Thursday, March 23, 2006

The working blues...

A co-worker told me today that I am a mother/teacher to my kids... and at first I didn't believe her but she went on to tell me that most of the kids I have leave between 5:30 and 6 o'clock and got to bed between 7:30 and 8 at night. So the 3 and a half to four hours that I spend with them is more than their parents. I've found in talking to some parents I care more about their children than they do... and I notice things about them that their parents don't... like Billy's been quite all day and doesn't want to do the things he normally loves to do. The thing that got me the most was a few weeks ago when I was holding a sick child and when her mom came in to get her, she wanted to stay with me. It broke my heart to see her crying and reaching out to me when her mom was walking out of the room. When did teachers become parents? Children are smarter than we think and they notice the little things... they can tell when I have had a bad day or when I'm happy... normally before my co-teacher picks up on it. They remember things... like my favorite singer is Ryan Horne when I've only brought it up once in an off-handed kind of way. I love all my kids... but some of them need parents... real parents that set rules. Most of the kids in my room are only children that get what they want when they want it. The person that is teaching them manners and right from wrong is me... the person that listens to them and plays with them is me... the person that shows they care about them and their problems is me... the person that reads and talks to them on their leave is me. This hit me very hard today... it broke my heart and as I type this I am close to tears because every child in my class deserves parents... and not just a teacher/mother like me. I feel so blessed to have a mom like mine and I wish that every child in my class had one. I don't say this to say all of the parents are like this because there are some amazing parents in my class. It's just that small number of parents that need to take lessons in raising a child that get me.

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