I know it is months away, but I am already planning and making lists for our upcoming move to Kosovo. Tuesday night I woke up at 4:30 in the morning because I was thinking about things that I wanted to pack. My head was a jumble of things, "I should remember my spices, and maybe a few pieces of tupperware?" I had purchased a guide book about a week before and it just happened to arrive in the mail on Tuesday. I was so caught up reading it and filling my brain with ideas that I couldn't seem to shut my brain off. "Since they do not have applicator tampons, I might want to pack a few boxes. It gets cold there too, maybe an extra blanket? Or we could always buy that there." I have no idea what I am going to do with all my shoes. Maybe we will just have to come home for Christmas so that I can bring some more belongings with me when I return. Luckily Wednesday was a snow day so I was able to sleep in a bit and when I finally got up I made a list for all the things that were jumbled in my head. I really don't need to be thinking about packing at this point in time.

It has been a long week. I arrived to work on Monday morning to read a nasty email from a parent. She was not happy with her son's report card grade. He had completed an assignment and then attached it to his notebook. I can respect that, but he never did turn the assignment in to me. I did not know that it was completed. In addition he is in an honor's class so of course the expectations are that he should be responsible for his work. She did not like my return email and requested a conference with the counselor and the dean. I finally did meet with her on Thursday and it was a rough meeting. She brought a bunch of materials to critique my teaching practices. I do not claim to be a perfect teacher and I admit that I'm not checking the exact percentages that I have divided up for homework, classwork, and tests. I don't always remind every student when they have a missing assignment in my gradebook. The truth is, I am too busy thinking about what I am going to be teaching the next class and how I am going to help my students pass their SOL tests at the end of the year. I am busy trying to find a way to help my student who does not qualify for special education services because she is performing at her IQ level which is around 70 (borderline mental retardation). In fact, I have another child that has just experienced four deaths in his family and I am worried about his metal health. Forgive me if I did not mention to this mother that her son has improved his grade from interim time from an F to a D+ and by the way he only has one more assignment to turn in. I have one hundred students to think about. Of course I want him to do well, but it does not feel real promising when he does not complete the homework to begin with. Sometimes my priority is to help the child that did do their homework and still struggles. Or the child that has parents working two jobs, that speak Spanish and their parents cannot help them study.

I wrote her notes and emails and yet my communication with her was not enough. It is really draining on me when a person chooses to personally attack my teaching practices. Maybe her son needs to focus more in class and take his time on tests. That might also make a difference...What really sucks about it all is that I know she is going to be there nonstop until the end of the year. I appreciate her concern and I realize that she is trying to help him feel successful. She thinks that he has low self-confidence. Well, praise him when he gets his homework in and after studying for a test and he gets a B (my honor's tests are tough and usually it is apparent to see who is really an honor student or not). Truth is, he is a good kid and I really do want him to be successful. I would like to see him improve and take the class seriously. Mostly I would just like some respect from the mom, because I am trying my very best to make each student their best. I have tried very hard to pull kids out of the babying phase of elementary school to the more analytical stage of middle school. That is sort of a team goal that we have in 6th grade.

The meeting was really deflating and I was ready to go home after that. It was hard to put myself into a good mood for Valentine's day with my boyfriend. Thankfully he made the night really special and very memorable. I am ready for the school year to end because I don't want to read anymore emails from this parent and also because I am excited. I am excited to see more of Europe and make a change in my life. I am excited to go with Boulderin' Boyfriend who has become the love of my life. I really look forward to growing with him and being with him everyday in our future apartment. So although it was a long week where I have much to vent about at least I can say that I have something very wonderful to look forward to!