Kelsey’s mother was in on the second day of school questioning a grade that her daughter had received on day one.  Kelsey was new to our school in 6th grade and the start of her tenure was not going well.  Kelsey’s mother had been used to the hardscrabble fight that ensued whenever she felt her daughter had been victimized.  Her transfer to our school was, in fact, a result of her mother’s sense that her prior school just did not seem to respond unless she complained.  The fit that Kelsey’s mother threw at our teachers was not subtle.  Fortunately, she had confronted Mrs. Coleman, a very experienced teacher who knew that Kelsey had a mother who was committed to her daughter’s performance in school.

“Kelsey was not able to complete her summer reading,” said Mrs. Coleman.

“Yes, but we only knew about her transfer a week before school began.  She did not even have the list of books until yesterday,”  implored Kelsey’s mother.

“…and that is why I failed her on the summer assignment.  Did she mention to you that I had pulled her aside and told her that when she had time to complete the reading, I would change the grade?”

Kelsey’s mother could not recall if her daughter had said as much because her mother had exploded when she heard about the failing grade.  Mrs. Coleman then reassured Kelsey’s mother that Kelsey was at a school that focused on developing character.  She did not mind the blow-up from Kelsey’s mother because it showed that her mother cared deeply about her daughter’s grades.

The initial blow-up pattern evaporated at that point and never came again for Kelsey’s mother.  In fact, the next year, Kelsey’s brother transferred into the school- a testament to how well Mrs. Coleman conveyed that she understood Kelsey and her family.

Teachers, in general, do not like to be challenged on grades and it took some finesse from Mrs. Coleman to slow down the onslaught.  A less experienced teacher may have reacted strongly to Kelsey’s mother accusation that her daughter was not treated fairly.  In my experience there is always a grain of truth in a parent’s understanding of what went on in a classroom.  However, their lens is always through the eyes of their children and children by nature are susceptible to looking at life from less mature lenses.  Even the best teachers can look bad if the lens is off color.

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Coming Next- New Stories From the Classroom

From our first posting:

“As parents and teachers, we need to reclaim our traditional role as influencers of our children – not by shouting louder than the influencers our children discover online, but by stressing ideas that are more important than fancy shoes and snappy TikTok tunes. We need to emphasize traits that everyone agrees children will honor.  We need to convince our children that the people who are most important to them have a better understanding of what it takes to be successful in life.”

 #charactereducation #successtraits #parentingtips #homeschooling #teachertips