Dear Parent-from-Hell,
I have worked with you nearly five years now. You were my mentor, and more importantly, you were my friend. I always enjoyed the time that we had where we were able to talk about school, home, and just be goofy.
When I found out that I’d be having your son in my class this year, I was excited. I didn’t know the little guy very well, but I was eager to become part of his life. I was so unprepared for what I was going to experience over the next one hundred eighty days.
I think back to October, the first time something was triggered, and you and your wife ganged up on me in a way that was so unexpected. You both, as teachers, were so unexpectedly . . . rude. Your thoughts and ideas, while worthwhile because they are yours, were so out of line. Each jab that you both threw at me shocked me more than the one before it. The memory of it still triggers shock and disbelief.
It’s always painful to lose friends; this wouldn’t be the first time that it has happened to me, and I’m sure that it won’t be the last. I’m just so uncomfortable when I am around you because I can only imagine your opinions of me being an inadequate teacher rolling around in your mind. The hardest thing that I have to deal with in teaching is dealing with parents. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that the most difficult parents that I’ve ever had would be not only teachers, but also colleagues of mine.
The uncomfortable feeling doesn’t seem too keen on leaving anytime soon. Each time I correct a test or score an assignment, I wonder Is this the thing that triggers another confrontation? Are these parents going to come into my room and insult me some more? But you know what, Parent-from-Hell? You are not going to bully me into doing things your way. You are not going to influence my decisions in any way. I have high expectations for my students, but that shouldn’t be looked at as a bad thing. You apparently have little expectations for your own students. Which students do you think will benefit most?
I am hoping that the next thirteen days of school will prove to be uneventful in the way of confrontations. I have lost most of the respect for you that I ever had, and I’m sure you’d say the same for me. Fine. It’s just an unfortunate thing that the last year that I’m here has been made the most difficult because of your accusations and your bullying.
You didn’t have as much influence over me as you thought, did you?
I wish you and your family nothing but the best. All in all, you have provided me with an experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life and will have learned from it.
Your son’s teacher,
Maggie
P.S. And if you tell me one more time that I give too much homework, I’m going to explode. If your son is taking more than an hour to do one short spelling assignment and one short math assignment with your help, then I would look into getting your son tested for ADD. Just one professional to another.
This has been a collaboration for Dear X - April 2002
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