You See Him

My son had a rough sixth grade year last year. Not in terms of behavior but just in terms of liking school. I am not sure if it was the curriculum or how it was delivered. At his fall and spring conferences I felt as though the teachers I was talking to didn't know my son. This bothered me, and I wonder if he felt the same way.

My son is in seventh grade now and enjoys school. He likes his teachers and is thriving. Today, I had the opportunity to have a five minute conference with a few of his teachers that I wanted to meet with. Five minutes is not a lot of time, but I get why it has to be that way. So I sat down at the table with Mr. G, his math teacher. For the first 3-4 minutes he only talked about John as a 13 year old. I didn't hear about test scores, strengths or weaknesses he has with math, no data. Just about John. Little things that teachers don't normally notice like how sensitive he is because that is his nature. How math isn't super easy for him but he is good at it because he is hard working and has a good work ethic. And that he likes to joke. Especially with the teacher.

Mr. G then apologized and said, "I am sorry about all that. Let's talk math."

I stopped him right there and said, "Don't be sorry. You see John. You see him for who he is, and as a parent, I appreciate that."

I think parent-teacher conferences need to me more about the child and less data. I see his grades each week. I see how he is doing. I know his strengths and weaknesses in all his subjects. But maybe it is easy for me to recognize because I am a teacher.

Thank you Mr. G for seeing him. Seeing him more than just your math student but the 13 year old that he is.