The teacher versus the parent

For those of you whom I have not talked to outside of this blog since the end of August, let me start off this post by saying that third grade is difficult. I am only half joking when I say I want to start a support group.

I kind of want to end the post here, because if I say everything I want to, this post could rival most of my other ramblings. But you know I won't.
 
The problem is the teacher in me wants and expects my child to do well and understand most everything. The teacher in me thinks that my kid should listen to every word her teacher says and remember them all. Well, at least the words that involve when assignments are due, which books are needed, and what is being covered on tests.

But the parent in me realizes that my kid is only eight, and she has had little preparation for the rigors of third grade.

When you have three different Simple Solutions books, all white, is it so unrealistic to expect you might accidentally bring the math one home instead of the English?

When you have five pages of science, a math workbook page, and an English Simple Solutions page due the next day, doesn't it stand to reason you might get tired and make mistakes?

When you have a test in health, science, English, and spelling in one day, can you really expect to do well in all of them?

Of course, I want my child to do well and make as many A's as she can. Fortunately, she wants the same thing. But the reality is that she has seven different teachers this year and at least 11 different books among the various hardback books, workbooks, and simple solutions books. That is a lot any way you look at it, and I am not sure the teachers are as understanding of this as they could be.

So I debate about when to send an email about a concern. I don't want to be that parent. But having the best interest of my child at heart, I feel I must speak up when Jordan has spent three hours on homework and test studying in one evening. I have twice questioned when assignments are due. When your child's teacher does not have a website, you cannot confirm that she wrote down the correct thing. I don't consider it bugging the teacher, but some teachers feel otherwise. Sigh.

I encourage my shy child to speak up when she is confused, whether about a concept or when something is due. But, for whatever reason, she is afraid to. Sigh.

The good news is that things are improving. Jordan is getting better about paying attention to when something is due and which books she needs to bring home. She finally seems to get that it is not enough to write down in her planner that she has a test in English. She actually needs to bring the English book home! But, to be perfectly frank, I have lowered my expectations, mostly because if I did not, I think the entire family would need to be in therapy.

In my last job, when things got hectic, some of us would say, "It is only office furniture." Now, I find myself saying, "It is only third grade."

Sure, I may be rocking back and forth while uttering that, but it is a start!