Dear teacher,
I see your number light up my phone and my breath catches.
I remind myself it is completely possible for you to be calling for a positive reason, but lately, that has not been the case.
I take a deep breath and answer the call in the most cheerful voice I can muster.
As you describe the latest problem in your classroom, my eyes fill with tears. At that moment, I feel like a failure. I feel like I have failed my son, and I feel like I have failed you.
As I brush away the tears and steady my voice, a million thoughts race through my mind.
I wish I could express to you how hard I am trying.
I wish you knew the amount of pressure I place on myself as my child’s first and biggest influence.
I wish you knew about the parenting books stacked high on my nightstand, the appointments that have filled our family calendar, and the resources I have searched for over the years to try and give my child what he needs to succeed.
I wish you knew all of these things.
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But even more than that, I want you to know I am on your team.
I wish I could snap my fingers and change the behaviors that are making your job as a teacher more difficult because you already have enough on your plate. I can only imagine the pressure you feel, walking into your classroom each day with test scores, demanding parents, and squeezed school budgets weighing heavily on your shoulders.
I believe your job is one of the hardest ones out there.
So thank you.
Thank you for giving it your all.
Thank you for caring enough about my child to want what is best for him, too. As hard as it is to receive these phone calls home, I’m so thankful you are willing to make them. I imagine picking up the phone is not so easy for you, either.
I know you genuinely want my child to succeed and thrive in your classroom.
So, please, keep calling me.
I will always answer.
Sincerely,
A grateful mama