THAT Mom...

You know who I'm talking about.  Whether you're an educator or a parent, you know *those* parents that you watch & think silently that you'll NEVER become like her/him.  My first full year of teaching in my own classroom was a private Pre-K/Kindergarten in Ann Arbor, MI.  The parents of the children in my class were well-to-do, let's just say.  We had parents who did everything for their children and they were 5/6 years old.  I had a child who couldn't put his own coat on, much less zip it.  I was newly married, but not yet a parent.  I made a mental note to enable my children to develop their independence early in their life--age appropriately, of course.  I didn't want to be THAT Mom that the teachers couldn't believe did EVERYTHING for her child.

My next job was teaching 3rd grade in Highland Park, MI.  Ahhh, memories of those days came flooding back when I ran across pictures I took of the classroom conditions just the other day.  This experience exposed me to the other end of the parent-I-don't-want-to-be spectrum.  At the end of the year, there were parents you didn't want to have to deal with next year--you know, because she was THAT mom.  In 'Da Park, the moms you don't want their child in your classroom are those who the teacher last year had to get a restraining order against.  Note to self--don't get so worked up over child that law enforcement is involved.

Then I came to Maryland.  I taught here for a short time before I came home full time.  And now both girls attend the elementary school where I was once employed.  I know many of the faces still & remain friends with a handful of the teachers from their school.  I am very restrained now that I am on the other side of the fence.  I know, firsthand, how teachers are many times the first to be blamed for behavior & even grades.  Fortunately my girls are well behaved (in public) and are doing very well with their school work (both girls brought home all As & Os---1st grade gives Outstanding, which is equivalent to an A--just yesterday.)  But I know teachers aren't paid nearly enough for the work they put into teaching our children, the extra committees they are required to sit in on OR for the often-times bullsh*t parents throw in their faces.  Many times the teachers are parents too & can be forced to leave their child & love of their life home when the child is sick while they drag their concerned butt to school to teach OUR children.  It's an interesting place, being on the other side of the fence.  I work really hard at not being THAT Mom.

But here's the thing.  Sometimes you just gotta be.  Sometimes the Momma Bear comes out & you have to stand up for your kid.  In a most recent incident, the situation didn't even involve a teacher, but rather a parent volunteer.  I know, however, that my name will be thrown around as THAT Mom who threw a hissy about her kid over a PTA contest.  I'm cool with that.  Because the fact is, in the end, I was right & the volunteer wronged my baby bear.

Yes--to my teacher friends reading this now--tomorrow I will be THAT Mom who is making the homemade coffee cakes for your teacher appreciation breakfast.  And if I walk into the school to deliver them & receive some stares about this recent chain of events, I will smile proudly back.  I guess you get the reputation you create for yourself, but if this means I'll now be THAT Mom at the girls' school, I say BRING IT!