Click HERE to read the CNN article.
And because I can't just post a link for an article and let that be it, I had to add in my two cents also about why I loved this article so.
During any given school year, I have 75 or more people (this is both students and parents) that I have to keep happy. That's a lot of responsibility. It's a big job. And I do it because I love it. And the majority of all of the parents that I have had the privilege of getting to know during the past six years have supported me, respected me, and some have even befriended me. My life has truly been changed for the better because of many of the families that I have gotten to know through teaching their child(ren).
However. [Cue the dramatic Lifetime movie music when an evil, psychotic villain enters the scene.] Sometimes you have that one person that enters your life and runs a muck. One negative person that can be heard over all of the other positive voices. One negative person that you let affect your thoughts and take up your head space. I've dealt with this one person. Some of you can probably relate. I sure hope not, but because it's life, some of you know all too well what I'm talking about.
I am purposely going to be vague about the situation, the school year, and the person involved because, well, I don't want for this person to come after me. Kidding. Just have to be conscious about what I post. You all get that.
Let's rewind to the past. During this particular school year, I had a class that I loved to pieces. I had some fabulous families that were so good to me. I formed friendships with some of the mothers of my students and still keep in contact with them.
But there's that 'however', remember? I had one parent that wore. me. out. I felt like I could do nothing right in the eyes of this parent. I would receive handwritten notes that were 2+ pages long. I received lengthy emails. Phone calls. If she had a messenger dove, I would have received hate mail that way too. This parent did nothing short of verbally abuse me all school year long. I know the term bully is thrown around loosely nowadays, but this person was truly a bully.
It was one thing after another. And to be honest, her complaints were usually about nothing at all. They made no point. They had no particular rhyme or reason. She just used me as her target. She attacked me to make up for her shortcomings as a parent. For every single thing that she did or didn't do for her child, she some how threw it back on me and made it someone else's (my) fault. This parent was the complete opposite of a proactive adult.
I tried to be strong. I tried to roll her words off my back. I couldn't. This person made me cry. Many times. She made me worry. She made me physically ill. She was a huge source of stress in my life.
Sadly, this person took away a little piece of me. She took some of my self-confidence. Made me doubt myself. I have NEVER had anyone treat me as horribly as this person did. And sadly, she still to this day has no idea how much she affected my life. How much she drained me. How much she caused me to worry and stress over her and the things that she said or did.
Luckily, she's out of my direct life now. She's moved on to another teacher--another target. She's still writing notes. Still attacking with her words. And I hate that she feels that she has the power and the right to speak to any other person the way that she spoke and treated me. It's not right. It should not be allowed.
All of that was to say that the article that I linked above was powerful and meaningful for me. It spoke to me and slightly fired me up a little bit. My favorite part of the article was this:
"We know you love your children. We love them, too. We just ask -- and beg of you -- to trust us, support us and work with the system, not against it. We need you to have our backs, and we need you to give us the respect we deserve. Lift us up and make us feel appreciated, and we will work even harder to give your child the best education possible.
That's a teacher's promise, from me to you."
And all the teachers said, "AMEN!".
