By Mark
It was at a intervention meeting, where her child's teachers (including me) and the grade-level counselor had gathered to strategize how better serve her child, that she said to me from across the table:
"You didn't do your job. You were supposed to fix my child. Why didn't you fix him?"
She said it with steel in her eyes and barbs in her voice. She was simmering near her boiling point and I started wondering if anyone else in the room knew the extension to reach the school resource officer.
Everyone was flabbergasted. She went on about how at the summer orientation I talked about all the things I do in class to help struggling students: extra support to break down complex tasks, face-to-face writing conferences, online resources, peer support, modified texts…the list went on. In truth, I had done all those things for her son. I had offered these to her child, yet her child still was failing.
Isn't it always the case that we think of the right thing to say well after the moment has passed? That moment passed six years ago, but here goes:
"Ma'am, I'd be more than happy to share with you the reason I didn't fix your child…