Make the Most of Parent-Teacher Conferences

Suzy, get over yourself. You are that parent that most teachers can't stand because you allow your child to use their special education modifications as a crutch rather than a means of getting back on grade level. It's understandable that you want the focus of every teacher that teaches your child to focus mainly on your child and his or her needs. Most parents feel that way, but most parents are also cogisant of the fact that a teacher will have upwards of 120-160 students in a given year. The majority of those kids also have IEPs. Some have BIPs, some have 504s. Am I moving too fast for you? Try planning a lesson that fulfills the needs of all 30 kids in your classroom that satisfies the visual learner, the auditory learner, and the hands-on learner, etc. Imagine a waiting room in a doctor's office. There are 30 patients each with a different need. A doctor has the luxury of treating each of these needs one at a time. I only have 50 minutes to assess ad meet the needs of those 30 "patients." Not to mention that you must also take in to account the curriculm needs that the state puts forth. Each child in my classroom is expected to pass the state standardized test with a commended performance. I will admit right now that that will not happen. I have to teach these students to master the TEKS, as well as the TAKS standards. I have to take into account TELPAS guidelines in order to meet the needs of my students that do not speak English as their primary language. When a student fails I am always asked what are you doingin the classroom that is causing this student to fail. It is always what I am doing and not what is going on with the student. I have been called every name in the book. I have been insulted, I have been stolen from, I have been beaten down physically when trying to break up a fight, I have even broken a bone in school after a disgruntled student decided to slamm a door in my face. And then the parents of that child had the gaul to ask me why I was pressing charges because I knew that this child was emotionally disturbed. I arrive at school an hour before the first bell rings and leave 2-3 hours after the last bell rings. I am a sponsor of several clubs that require additional time without supplemental pay. I am always in my classroom for any student that needs help with anything be it school related or personal. And on top of that I grade all of their work and enter it into my gradebook. That 5 pages of homework that I send home ever night comes back to bite me on the butt 143 times. Once for every student that I have on my roster.

So take some time to think about that Suzy. How much of a salary would ask for in order to deal with this on a daily basis? I do all this and more for the cool sum of $34,500 a year. There are checkers at Wal-Mart and Costco that make more money than I do.

The sooner you realize that most teachers are not in it for the money the better off you will be when navigated the educational system with your child.

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