Practically Positive in Every Way

     At parent-teacher conferences, the parents who show up are super-supportive of what we do in the classroom. 
     Case #1:  As I left the building to grab lunch before conferences there was a sign across the street from the staff parking lot with the phrase " <3 teachers the way they <3 your children" -- one of the WEAC sponsored signs from the protests in the state capitol and around the state.  I know who lives in that house (it's a small town), and she's not a teacher, she's a nurse (but isn't a public worker), and I have taught all three of her children. 
     When she came in to discuss her daughter's progress with me (her kid is an excellent student and human being -- like her mom), I asked her about the sign and thanked her for putting it up.  She said she'd been to Madison, carried that sign around with her all day, and when she returned she stuck it in the snow bank because she knew that the teachers from our school would see it when they left that night. 
     After the emotional roller coaster of the last three weeks, I nearly teared up.  She went on to say that she was so impressed with the education that her kids had gotten at our school, that she wanted to let us know how she felt and so she put up the sign. 
     Case # 2: A parent, and my son's cub-scout leader came to see me during conferences (I don’t have any of his kids in class right now, but have taught two) to assure me that he and other parents were going to make sure the referendum we have on the ballot April 5, would pass. (If the referendum does not pass, my job, or the size of my job is in jeopardy.  I received notice this week.) And, he said, he was going to march in the streets, and knock on doors to get people to vote. 
     Case # 3: A mother of one of my daughter's best friends stood at the entrance to the school, passing out pamphlets to incoming parents about the referendum.  She also was concerned about my situation, and expressed dismay at the state of the state. 
      In the eight-hour marathon of parent teacher conferences (after 4 hours of teaching kids who know they are out at noon...) I found more encouragement from outside my profession than I have had in the last five years of my career.  Thank you.
     Teachers don't ask for or need a lot of outside encouragement.  We are motivated by those "light-bulb" moments we see in our students.  But this week has taught me that although the rhetoric in the country is negative, many will stand up when they see the rhetoric affect the people in their own town. 
      And thank you to Jon Stewart and Ed Schultz this week who testified on the national stage to the incredible difficulty of our profession by honoring their mothers who were teachers.