The Good, the Bad & the Chamomile Tea

Parents.

They can make or break a large part of a child's educational career. I'm sure most teacher-friends of mine will laugh at me and say "Duh, you just figured that out?". Others of you are, I'm sure, laughing, too, at that blatantly obvious statement.

It's not that I'm just realizing the truth of that statement; it's more so that I'm seeing it more first-hand as a 'responsible faculty member' than I did as an innocent volunteer and bystander.

I had the opportunity today to see just how valuable parents can be when they are involved in their children's school activities - yet, still recognize that their children make their own choices and expect them to behave and to receive consequences when the child chooses not to behave. Those parents are the volunteers we love to see, and the ones we praise the Lord that we have, understanding that kids are still kids and will misbehave and be cruel to one another - sometimes as the receiver of the cruelty and sometimes as the instigator.

Then there are those whose child "is never at fault." (Were I speaking, those would be air quotes.) The kids who instigate, but run and tattle as soon as things don't go as planned. Or the ones who are repeatedly picked on, as unfortunately happens in adolescence. However, the parent seeks to solve the problem by creating more problems - thus giving their child a reputation because of their parents' undesirable behavior. Sometimes the kids are even picked on BECAUSE of the parent! Then a "responsible faculty member" must get involved in a heated debate of how discipline is to be handled at a school-sponsored function.

In one day, I have experienced both extremes of the spectrum - the irate parent and the highly-rated parent. I have been blessed to know the supportive parents of my students and been cursed because school discipline isn't enough when "my child is picked on."

That's where the chamomile tea comes in...