Later That Night..

I just did something very scary. I called my first couple of parents.
OK, it wasn't so bad. The parents are regular mothers just like mine, and the funny thing, is that they feel like they have to excuse themselves for me. I think they think I'm this big person, when they're not getting that I'm probably younger than some of their kids.
So the first mother, S.G.L.'s mother, actually sent a note to school requesting that I call her. So I called her first.
She happened to be very sweet, and she wanted to discuss the matter that S.G.L. has a problem with comprehending what is going on class, and if Mrs. L. wouldn't study with her, she would flunk everything. The problem was that she had just opened a business in her basement, and she was too busy to study with her all the time.
Personally, I don't know why they keep promoting these girls into older grades. I know it's more complicated than just the way I make it sound, but social promotion is not an answer. If there is a problem it has to dealt with. By the time a girl is in seventh grade, the problem can grow to affect the student socially, as well as educationally.
The mother was very quick to agree to have S.G.L. evaluated proffessionally, she had already even discussed it with my co.
I offered to let S.G.L. retake the history test at home, where she had no time limit, as long as Mrs L. made sure that she wasn't looking back in her notes, and talking to friends about it. The mother agreed wholeheartedly, and personally, I don't think S.G.L. or her mother will be telling anyone about this anyway, they seemed to be a little afraid of having a reputation of being learning disabled. That in itself is a horrid attitude, but that discussion isn't for now.
My second mother, M.R.'s mother, also requested that I call her.
Now this one was a strange one. She wasn't calling to discuss her daughters at all! (I teach two of her daughters, one in seventh, and one in twelfth.) She was calling to find out information about a girl I went to school with that someone was trying to set up with her son.
I hung up the phone laughing. This mother was a character! I didn't mind at all that this is what she wanted to speak to me about, but it's a funny thing to call your daughter's teacher for. There were 90 other girls in my grade who were mostly pretty accessible for info, but she chose to call me. I had a good laugh.
My third mother was the one I dreaded calling. C.K.'s mother.
C.K. had been acting very fresh lately, and that's one thing I don't go for. At all. I had already spoken to C.K, but she didn't seem to care, because she "forgot " what we discussed in out little chat pretty quickly.
Surprisingly, Mrs. K. was very understanding. At first she tried defending her daughter by telling me that she only acted this way because she didn't do well on tests and school work.
I knew that, but I explained to Mrs. K. that her daughter might never be a good student, there are some girls who are not cut out for sitting behind a desk for 8 hours every day. But her daughter had a great quality, and that was her personality. I told this mother, that I personally believed that a good personality can get someone much further in life than just 100% on every test.
When she saw that I was on her daughter's side, she became much more receptive, and I explained to her that her daughter had so much going for her, it would be shame for her to ruin it by becoming sarcastic and fresh. Mrs. K. understood the point I was trying to make.
She tried explaining it away on her changing hormones (after all, she IS a 12 year old) she said it might've been her period or something.
I almost dropped the phone.
I appreciate it when a parent is comfortable talking to me as a teacher, but woah, this is one embarrassing mother!! I hope this kid never finds out that her mother spoke to me about her monthly visitor. I know that I'd have disowned my mother should she have done something like that to me.
Anyway, we left off on good terms, and those were my adventures tonight.
And my husband has just dubbed me with a new name: "Little Stinker."
Hey, he might be right, and that's ok....as long as those parents don't know it!