Hail to the Teachers

Last night, I had parent-teacher interviews at Lucy's school. Lucy had brought home a stellar report card last week and I teased her before leaving, asking if the teacher was going to tell me terrible things about her. She laughed and said, "No! I got 100%!" How does she even know what that is?!

It ended up being an eye-opening experience. Eye-opening in that I realized last night that there are other people in this world who will take the time and energy to get to know my child on a very personal basis, and base their interactions with them solely on what they have observed works best for them. I love Lucy's teacher. I can't say that enough. I love that Lucy is in a small kindergarten class with only 12 other students. They go all day, twice a week, and have so many amazing activities, field-trips and learning experiences. It is far more than I could have ever hoped for.

Her teacher recognizes that Lucy is brilliant (I know I'm her mother, but truly, she is), but that she is also very shy, and a perfectionist. In speaking with her last night, and in also hearing her discussion with the parents who were meeting before me, I realized that she truly has taken the time to get to know the kids and teaches them in ways that work for them. Lucy needs her time to observe and soak things in before she dives in. Once she's figured it out, she performs to levels higher than expected of her age. But she is also very hard on herself if she makes mistakes.

I was in awe sitting there listening to someone else speak about my girl in such distinct, specific and personal ways. She knows her nearly as well as I do...and as a mom, that is the best thing I've ever heard. I love knowing that she goes to school somewhere that someone is so truly invested in her learning and care.

She also gave me some tips on how to handle her 'perfectionist' tendencies so as to not let it become a hang-up. I wish that all kids could have teachers like this. I wish all classrooms could be set up to allow for such one-on-one time. I wish that 'the system' was set up in such a way that put a huge emphasis on early education as they do on post-secondary. And that good teachers were compensated for their hard work.

I am also sad that we will be moving and Max won't get to experience having this awesome teacher as his own. I hope we are able to find just as an amazing teacher where we end up.