An Odd Dichotomy

Another day, another meeting. This one was with an Ethiopian parent, and I have to say I was blown away. He was the most trusting, and respectful parent I've ever dealt with. It was a little unnerving. He made a big deal about letting us know (through the translator) that he would not question our judgement. In his country, a teacher is respected and when a child is at school they are part of that school family. I thanked him and made a point of telling him it was my job to answer any questions he might have, but he made a point of telling me that he was sure his daughter was safe with our judgement.

Hence, I felt a little unnerved. I'm more comfortable making a pitch or dealing with a combative parent than one who trusts me implicitly. It's foreign to me. Now, I am used to building relationships with my caseload's parents and gaining their trust. It's just never been given absolutely freely when I cannot even communicate directly with the person. There are days where I feel like I don't want my work to be a second family. I pray that I can live up to the man's trust. I don't like to let people down.

On the flip side, there was a department meeting shortly after my meeting ended. We were reminded that the 'e' in e-mail is for 'evidence.' Don't write any opinions or anything about any student in email unless it was succinct, provable, and/or positive.  "Don't write it unless you'd be okay with it as a headline on the front page." The lady from central then went on to talk about subpoenas. That was followed by "How to deal with a parent who demands current hot button issue #1 that we have no jurisdiction over, but they will try to make us do something." There was a slide about advocates and how we're legally obligated to talk to the parents and they cannot delegate away their responsibility entirely, etc, etc.

That's the world I'm used to. There are great parents that I work with and like a lot, but if they ever have a concern you can bet they'll let me know. I expect to hear concerns and address them. I don't expect to hear "I do not have much education myself. I trust you with my student. Thank you so much for what you do." I felt like the man honored me and it made me feel unworthy. I'm more comfortable dealing with questions than respect.

Is that sad?