Disappointment

I was very disappointed today when I went to drop Athena off at school. As I entered the room, I could tell something was up as there were a lot of parents lingering around and a heavy "buzz" in the air. It was then I saw the note that informed us that Athena's teacher had resigned rather suddenly due to personal family issues. I understand that sometimes personal issues do get in the way of work, and sudden things do come up, but I am frustrated that the teacher didn't even get to say goodbye to the students. I don't know if she left on good terms with the administration or not, but I can only get the feeling that things were not good or why else wouldn't she finish out the week or maybe just until next week when they go on Thanksgiving break. They'll have a substitute teacher through December, and are supposed to have a new teacher hired for the new year. Her same teacher's assistant is there, which is nice so at least there is some consistency. Athena seems OK, but I'm still disappointed. The teachers had a meeting with the kids and were supposed to tell them what was going on, but I don't know what they said. Athena said she didn't remember. I told her that her teacher would not be working there anymore and she innocently was like, "so she'll never be my teacher again?" I am trying not to transfer by disappointment and feelings of uncertainty on to Athena and have tried to be very positive and calm about the whole mess. I hope they find someone really good to replace her teacher. I was very happy with the way things were going this year. No, it wasn't perfect, but Athena was thriving and I was loving the child directed project approach they had taken on. Their latest endeavor had been creating there own "Metal Mutt" out of old metal that the kids brought from home. The finished robot dog looked pretty cool, and Athena was very proud of it. She even works on making them at home and wants to invite friends over to help her get more ideas she tells me. I guess another thing that is bothering me about the situation is that I get the feeling that some of the parents may have had something to do with her leaving. I "heard" that one parent in particular was really complaining a lot, but you know how these kinds of rumors get started. Who can really say if that was the case or not? She was a new teacher to the school, and I did feel like some parents were being overly critical, but then again, I'm a really laid back person. I tend to look at the big picture and give people the benefit of the doubt. The teacher did struggle with classroom management at the start of the year, but things had improved tremendously, and I respected her for working through that with her rowdy group of boys. She never took a heavy handed approach, but instead worked on building friendships and helping the students problem solve and manage their own behavior. The class had meetings and worked together to brainstorm solutions. Anyway, I could go on and on, but I just really hope the transition is smooth and that Athena continues to thrive in her current classroom. If things do go down hill, I will consider pulling her out for the remainder of the year. I doubt it will come to that, but I won't say it couldn't happen.

If anyone is still reading...I do have a completely unrelated question for you. Her teacher (assistant) asked me today for an idea for their Thanksgiving feast. She wanted to do something simple that Athena could eat too. She thought I did such a good job on Halloween (the bagels with tofutti and sprinkles) that she thought I may have a good and easy Thanksgiving idea. I don't at the moment, but please give me any suggestions you may have. Thanks!