awful! So awful, in fact, that last year, at the end of the teacher's second year, she was given the choice of resigning or being fired. (The teacher wasn't a complete idiot! She resigned!!)

Last year, my daughter was in first grade. The teacher was exactly the opposite. She encouraged my daughter. She gave her special incentives to reach beyond herself. When she saw that my daughter was so advanced, she put a little extra work into another child that she perceived as having a chance of excelling too, so that my daughter wasn't alone in being advanced. (The other child never really caught up to my daughter, but having someone else doing extra too really helped my daughter tremendously.) Whenever my daughter froze in fear, she would take my daughter aside and help her find the self-confidence to continue.

This teacher also made a point of writing to my daughter over the summer. Once my daughter received the letter, she wanted to write back, even if it meant performing a task that she hates. To say that this teacher understands kids doesn't even begin to describe it.

My daughter still has issues with writing, but she is SO much different this year (beginning of second grade) than she was at the beginning of last year. Her teacher from last year has said that she will keep an eye out for my daughter, and I am most grateful. Knowing that someone is watching gives me a feeling of comfort, because I know that I don't have to worry so much.

This year's teacher seems to be decent as well. It's still rather early to know for sure, but she seems to be encouraging my daughter as well. She has come up with clever tasks to encourage my daughter to write, so it seems that, even without my telling her, she has picked up on my daughter's issues. That preceptiveness is what I think is most needed in teachers. Just having a clue that all kids are different.

So yes, good teachers make all the difference. Here's hoping that all of our kids have teachers that care as much as our teacher friends here on EA.

[slick4591[$]]

Dang! This thread makes me want to find all of my old teachers that I drove nuts and buy them a steak dinner.

:thumbs: to all the good ones.

[whatever22]

She instilled in my daughter the dread of handwriting. And she caused my daughter's perfectionistic tendencies to be worsened to the point where my daughter would freeze whenever she was asked to do something new.

Garce, I'm curious...

So, was writing a part of your daughter's kindergarten curriculum? I'm just trying to figure out of this something most kindergarten classes incorporate these days. I'm hoping his teacher will teach the children to read and write so any efforts I make at home will be reinforced at school. I haven't had a chance to speak with his teacher yet and if she doesn't send a letter home soon, I will have to take her aside and ask because I am dying to know what the curriculum is this year!

[AmyLEnsor]

Andrea, how wonderful that your boys have teachers they really like and that you can trust. That must be a big relief to you. I haven't gotten to that stage with mine yet, but I was out in the neighborhood the other day when the kids and parents were all talking about the teachers they had (the parents feel like they have the teachers as much as the children do), and there was such a difference when the moms were happy about the situation.

[AmyLEnsor]

Originally posted by slick4591
Dang! This thread makes me want to find all of my old teachers that I drove nuts and buy them a steak dinner.

:thumbs: to all the good ones.

Dennis, what about a nice pork tenderloin dinner?

[pluckyduck]

the parents feel like they have the teachers as much as the children do

Amy -

That is surely the truth. Was it like this for our parents? It does seem like times are different. We cared if a teacher was "nice" or "mean" and if the teacher was mean, didn't our parents pretty much expect us to gut it out?

I clearly remember my mother advocating for me in a couple particularly outrageous circumstances, but other than that, my teacher was my problem.

Now, at least in the younger grades, the kid's work is our responsibility... seriously. You put your "John Hancock" on everything they do coming in and going out....so I end up praying for teachers who don't give too much homework, same as the kids.

Andrea
8 years old, once again

[KateTPZ]

I'm adding in cheers for the teachers my boys have this year:

Ms. Cockman & Mrs. Curtis - these are for you:



And to Cindy and all the other EA teachers,

We're blessed with excellent teachers this year - and my very reluctant 3rd grader is now an enthusiastic student again!