Perhaps nothing makes me more aware of my dual role in life/education than the week when we hold Parent/Teacher conferences. Since I have the benefit of teaching in the same district where my five children attend school, I enjoy the week toggling back and forth on each side of the proverbial desk.
From the parental side of the desk this is always a humbling experience for me as I receive information from the adults who share a love for my children and I get to hear of the accomplishments, struggles and victories that are part of my children's educational journey. From a kindergarten pants-pooping incident to amazing academic achievements, I have been the receiver of it all! This year with my children ranging from grades 4 to 12 maybe we are over the poopy pants but we still have our share of struggles and our varying degrees of accomplishments, all part of the journey and in my mind, all reasons for celebration. My children are on the path to their full potential and receiving love and guidance from the adults entrusted with their fragile souls.
Then there's the other side of the desk where I enjoy the responsibility and privilege of delivering information to parents about their child's journey with me as their teacher. I am entrusted with these fragile souls just as I trust other teachers with my children. Wow! Since I am in contact with parents all year through messages, notes and meetings, there is little that I have to convey at conferences that is new to them. Instead we can use this time to simply sit and talk about our favorite people, their children, and make sure we are all following the plan to their child's full potential.
Leading children to discover and realize their full potential is to me, the most exciting part of parenting and teaching all wrapped in one.
The volumes of child development books in the bookstore and online would have one believe children follow a fixed and paved path as they grow. After all, experts have decided upon the window of time in which children should stand, walk, smile and talk. As parents we read these volumes, (all be it more intently as our first child is born and by number 5 we are just rolling the dice), but the fact remains, we assume we have a pretty good idea of the path that lies ahead for us and our offspring. This is all fine and good until we are confronted by a child, our own or a student, who does not fit the Child Development Mold. What I can attest to as a mom and a teacher, is that there are as many paths of parenting children toward their full potential as there are children-each child going at his own pace and doing what he is intended to do in his time. The path of the child is there to be followed in order to keep the child true to himself, but it is his unique path. It is up to us as parents and teachers to guide the child, nurture the path, and accept the individual unconditionally.
At times it seems the road crew was there well in advance of our parental arrival. The road is easy and the journey smooth. Each new milestone is celebrated with pictures and exciting anticipation of what is to come. At other times the parents stand with their child at a precipice where the road seems to have ended-the construction crew is maybe out to lunch or perhaps at a standstill because the plan that is necessary does not yet exist. The parent of the child with medical challenges, academic struggles, risk-seeking behaviors; all those circumstances that fall outside the box, can feel isolated. It is at these times that parenting becomes lonely territory...that sensation of being alone in a crowded room. The parent stands grieving the loss of the path that seemed to be easily visible just moments before. Perhaps there is a detour or ancillary routes that must be traversed. These parents embark with their children along a path that at once is unfamiliar, frightening, and foreboding. Together step by step with their child, they do what they can to find their way back to the road that leads to their child's full potential.
And so as I wrap up this week of conferences I am here to tell you that as parents, we need never to travel alone! For every path, there is someone who has been somewhere similar. Right now there are others on the road with you, you need only reach out to find them. Our children are unique for a reason...the world needs them just as they are! When we find other parents, teachers, mentors who can walk with us in the darkness, together we can find the way back toward our child's path to their full potential. I know I am here to offer help, as are many of my colleagues...no one goes alone!
