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Yes, gone are the days when the child's perspective was just that. Now, many believe it's the whole truth. I had a student change an answer on a test, and fortunately I made a copy of her test before I returned it to her. If I didn't have that copy, I wouldn't have had a leg to stand on. Sure, I make mistakes, but this wasn't the type of answer I would have made a mistake on. When she insisted the correct answer was there all along, she would have been believed, no matter what I said.

Don't change a thing, iluvsummer...if I had kids, I'd be thankful for a teacher like you who is appropriately stern and doesn't put up with the infinite poor behaviors kids will pull. The problem, of course, is that these behaviors are tolerated a) at home and b) in other (weak) teachers' classrooms.

Kids will try to pull any excuse (and most always blame the teacher) for not going to class. No wonder the girls felt uncomfortable when so many parents simply gloss over disgustingly crass behavior with a paltry time-out.

And I never thought of this, but you made an excellent point:


People in our society complain and whine too much. I'm so sick of when out of the mouths of babes comes, "_______ makes me uncomfortable..." and hordes of counselors come rushing to them, saying, "There, there little one..." Bullcrap. Unfortunately, school is the only place some kids will ever learn things like how to socially adapt; life isn't always fair and no one promised you a rose garden; pull up your big-girl panties; and life isn't all about you.

Don't back down.

Yikes! I'm about to start graduate school (teacher certification) and I hadn't even thought about having to deal with parents once I'm a teacher!

My old boss (the evil one with the three delinquents) used to bail her children out all the time. They had some special education plan, so if they were "having a tough time at school that day", they could just leave. If they got caught at school with drugs, she'd figure out a way to blame it on other kids or at least alleviate the punishment for hers. You wouldn't believe the lengths this woman went to. She even would do school projects for her youngest and had angry conferences with his teacher all the time. She made all sorts of excuses for them. I just could never figure out why - it was obvious that they knew they'd get away with just about anything because their mom would save the day. No wonder they just continued the bad behavior. I can't wait to see what kind of adults they'll make with this type of example.

Ack. God save us from helicopter parents.

When you have hundreds of kids in a school, there have to be rules and strictures or the whole thing will dissolve into anarchy. Every kid in the school is in the same boat, and the admin is in charge of running the boat. Not the kids, and not the parents.

These parents need to learn that their kids are not special, and the kids need to learn that life is not some sanitised soap opera, and eventually is going to bite them in the a$$. The sooner they learn to deal, the better off they'll be.

These parents should be giving you their absolute support, not undermining you. My hat is off to you. I couldn't teach - I'd take out a gun and go postal the first day. Hang in there :-)

You guys are great! My spirits are starting to lift, although the past two days in my classroom I've felt a little "off" - basically second guessing myself and trying not to offend any nine year olds! But I haven't backed down and become a mushy teacher ruled by her students, either! (Then I'd really go insane.)

Thank you so much for your words of encouragement, understanding, and support.

Trish, in my teaching experience I've found that the kids usually aren't the problem; it's parents and administrators who are the most difficult. (Some parents are wonderfully supportive and realistic about their kids, but the numbers who aren't seem to be growing.) I really enjoyed graduate school - I hope you enjoy your program!