Thursday, March 31, 2011

Notes from parent-teacher conferences

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1.  Your kid is mostly the same at school as he is at home.  We walked into Jane’s conference and the teacher asked “is Jane really messy at home?  She’s my messiest kid here.” Yeah, well, she’s our messiest kid here, too.  Seth talks all the time at kindergarten, too.  Gabe cares most about getting done fast, which is what we deal with during chore time, here, too.

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2.  There are character traits that seem to run through the entire family.  EVERY SINGLE CONFERENCE, the teacher said “They are so smart and are doing fine.  I just wish they’d take a little more time on their work. And they struggle with organization.”  In fact, I’ve heard that at every single conference since Emma started Kindergarten.  Heck, I’ve heard it every single conference since I started going to school, because guess what?  That’s exactly the kind of student I was, and frankly, I’m still kind of like that.

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3.  It’s good to take your husband.  I’m glad I don’t have to be the filter.  I’m glad he was able to tell me what he heard, because, I was kind of only hearing the negative.  It was good to have him remind me that there was 90% positive there and I should probably focus on that. 

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4.  My kids are really nice kids.   I’m grateful that we don’t have behavior issues and that they are known as kind, fun students.

5. You feel very proud and very embarrassed in the same 20 minutes.  Like when Jane’s teacher points out the that Jane got a 4 for effort in every extra-curricular class (music, computer, PE, etc.) and that she’s never seen that.  That it’s an indication of a girl who puts her best, cheerful effort in EVERY place she goes.  And then tells us how they had to take pencils with erasers away from Jane because she was EATING THE ERASER HEAD OFF OF EVERY ONE.  In fact the aide asked her, “What are erasers for Jane?” and she replied, in all sincerity: “For eating?” ?!?!

6. Even though I’m a little crazy to think that I’m smart enough to guide 5 different human beings, I’ve also learned that I don’t need to feel guilty for their failings.  I’m trying my best.  So are they.  When either of us realizes we need to do things differently, we will!

11 comments:

Camden said...

It took me a minute to figure out that all the pictures are from when they were, what, Kindergarten? Great thoughts. Great to keep perspective. And being nice counts for A LOT in elementary school. You have GREAT kids (I say as if I actually know them)!

Rochelleht said...

Ha Ha! That just cracked me up. Truly great.

Elizabeth said...

I love/hate parent teacher interviews for all those reasons. I too agree it is excellent to take the Hubs, I have selective hearing and I sometimes wonder if we attended the same meeting.
Your children are so lucky to have you and Ryan as parents (I think I may have said that before).

Annemarie said...

Amen to ALL of it! I was a talker in school and so are my kids...Sam has been moved to his own "island" because of it. The only thing I thought to say to the teacher was "Are there tropical drinks with little umbrellas on this island?" And "Fine with me...he talks at home ALL THE TIME, as well."
And I'm so glad I'm not the only one who picks up on the negative forgetting about the 90% positive.

And...your kids are darling!

Lauren in GA said...

Whoa. I realized that I need to take my husband...because I focus on the negative even when there are good things being discussed...and I am just dwelling on the need for improvement.

I love the pictures. You have great looking, wonderful kids. It is a great thing to have nice kids.

Uh, I used to eat my erasers...and I ate crayons, too...I turned out okay, didn't I?

Don't answer that...at least I'm a law abiding citizen...;)

the wrath of khandrea said...

so funny. i love it when they ask you questions like "have you noticed your child tends to rush?"

WHAT? RUSH? is this some kind of JOKE? candid camera? MY CHILD RUSHES?? how could i have lived with this being for the past NINE YEARS and not noticed this? thank you, sincerely, for bringing it to my attention.

the wrath of khandrea said...

also, have you seen impulsive tendencies at home?

hmmm... have i? i'll really have to think that one over and get back to you. i just don't know if i've ever noticed impulsive tendencies at home.

the wrath of khandrea said...

as a side note, the army recognizes parent teacher conferences as an actual duty assignment; there is nothing that can 'trump' the PTC as far as requiring a soldier's presence. that is how important they realize it is for dads to be there.

heidiram said...

Love it! And thank goodness for husband filters who are more apt to listen to the positive feedback coming from the teachers.

Lindsay said...

Amen! Our good friend Kerry says it this way, "you wouldn't take credit for their success so don't take all the credit for their failures either."

Tammy said...

Your kids are awesome, but I think its easy to want them to be perfect...right? You and Ryan are amazingly intelligent and kind people and so its natural that your kids are following suit. How cute that Jane eats erasers....I think I did also?