Be Kind to Yourself

In this crazy season of education called THE END OF THE YEAR, finding time to be kind to yourself is tough.  I had the privilege of attending a dance recital yesterday of a former student.  At intersession, another student surprised me and came over to say hello!  Both girls are 5th graders now!!!  I went over to hug her mom and she stepped back and said "You set me up!"  I paused and said "How?"  She went on to say "I thought all teachers were supposed to be like you!" CUE THE VIOLINS! AWWWWW...I was blown away.  I have thought about that comment all night and am so energized by what she said.

We often focus on the negative parents - the ones who don't follow directions, return signed papers, help out in the class or bicker and find fault in ALL you do.  I have been stuck on this parent who didn't show up for her conference, didn't call or email me to say "I can't make it" or "I'm sorry" and when she received the note and conference report that said sorry you missed your time, she went to my principal and said I was refusing to reschedule a face to face conference with her and she REFUSED to speak with me on the phone about her son's education.  Last night's comment from my former parent melted all of that away.  That's what I should focus on - I'm an awesome teacher!

So, find time to be kind to yourself - pull out those sweet letters and drawings the students wrote you and read each of them.  Dwell on how amazing you are and forget about that 1% of parents who will never be satisfied.