Conferences

Last week we had our first parent-teacher conferences of the new school year.  Juliana's teacher raved about her, which surprised exactly no one.  She is the type of child who is a perfect match for public school: smart, enthusiastic, a hard worker, and fun to have around. She is excelling in every area, despite her small tendency towards math anxiety.  Her glowing conferences  are remarkably different from our experiences with David at this age.  While his teachers always commented on how much they enjoyed having him in class, we were treated to a list of things with which he struggled.  Like his abysmal handwriting. (Which he gets directly from me.  Sorry, kid!)  And the fact that he couldn't do timed math tests. 

For the first four years of school, David was distinctly in the middle of the pack for everything.  It wasn't until 4th grade that he came into his own.  That was when his high scores and class performance led his teacher to recommend him for the gifted program, which he successfully tested into (into which he successfully tested?).  He had a strong academic year and became a class leader.  The icing on the cake came last May when he scored a spot on the competitive soccer squad.  His teacher for the past two years was a lovely older woman with extensive teaching experience.  She was a great mixture of strictness and warmth which helped David rise to the expectations she had for him.

Cut to this year.  His teacher is a young woman, newly married, with a baby at home.  She coaches volleyball at the high school and is as enthusiastic as the day is long.  She clearly enjoys the 5th and 6th graders and she is funny and encouraging and David adores her.   Our conference started with her telling us that "David is an absolute joy."  I am not exaggerating when I say that EVERY teacher he has ever had has used those exact words to describe him.  She talked about how he is smart and confident and participates in class.  She observed that he really seems to be keeping on top of his work and managing his responsibilities.  I was thrilled to hear all this, no doubt.  But nothing compared to the warmth I felt in my soul when she remarked on his great sense of humor and his ability to understand sarcasm.  She said sometimes she'll throw a comment out there and only to be met with dead silence from the class.....

....and then she'll hear David giggling in the corner.