Conferences

I have to say that the idea of a pre-school conference 15 school days into the school year seems a little much, but it is always nice to hear about what goes on in the classroom from the teacher's perspective.....until this round of conferences. This year is the first year that Reed has been in pre-school which means that this was the first conference with one of his teachers, and it did not go as I expected it would. Ms. Duffy started off by asking me how he communicated at home, if he seems to understand basic commands, etc. I was stunned. I was thinking he was charming Ms. Duffy and she probably was loving having him in her class - what a dum-dum I am. I was basing my assumption on the fact that he happily talks about school, willingly goes to school, walks into his class, hangs up his backpack and puts his snack on the tray with minimal help and is happy when I pick him up......these were signs (so I thought) that he had the school groove going on. Not so much.

According to Ms. Duffy, Reed looks at her like he does not understand what she is asking of him much of the time, he will not talk to her and when she gets down on his level and tries to make eye contact while she talks to him, he rolls his eyes back in his head or just closes them altogether. Oh yeah, he also washes his hand obsessively, visits the potty quite a lot and does not seem clear on whether or not he is a boy or a girl. Here's the kicker - there is a kid who cries and says that Reed pushes him. The teacher has not seen any pushing but she has seen Reed touch him, which apparently makes the kid cry. Reed is getting a rise out of him with just a touch and finds this quite entertaining. This is something else Ms. Duffy has to work on - keeping these two separated. She was sweet, gentle and sort of concerned while we discussed these things.

I did set the record straight and explained that he basically cannot help himself - his genes will not allow him to be "normal" (ever!). I told Ms. Duffy that I had somehow given birth to my father - a person who hates the spotlight, prefers to be alone while he piddles/plays, likes to observe and think rather than communicate and share feelings. I also told her that Reed closes his eyes anytime he is over a situation or is being talked to by someone he does not want to hear from - he is an equal opportunity avoider who wishes he could just disappear sometimes. Seems reasonable to me, lol.

As I told my mother this story and accused my father of having powerful genes which will prevent my child from ever being "normal. " She chuckled and basically told me that Reed is not the only one who has been known to act this way in a school setting. Could she be talking about ME? She then proceeded to tell me about a few of the conferences that she attended while I was the student. There were tears involved in one of the stories and then the memories started flooding back to me. 'WE ARE IN TROUBLE' is all I have to say before I go back to blaming my father for Reed's personality traits.

Evy's teacher said the usual things that I am accustomed to hearing - loves art, excited about just about everything she does, is a joy to have in the class, etc. She also explained her teaching philosophy, which I could not agree more with, and her credentials (she taught kindy for 14 years). Good enough!

It will be interesting to hear what the teachers have to say at the spring conference. I am hoping that Reed will at least prove he can communicate by then. I already know what Evyn's teacher will say. :)