On the second day of my first year of teaching\u2014young, fresh-faced, and 21 years old\u2014I found myself thrown into the deep end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
An ambiguous email from the guidance counselor popped into my inbox, simply telling me to call a student’s mother. Without much context, I asked for clarity from the principal. I don’t remember his exact wishes, but I essentially had to “sell” my worth as a teacher to this parent, assuring them I wasn’t as “tough” as their daughter might have perceived on the first day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For 20 minutes of a planning period I could have definitely used, I tried to convince a parent and student that I was the right fit to be their math teacher. I hung up and thought, “Man, is this the norm?” I had heard “the parent is always right” horror stories in college, but I didn’t expect to discover it for myself this<\/em> soon into the school year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I wish I could say that was the last time I had to establish my value with a parent. How did we get to the point where parents hold all the power and we just rush around to placate them? This Reddit post<\/a> posed the same question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n