Thursday, November 8, 2018

Parent/Teacher Conference

I meet with Dr. C last week to talk about one of our favorite people, Miss Olivia.

There were no surprises. Olivia is doing very well in reading and writing. She’s an ace speller. She whispers to all of the teachers and aides.

She’s struggling with math, has some good days and some not-so-good days. She just really doesn’t actually care about math. Anything that doesn’t come easily to her is ‘boring’. I get it. I really do. But girlfriend has to know how to add and subtract. Plotting lines? Not so important but adding two quarters and knowing she has fifty cents? Yes, important.

One pleasant story Dr. C told me is that Olivia plays with one of her classmates at recess. There is a boy who is in second grade (Dr. C teaches kindergarten to sixth grade students who need a little extra help) and no one else will play with this poor baby. The first time he asked Olivia to play with him, she shrugged and then…drum roll…she played with him!!! OMG!! I’m so proud of her. Not only is she interacting with another kid, she’s being the nice kid who is playing with one that no one else will play with.

I do kind of want to know why the hell the other kids are being allowed to ostracize this child. It makes me crazy when that is allowed to happen. But according to Dr. C, both O and her little friend are very happy with the current arrangement. They chase each other around the playground and enjoy each other’s company. I’ll take it.

Dr. C said that Olivia is actually one of her easiest kids to teach. Sure, she’s also one of the most stubborn but she’s almost painfully polite, she never has outbursts, she doesn’t get loud and unruly. If anything, when she’s overwhelmed, she withdraws and gets even quieter.

Dr. C said that she’s told Liv that she, Olivia, is the only kid in the classroom who is allowed to yell at the teachers. Olivia did laugh at that one.

I’m so grateful for teachers who work so hard to find a way to reach my child. Olivia is a tough nut to crack. Somedays I feel like I’m not reaching her and I’ve been in her life forever. New people don’t always get her. She can be frustrating and I know a time or two, some teachers have given up altogether. I understand that. But I’m grateful for the ones who go the extra mile, who try that much harder to find a way in and are helping Olivia find her way out of her own head.

*Are most parents done doing parent/teacher conferences when their kids are in high school? I don’t see any of Alyssa’s teachers. She’s got a 4.0 GPA and she’s involved in all the extracurricular things. She’s good, she’s amazing, she talks to me when things are frustrating her (I’m looking at you, Spanish) so yeah, unless the school reaches out to me, I won’t be scheduling any meetings with her teachers.

1 comment:

Julie said...

Yay for Olivia!! I would love it if she yelled at her teacher. Can you imagine?

Riley's school does a student led conference twice a year with their homeroom teacher. So I don't meet the other teachers there but get a general "here's what she needs to do to graduate" conference. I do meet the other teachers at the beginning of the year.

Julie