When I went to kindergarten orientation for my oldest child, the teacher said she would not believe everything our children had to say about us. She requested that, in return, we wouldn’t believe everything our children said about her. But if anything seemed unprofessional, we should call to talk to her rather than gossip with other parents.
My son, Michael, was a teacher at Naperville North High School. One semester he was teaching two classes of AP History. Some friends had signed up for AP History and were divided between the two classes. The students would often ask which class was his favorite class. He always told them that he had no favorites.
But the students continued to ask the question. One day he decided to reply that he had no favorites, he hated them all equally.
Everyone laughed.
Several days later, the students arrived at class with custom T-shirts. One side had my son’s face on it and the other side said, “I hate you all equally.”
Everyone who knew Michael and all the students involved in the incident were well aware it was intended to be a good joke. But then the old telephone game began.
Soon after, I was reading a letter to the editor in the Naperville Sun. The writer was outraged that District 203 would employ a teacher who hated all the students and called for the teacher to be immediately dismissed.
When I read that letter to the editor, I flashed back to that request from the kindergarten teacher during orientation all those many years ago. I wished that all parents had received that advice.
For this school year, I hope that parents and teachers work together, setting good examples, to help the students excel at learning new skills and growing in confidence.
