Teacher and Parents

As an almost 30 year educator, I have been on both sides of this coin. I've had great and terrible experiences. Seeing the end of the "teaching tunnel", as I will retire in a couple of years, I have made an observation with the maturity that I have gained as a teacher. Life in your classroom should not be contingent upon your relationship with parents, but.... it is. When I get frustrated with a parent situation, I have handled it well and not so well. I think being a parent and grandparent myself, has helped me to try to see from a parent's perspective. I have had the mentality, I'm not here for the parents...I'm here for the kids...this is true...and this is not true. Who do these kids belong to? God, 1st, but also their parents. A recent incident about a kid missing from a quick pic..bothered me, but as I think about it and try to see the parent's view of it, I can relate. We, as teacher, want the same courtesy. We want people to see what it is like to be a teacher taking care of 20+ kids (some ornery), write lesson plans, teach skills + regular curriculum, recess duty, morning duty, etc... I think we should consider what a parent might be going through. This may not always apply, but we just don't know. Our attitude should not be: it's me against them...it should be it's us, we are in this together. Try to love them, try not to overreact, try not to get pulled into "parent" drama. And, the most important thing, is to love their children who belong to Jesus, to them, and to you for 8 hours of the day.