Conference #86 billion and one...ok, not really, but it IS 6PM
and I have been conferencing in 15-30 minute incremements since 1PM, and planning, teaching, cleaning, etc.etc. since 7:15 in the morning.
The mom comes in and gives me a hug! She says I am beautiful! She wants to see a picture of me with my husband, and proceeds to tell me that we will have beautiful babies. This is not what I expect. God is good to me!
***
At the parent conference I had with this mom in the beginning of the school year, Mom came through the door like a whirlwind. She talked about her make-up, the dinner she had on the stove at home, the laundry that needed to be done... and I finally had to interrupt to say that I would make this quick, but it was important and I was glad she could be here. I showed her the F her daughter had in math. I told her the truth, that her daughter was at least a grade level behind, and more importantly, her daughter didn't seem to believe in herself. She gave up easily. She shrugged off her work, and didn't seemed fazed by her dwindling grades. I asked mom to bring her daughter to school an hour early twice a week, so I could work with her. After the F conversation, I told mom that her daughter was something special and that she had a beautiful future ahead of her, and mom responded in surprise, "My daughter? I guess she can be sweet... she sure is a handful." Mom then looked at me, at the F, and said, "I have my period, and cramps are killing me. Can I take off now?" That took me by surprise. I just managed to say, "Please bring her early every Tuesday and Friday for tutori--!" Mom was out the door. HOWEVER, every Tuesday and Friday from that day forward her daughter was at my door an hour before school, ready for tutoring.
***
So back to our current conference, after I showed mom the B! Yes B! her daughter was earning in math, and I spoke about her daughter's future and what a special little lady she is and how joyful she has become... mom looks me in the eye and says thank you. She tells me that there are many teachers that her five children have had over the years; teachers who are tired, worn out, and barely making it themselves. She says she is the last person to complain, because she can barely make it some days with her own five children at home. She cannot imagine a classroom of 30. But, then she adds, a parent knows when a teacher is there for her child. She says, you have a gift from God Mrs. LaGravinese and you have changed my daughter's life. You have made her fall back in love with learning, and for that I thank you so much.
I try to explain that Mom is the one who has made her daughter get up early in the morning, and brought her to tutoring with me every week. I tried to thank her for this--but she stopped me.
No, she says. Unfortunately, with five children to care for, a house to clean, and a job to get to, I haven't been the one to get her tutoring. It's my daughter. She sets her alarm early enough to get up and make breakfast, to shower and get ready, and then she begs me to get out of bed and drive her to tutoring. She never forgets, Mrs. LaGravinese. I can't believe it. She wouldn't miss it for the world. She respects you. Thank you so much.
Conference #86 billion and 2.... slight exaggeration, but it IS 6:30PM
These parents I know well. We email frequently. We have met with the school counselor several times, and the principal knows their son by name. He is as unique as they come, and hand crafted by God for something special... but I'm pretty certain it's not a classroom desk, LOL. He alone I could blog about for a year straight. He is HILARIOUS. And SMART, really super out-of-the-box smart. And, incapable of finding a pencil, or putting papers in a folder, or following instructions that do not agree with his prerogative. If he is asked to, I don't know, put his name on his paper, there is a 50-50 chance he might have a nervous breakdown and literally dump his desk onto the floor in a moment of monstrous frustration. He might plop into the middle of the disaster he has just strewn across the carpet and begin to toss crinkled papers into the air. Meanwhile he will likely shout repeatedly, "Where's my pencil? My pencil? WhereismypencilWhereismypencilWhereismypencilWhereismypencil????"
***
This is the same kid that on the first day of school I was going through the expectations of the classroom, when I said, "It is wise to do your homework in a quiet area. Guys, that means NOT in front of the TV!" The kids giggle, but this particular student waves his hand in the air like he has something very urgent to share, so I say, "Yes?" not knowing who I am talking to. Yet.
He responds, "But, WHY can't we do homework in front of the TV?"
I think to myself, did he not just hear me? So I repeat, "You need to work in a quiet area so that you are able to fully focus. The tv is a distraction."
Instead of nodding, he raises his hand again, waving it even more urgently.
"Yesss?"
"But what if the tv isn't ON?"
... You've got me there. I break into laughter, and our teacher-student relationship begins.
***
The conference went by smoothly; we brainstormed ways to minimize disrupting his classmates, and still encourage his out-of-the-box way of learning and thinking. We find out he has an anxiety disorder, and that is why he struggles. We shake hands, and they are off.
Conference #86 billion and 3.... not much of an exaggeration by now. It IS officially LATE.
As my next conference begins, and the mother begins to cry because her father is sick with cancer in the hospital, I hug her and pray for her, and I think, this is my life's work right now. This verse today says it all, and I thank God wholeheartedly for the opportunity I have to glory in Him through teaching, and to bring Him glory in the workplace. I love my God, and I know that one day I will stand in heaven with Jesus, and see the neat things He has done through me.
Every child is worth it.
