Mad Parents

So right now (10/6) I am at SEPs (parent teacher conferences), and haven’t had a parent/student come and visit with me for the past 12minutes, so I thought I’d write a blog.
About a month ago now, I started a class to receive a mathematics masters equivalency (paid for by the district!). I will be taking classes once a week for the next two semesters and for a week in June, and then do the same thing next year too. I have been really excited about it, since it is one of the subjects that I have considered getting a masters in, if I ever went back to school. One of my big deterrents has been doing college level homework again. I have always struggled with being able to read an entire reading assignment (and actually having a decently detailed understanding of it) within the allotted time, and I am also a rather slow writer (b/c I think too much before I write down almost each sentence). Anyways, I decided that I’d have to suck it up, and just do it since I want to have more education. So at the beginning of Sept I started my class and I’m really enjoying it, despite the homework. It was a bit to juggle at first, but I feel like I can handle it now.
Another stress relieving blessing I received around the same time as my job relief, was that the PTA president offered to take care of the school tshirts this year. For the past few years, the student council has been in charge of them, which really means that the advisor (me) does all the work. So I was very willing to turn it over to someone else.
I am not actually at SEPs still, that was now a few days ago. I was quite distracted from writing b/c of a couple of meetings with 2 of my students and their mothers. One of the mothers I was a little worried about even before our conference b/c of the way she was not happy with me on the phone a couple weeks back. I had called b/c her daughter had enough unexcused absences that I needed to get excuses for them. She became offended that I was asking for ligitimate excuses, and that in the future she send a note to excuse an absence. So I was a little worried since she became so annoyed and mad at me for asking about absences. And my fears were confirmed, and then some. She proceeded to tell me that her daughter has never received such bad grades (1 C and the rest As and Bs) from any other teacher (therefore it is my fault), and that her daughter shouldn’t be feeling bad about receiving a poor grade (which again was my fault, since I have control over her daughter’s feelings). I was also accused of always being mad at the class (I privately talked with this student for goofing off while I had left the room b/c she is on student council and I expect student council members to be the best examples to others and that she wasn’t setting a good example) and of picking on her daughter( I had her wash the desks b/c she was writing on hers and it wasn’t the first time she had). She then told me what teachers should do and how they should teach b/c I wasn’t doing it right, and that that was what I am being paid to do. This wonderful mother then told me that she thought I was cold and mean when she met me right before school started, b/c I didn’t introduce myself to her, and in her book that is extremely rude. I guess I should stop expecting people to know who I am when they come into my classroom(which has my name right outside the door) with the intention of visiting me and when I’m the only person in the room ( and am sitting at my desk –a teacher’s desk). And in my school, I have found it difficult to just guess at who it is that is coming in with my students, b/c it could be mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, a step parent, sibling, neighbor, or another student’s parent. So I resorted to just saying hi and then giving directions to my students as each one came in for their before school testing. Plus, I was not very used to my new name, considering I only had it for about a week and a half at that time. This mother of course wanted to have her daughter switched to other teacher, but I told her that since I was just made aware of her daughter’s extreme difficultly in the classroom (due to her sensitive shyness and inability to ask for help), that we could probably work things out. After talking with this mom, I can see why this girl is timid and afraid to talk to adults. I wish I had thought of saying this at the time, but of course the best retorts always come later. “I understand a lot better now about your daughters shyness and fears.”
It really amazes me that some parents seriously believe that their kids really could never do wrong and would never lie or tell half truths to them. AND how some kids really know how to manipulate their parents and they have no idea what is really going on. This student and her best friend, who is also in my class, both had convinced their moms of their unhappiness and need to switch classes. I am sorry if I have offended any parents out there.
I was really hurt by what this mother said, but my wonderful husband reminded me that this mother apparently had it out for me from the beginning, and that the principal and everyone else knows what a good teacher I am. So I’m alright, and the girls are both making a better effort in asking questions when they don’t understand things.