Teachers..and the love I have for them.

We had open house last night at Molly's school. During this open house a parent became quite irritated at the teachers, and spoke up during the open house. Brett and I were both quite appalled at the woman's behavior (and what she said), and she showed she had no hesitation in making herself sound rude. She later made a comment to one of the teachers that left me flabbergasted, and literally had me standing with my mouth hanging open. I couldn't believe someone was actually speaking to these teachers the way they were. Do they not expect respect? Do they not expect their kids to be respectful? Do they not think they need to show respect? I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It really got me thinking, and led me to this post.

I think a lot of parents these days expect the kids to learn SOLELY from the teachers. After all, they're teachers, so they're supposed to be teaching our kids, and our kids should be making straight A's b/c of the teachers. Right?

WRONG! A big WRONG!

Teachers are there to teach them, yet, the learning doesn't stop at school. It needs to continue at home. You have to help your kids with their homework. It's called homework for a reason. The first word is HOME. I have a huge respect for teachers. After all, they are with my kids more during the school year, than I am. I am trusting them to take care of them when they're away from my husband, and I. I trust that they will not steer my child in the wrong direction during the time they're with them. If my kid comes home and says: "I got in trouble b/c Mrs. So and So did this or that." Wrong...you got in trouble because YOU did something, and Mrs. So and So disciplined you for it. If you want your kid to succeed, you and the teachers are a team. You have to communicate, and do it well. If you feel that you're child isn't grasping something, talk with the teachers and see what can be done to help. If your child is having issues with certain subjects, then ask for extra homework for those areas, or ask what else can be done to help them.

Now, they're are some teachers that are a little rougher around the edges with children, but I've been lucky that all of Molly's teachers have been nurturing, sweet, and fun. Molly may get upset with them with things, but she LOVES them. We've tried to raise our child to accept responsibility for her actions, and if she does something wrong, then she has to deal with the consequences of those actions.

"You can choose your actions, but you can't choose the consequences that result from those actions." I saw this quote one day during a very hard time in my life, and it's stuck with me very firmly.

Help your kids learn how to be respectful, and fabulous people in today's society. It's okay to make mistakes, but LEARN from them, and move on. Molly recently had to deal with a situation recently at school. She had tickets that were supposed to go towards Homeworkopoly. She left them in an area where they ended up being thrown away. All of the children were warned when it started: "Keep your tickets in your bag, in your binder." The teacher warned that if she found them, they would be thrown away. Well, Molly didn't have them her binder, came home, and tried saying I lost them. I knew that she had them at school, and that she would soon realize that she had left them at school. Well, she did, but unfortunately, it was too late. They had been thrown away. I didn't blame the teacher. I told Molly that she needed to take better care of her things, and be responsible with them. She had already been warned, and she now had to deal with the consequences of her actions.

Now, I'm not saying that all teachers are sweet, loving, and talk in baby tones. No, that's not the case. I've been lucky to have teachers for Molly that I feel comfortable with, love, and trust with my child. They have helped me, turn her into an extremely smart and sweet girl. They love her, and they want her to be a successful member of society.

If you want to know what's going on at your kids school, be INVOLVED. Talk to the teachers, get to know them, get to know the principals, get INVOLVED. There are tons of ways to be involved, and it doesn't always require you to be at the school every day, all day. Find what works for you, and your schedule, and do it.

Once again, help the teachers help your children succeed. It doesn't stop at school, it continues on in the home as well.

This is Molly and one of her teachers this year. I have to say again, Molly absolutely loves her teachers, and so do we. We're big supporters of them, and everything they do. If you have concerns, go to the teachers, or the principal. Don't feel like there is nothing that can be done. It doesn't hurt anything to ask questions.