My alarm clock, i.e. my cat (my electric alarm clock is only a backup for when the cat can't wake me for her breakfast), starts my day. The important things first: feed the cat! Then I continue through my morning ritual: start the coffee, start the oatmeal, take the meds, eat the oatmeal, drink the coffee, shower, and dress. Only trouble today was the fact that I forgot not to get my hair wet since it's my off-day for washing my hair. Not a good way to start the day.
Since I must wait for my son, a.k.a. my carpool, I get on the internet to check out what is happening with my high school friends, college friends, and my extended family. After which, I cringe and get on my school's email site. It's not too bad this morning, but there have been mornings that started out with a parent's tirade. I hate that, but, being a parent myself, I understand it, too. Now, all I have to do is get to the school to continue the day of a teacher.
Showing posts with label parents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parents. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Monday, August 1, 2011
Thanks, Dad.
This is a story of something I learned from my father that still has value.
When I was in college, my husband John and I owned a Hoover apartment washing machine and dryer set. The washer had 2 main parts: the washing section with the side rotator for agitating the clothes, and the smaller bucket that rinsed and spun out the water from the clothes. The user did have to stand by the washer while it worked, but it was better than taking the clothes to a laundry since we had no car for 2 years.
At some point, the turn-switch for the washing side no longer moved. We had to time the wash cycle which was a hassle. I determined that since it was a mechanical tool, there had to be a logical fix to it. Hence, I took the washer apart by removing its back and looked at everything there was to see. I could not see anything that looked broken, so I called my father and explained my dilemma. He said that it sounded like the timer needed oil and told me how to do that. In the meantime, John who had been at work returned home to see the washer in pieces. They were big pieces, but they were still pieces to his eye. He was shocked and asked me what happened. I told him that I was determined to fix the problem and put it back together. He went to take a nap with serious doubts about my ability to put together that which I tore apart. Following my dad's instructions, I oiled the timer, tested it to discover that it now worked, and returned the washer to its complete state, i.e. I undid what I had done. John awoke to no more problem and was very pleased and relieved.
It has been more than 30 years since that experience and 14 years since my father's death. We now have a portable dishwasher that the turn-switch suddenly quit working on the drying cycle. John woke me up at night to lament that it was broken, and in the back of my mind was the thought that the timer might need oiled. He said that he turned it off and would try it out with a new load just in case it was a glitch in the system. Okay. Back to sleep. When he tried it out 2 days later (we rarely have a full load in 1 day), it turned on but did not move. With the memory of my father's help so many years ago, I pulled out the turn-switch knob and oiled the timer. It has worked well since then. Thanks, Dad.
When I was in college, my husband John and I owned a Hoover apartment washing machine and dryer set. The washer had 2 main parts: the washing section with the side rotator for agitating the clothes, and the smaller bucket that rinsed and spun out the water from the clothes. The user did have to stand by the washer while it worked, but it was better than taking the clothes to a laundry since we had no car for 2 years.
At some point, the turn-switch for the washing side no longer moved. We had to time the wash cycle which was a hassle. I determined that since it was a mechanical tool, there had to be a logical fix to it. Hence, I took the washer apart by removing its back and looked at everything there was to see. I could not see anything that looked broken, so I called my father and explained my dilemma. He said that it sounded like the timer needed oil and told me how to do that. In the meantime, John who had been at work returned home to see the washer in pieces. They were big pieces, but they were still pieces to his eye. He was shocked and asked me what happened. I told him that I was determined to fix the problem and put it back together. He went to take a nap with serious doubts about my ability to put together that which I tore apart. Following my dad's instructions, I oiled the timer, tested it to discover that it now worked, and returned the washer to its complete state, i.e. I undid what I had done. John awoke to no more problem and was very pleased and relieved.
It has been more than 30 years since that experience and 14 years since my father's death. We now have a portable dishwasher that the turn-switch suddenly quit working on the drying cycle. John woke me up at night to lament that it was broken, and in the back of my mind was the thought that the timer might need oiled. He said that he turned it off and would try it out with a new load just in case it was a glitch in the system. Okay. Back to sleep. When he tried it out 2 days later (we rarely have a full load in 1 day), it turned on but did not move. With the memory of my father's help so many years ago, I pulled out the turn-switch knob and oiled the timer. It has worked well since then. Thanks, Dad.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Of parents and teachers in high school
There is a major difference between the parents of students in "poor" public high schools and the parents of students in "well-to-do" public high schools and non-public schools. The difference is the accessibility of the parents to the teachers and the willingness on the part of the parents to show up at school functions in order to talk with their children's teachers.
When I taught in public high schools, I always seemed to be teaching in poor schools, the type considered to be schools of failure -- and with 4th year freshmen, i.e. 18-year-olds, some of them had really earned that title. I learned early on that the students who believed that their parents would never hear of their misbehaviors were the worst behaved in classes. We would have open houses for the parents, and I would be lucky to see one parent even though I taught mostly freshmen and sophomores. I did learn to call parents between 10 a.m. and noon on Saturdays because that was when parents were more likely to answer their phones rather than letting their children do so. I did have a few interesting situations because of this. The first one was when the mother said to me, "Well, what do you expect me to do about it? She treats me the same way!" At least, I tried in that case and had documentation of it. Another time I heard the mother turn around to her daughter and use the worst language in screaming at her daughter for making her receive a phone call from a teacher on a Saturday morning. In that case, I spoke to the girl privately later when we met between classes. I try to make it a rule never to say that what a parent does is wrong, but I kind of broke that rule then. I told the girl that most parents don't use profanity when talking with their children. The girl and I agreed from then on to work things out between us because I was never going to call that mother again.
Where I teach now, the parents are an integral and important part of the school community. Many of them volunteer to work in the office and other places. They seek out their children's teachers in order to speak with them. There are, of course, some "missing" parents, but they are the very small exception to the rule. Usually when I try to contact my students' parents, I have very little trouble finding them. Our open houses are full, both the ones for parents of current students and the ones for parents of potential students. I would say that the cost of a non-public education is the main reason for this, but my acquaintances who teach in well-to-do public schools see the same types of relationships, so out-of-pocket cost is not the only reason. There are parents who are vested in their children's education and those who are not. Now, if we could only get the unvested ones to be vested. Hmmm.
I close with a story told me by another teacher. The way that legislators look at public education and teachers is much like the idea of making dentists responsible for the state of their patients' teeth without taking into account how the different patients take care of their own teeth when not in the dentists' offices. Educating young people takes responsibility of all people involved in their lives, all the way from birth until high school graduation. In our society, that's very hard to do sometimes.
When I taught in public high schools, I always seemed to be teaching in poor schools, the type considered to be schools of failure -- and with 4th year freshmen, i.e. 18-year-olds, some of them had really earned that title. I learned early on that the students who believed that their parents would never hear of their misbehaviors were the worst behaved in classes. We would have open houses for the parents, and I would be lucky to see one parent even though I taught mostly freshmen and sophomores. I did learn to call parents between 10 a.m. and noon on Saturdays because that was when parents were more likely to answer their phones rather than letting their children do so. I did have a few interesting situations because of this. The first one was when the mother said to me, "Well, what do you expect me to do about it? She treats me the same way!" At least, I tried in that case and had documentation of it. Another time I heard the mother turn around to her daughter and use the worst language in screaming at her daughter for making her receive a phone call from a teacher on a Saturday morning. In that case, I spoke to the girl privately later when we met between classes. I try to make it a rule never to say that what a parent does is wrong, but I kind of broke that rule then. I told the girl that most parents don't use profanity when talking with their children. The girl and I agreed from then on to work things out between us because I was never going to call that mother again.
Where I teach now, the parents are an integral and important part of the school community. Many of them volunteer to work in the office and other places. They seek out their children's teachers in order to speak with them. There are, of course, some "missing" parents, but they are the very small exception to the rule. Usually when I try to contact my students' parents, I have very little trouble finding them. Our open houses are full, both the ones for parents of current students and the ones for parents of potential students. I would say that the cost of a non-public education is the main reason for this, but my acquaintances who teach in well-to-do public schools see the same types of relationships, so out-of-pocket cost is not the only reason. There are parents who are vested in their children's education and those who are not. Now, if we could only get the unvested ones to be vested. Hmmm.
I close with a story told me by another teacher. The way that legislators look at public education and teachers is much like the idea of making dentists responsible for the state of their patients' teeth without taking into account how the different patients take care of their own teeth when not in the dentists' offices. Educating young people takes responsibility of all people involved in their lives, all the way from birth until high school graduation. In our society, that's very hard to do sometimes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
