Parents.

I am not a parent. I understand that it is easy to criticize when the child and the situation is not yours. However, I also understand that a teacher gets a unique perspective on the child's life and the way in which parents influence them.

In any society that I know of, the working class has an even harder balance between family and money/work. I have several students whose parents really are not there to help with homework. Who cannot be supportive in their child's academics. I have parents who say that they cannot help because they don't know English, and I try to encourage them to help in other ways, because they can. I have other parents who cannot read, and that really does limit their ability to help, or even know if their child is doing the work.

I have many parents who expect their child to be completely self motivating. I will tell them how capable their child is, if they would just put in a little more work, they could improve by leaps and bounds, and they will tell the child to study more. To do their homework. To do whatever is lacking, but not actually do anything to help. I want to tell them that they need to help. That their 9 year old son is not going to be self motivating. That he needs to be pushed. But, I feel that is a line I cannot cross. I do not feel like I am in a position to tell parents how to be parents.

I have high achievers too. Their parents push them to do well. It's great. But there's balance to be had there as well. A 9 year old does not need to be in a world of trouble because one of her grades is below a 95. There is one particularly bright student, who is more than a handful, whose parents tell him that he doesn't need to be the best. That's okay. He doesn't need to be the best. But, they also tell him that he can fail a class, as long as he doesn't fail too many, because he can still be passed on to 5th grade with one failed class. He then comes and explains this to us when we try to get him to study.

My students call report card day “Dia de la Faja” or “Day of the Belt.”

One thing I really want to remember when I am a parent: Kids tell their teachers and their classmates your family secrets.