...most days. This school is probably the most incredible school ever! The kids are pretty good - I ususally only have to ask them once to do something, and it is done. The parents are normally pretty decent. They liked to be involved in their kids education and extracurricular activities. Sometimes, I even get emails or cards thanking me for what I have done for their kids!! :-) Most of the time I receive these from my swimmers parents. I REALLY APPRECIATE these. As most of you know, I put my heart and soul into swimming. It is my passion - coaching these kids. I just love it! So, when a parent notices that - well, it just makes me proud. :-)
Here is an example of an email I received yesterday:
I did not get to come to the last swim meet so I didn't get a chance to thank you for all the hard work you put in to make the team so successful.
Alexander has never been able to excel in any sport due to his back problems. I have seen him so hurt that he could not apply himself well enough to do well in the sport he was trying out for. With your encouragement and praise he has been so very
confident and happy with his swimming. He has even signed up for swimming at
the Germantown Centre and is on a swim team there. I know all this has come
from your love for the sport and your love for the kids. May God bless you
always for sharing your special gift of encouragement to so many kids and
especially for Alexander.
Thank you again for being in this life at the right time and giving him the encouragement he needed at this time in his life. When he looks back in life I am sure he will remember you as an important mentor for his life.
Ok, so a little "stroking my ego" can't hurt too much.... :-)
Then there are the parents who seem to come out of nowhere to "bring me back to earth". "Nikki" is one of those kids who just can't seem to "get it together". I have helped her try to get organized to remember her "stuff" for PE and Health. She was always forgetting her book or her PE clothes... We seemed to have 'turned the corner' and then I got this from her father:
This is what I would have conveyed to you had you returned my phone call:
Nikki reports that her clothes are taken from where she leaves them and are scattered about in different lockers on a regular basis.
One of these times her sweatshirt was taken from her locker and was not recovered.
Now her shorts have similarly disappeared.
She also says that you gave her permission to leave her book in a special place to facilitate her getting it to class on time, from where it was later stolen. It was not "misplaced".
Having her harassed in this way is bullying.
Students committing bullying have had criminal proceedings brought against them in modern times as we realize that this kind of behavior is not "normal" and is not "acceptable."
It is my understanding that you were aware of all of these events. You say you were not aware of all of them.
You should now consider yourself aware.
You should make corrective measures to assure that this does not continue.
You should demand that these stolen items reappear or that the students who took them come forward and then deal with them appropriately.
I will continue to monitor the situation and if Nikki continues to feel threatened by other students acting as bullies while you remain passive/oblivious/enabling, I will not take this lightly and we will indeed meet with you and the dean. I consider this a very serious matter in the post-Columbine era and hope you do too.
I hope this is the end of the matter.
So, two different perspectives on what kind of person I am.
Am I a great coach who encourages kids?
Or, am I an oblivious/passive/enabling teacher who doesn't care about my students?
hmmmm....
