Dodgeball and bacon

I am often invited to participate in a parent panel in front of soon-to-be student teachers at a local college. The time is given to the college students to ask questions of the panelists in any area of education. Year-to-year there are common themes: What is your preferred method for parent-teacher communication? What do you think of homework? How do you feel about projects?

One year we were asked, "What do you think is the most important thing for your child's teacher to know about your child?" Now there's an individual who will make a great teacher.

As a parent, I want you to know about my child. I know you have a lot of students and they each have a lot of gifts and interests. But it isn't difficult to get to know at least a little bit about my child and then to encourage those things that are important to each one. Don't force all of the children into a box. I know you have your standards and the tests on which your children need to excel. It is possible to get there by allowing each child to be an individual.

In answer to that question, I talked about my second oldest's sixth grade year. He was into two things that year: dodgeball and bacon. He wasn't into English class. He complained that all of the books they had to read were about female leads. He wasn't a fan of writing. But he did like dodgeball and bacon. A very wise teacher had him for English that year. Every single one of his writing assignments that year was written on the theme of either dodgeball or bacon. Every. Single. One. Without exception.

That is what I want my child's teachers to know about each one of them. Allow your students to be individuals. Yes, they have to follow the directions and the rubric but within that rubric, give just enough freedom so that it doesn't matter what each child enjoys or what they're good at. Let them be themselves.