On Fridays, my first-grader brings home a journal in which he has written a note to someone he will see over the weekend. Fridays are a big day for him as he reveals to whom he has written. Every Friday, I ask him when he will write to me. And every Friday, he answers, "Never." Then giggles, laughs, and runs off. And since he is so darn cute with his vampire-smile (he's missing his two front teeth which showcases his fang teeth quite nicely), I cut him some slack.
Today he shocked me and wrote to me. Here is his letter:
Dear Mom,
You are the best mom ever and can you lose your job please, Mom? Because I want to see you every day after school, because if you keep your job, sometimes I won't see you after school. So please lose your job.
Love,
Ryne
I fully expect him to write a letter similar to this one in about 8 years. It will go something like this:
Dear Mom,
You are the worst mom ever and can you lose your job please, Mom? Because I don't want to see you every day at school, because if you keep your job, I will always have see you at school. So please lose your job.
Love,
Ryne,
When you are a teacher in your kids' elementary school, they love seeing you every day. When you are a teacher in your kids' middle school, they pretend they don't like seeing you every day. And when you are a teacher in your kids' high school, they detest seeing you every day.
Which is why years ago as a naive teenager, I decided to become a high school teacher. I like ticking my kids off.
on thanksgiving.
4 days ago
2 comments:
I can tell you from experience that having a parent teach at your high school is, actually, no big thing. In fact, it's convenient. I almost never had to ride the bus to school. I had a way to get into the school if I forgot something. If I brought a bag that was too big for my locker, I had a classroom in which to leave it.
Even having a parent for a teacher (twice!) in high school was no big deal. The most significant hurdle I had to clear was figuring out whether to call him Dad or Mr. Prenkert. I settled on "Hey."
In general, it was a positive experience all around.
Had my parent taught at my middle school, though, I likely would have died of embarrassment.
You are so right, Professor Prenkert. And I would like to add that teachers' kids are almost never picked on, made fun of, or bullied. Students have an innate knowledge that teachers will get their revenge one way or another if you mess with their kid. I actually am looking forward to having my kids here with me, and hope that I will be able to teach them someday. I will probably grade them tougher, but hey, that only helps them, right?
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