Parent Teacher Conferences

 Last Thursday was my 25th first marking period parent/teacher conference night.  I know a lot of teachers cannot stand these things.  It is a late night.  We always have a full day of school the next day.  When it is right before a holiday, it is even harder because we are wiped out and the kids are wired.

I happen to enjoy the conferences.  I like meeting with the kids' representatives.  On recent occasions, I have even gotten to meet with the siblings of students when they step in for a working parent, and those siblings end up being former students.  Even when I have not-so-great reports on the students, it is still a nice time.  Some years I have such a good time I wish I could offer coffee, tea, and pastries and just call it a social gathering.  Most years, I have been the last one out of the parking lot because the last parent and I end up chatting for a while.

Many years, three of us guess how many teachers will not be there and which one of us will get the most visits.  Well, under the new administration, it's anyone's guess what teachers are missing and there is rarely a greeting to start the night.  So there goes part one of our game.  As far as the second part, I lost.  I only had five representatives come see me.  

Since it was such a quiet night, I spent the down time looking through photo books for samples to show two of my students seeking reassurance or inspiration.  I also nearly fell down a rabbit hole:  early color photographs, one formula being doubted and only recently proven correct.  

My life is profoundly sad lately, but some of the rare bright spots come from my students, and sometimes their parents/caregivers.  

12 November, 2023

 Well, blogging did not go as planned for the first marking period.  I am so swamped that my heart is racing and I am near hyperventilating almost daily at work.  I am not an outlier.  Other colleagues are crying on a regular basis.  Some have sought medication to deal with what is going on.  Despite what family thinks, I have been seeking extra help, but have failed so far.  With the world falling apart, there is a dearth of good counselors with open calendars out there.

Last night, I was at a colleague's wedding celebration.  A former French teacher from my school was there with her new husband.  He is a teacher too.  I congratulated them on finding each other because I am now of the belief that the only significant other who can fully appreciate a teacher and truly support us with all of our needs and stresses is another teacher.  

I saw some other people from work.  Our retired director of Special Ed, a retired department head, a former video production teacher, and a couple of former students.  One former student told me she had actually gone on to major in Photography for her associate degree.  The former department head was kind to me despite our past differences.  The former video production teacher told me some kind things including her disbelief that the staff were too ignorant to not elect either me or the colleague we were celebrating that night as union president because of how much better we would be at that job.  

The SpEd department head had the kindest things to say to me.  He and I worked together on a group he led for students with anxiety and such.  He told me that I was the best he had with that group.  His girlfriend told me she could tell how good a person I was for the kids because of my kind face and demeanor.  I had also taken part in two of the teacher groups he ran - an anxiety group for staff and a group for AP teachers.  He knows my work ethic and how I care about and for the students.  He knows me well.  To hear those kind things meant a great deal to me.

All the kind, caring things people said to me last night will help me get going tomorrow morning when I return to the classroom after our convention break and the end of a harrowing marking period.  I hope to post more regularly.  I think I need to do what I tell my kids to do - write a reminder to myself so I do not forget.  Or maybe I should make a Google Classroom for myself and post this as an assignment with a due date!  How teacher of me.