“We were standing at the bus stop when my daughter was scratching her head. Um, why is she scratching so much? I watched her for a minute, and could tell this was serious. Instant panic. LICE! My whole body went into hysteria. I had 4 thick, curly heads looming before me. Crap, what about my OWN head? Oh God. Tim… please… check… my… head… He parted my hair, examining it with his phone’s flashlight.”
‘Yup, you have it too. Sorry, babe.’ NOT ME TOO! I was so grossed out. I was itchy. Why us?!’: Mom relives horror of 4 kids infesting home with lice, urges other parents to ‘admit’ when family has it
‘When they flinch from the stapler dropping, it’s because they weren’t sure if you’re throwing it at them.’: Foster mom pens powerful note to teacher warning of her children’s trauma
“They come from a really, really hard place. The kind of abuse you think can’t be real. They duck for cover. You’ve heard of fight or flight? There is also freeze. One of my kids responds with ‘freeze.’ Her eyes grow wide and her voice silences. It’s how she’s trained herself to survive. My kids need to know you are safe.”
‘You don’t belong here and your color is awful!,’ a child said to my 5-year-old African American son on his first day of school.’: Mom worries for her adopted children at school this year, says despite ‘all the goodness, there is hurt’
“Before he even stepped foot into his new classroom, a child on the playground came up to him. At age 5, my son had to come home and tell our family this as we sat around the dinner table. I had to look away so he wouldn’t see my tears.”
‘We are not your ‘typical’ family. We are white parents with a black child.’: Mom sends heartfelt letter to teacher ‘advocating’ for her black son this school year
“Eli is usually the only black student in his classroom. We are not a ‘colorblind’ family. Eli’s hair is a big part of who he is and how he expresses himself. Please don’t let anyone touch it without his permission. Please provide him with colored paper, pencils or markers that represents his skin color. Not many teachers in our small town think about this subject.”
‘I was cussed out by parents who wanted to attend field trips but missed the THREE notes that went home. When they did attend a trip, they sat on their phone the entire time. The filter comes off now.’
“I’ve had parents tell me I’m not allowed to tell their child ‘no.’ Watching them come in… dirty clothes… chaos at home… and knowing they need more than you can give them in a classroom of 21, with less and less support, multiple languages spoken, several different disabilities… it breaks you.”
‘It was playtime on the playground. My student looked anxious. I climbed to get closer to him, placed my foot on the rail and tumbled, hitting my head on a metal pole. I fell to the ground.’
“That’s it. That’s all it took. Five minutes to change my entire life.”
‘My classmate’s baby had a fever. Our teacher told her to bring her. I heard Katie say, ‘She’s a little fussy,’ when handing her over.’
“Teachers like Dr. George will hold your sick baby when you can’t get a last minute sitter so you can take a test. She always makes it clear we can ask her for help.”
‘Started class with this check-in today and I’m so glad I did. It’s easy to misinterpret behavior and its cause.’
“Students wrote their name on the back of a sticky note and then placed it in the row that most accurately aligns with how they’re feeling right now.”
‘Mrs. Fey, I’m sorry for getting in a fistfight during algebra, then calling you the B-word for breaking it up. And what did you do? You showed up at 7 a.m. to work with me one-on-one.’
“My parents were divorced, my father was addicted to painkillers. He was in jail most of high school. My mother and I weren’t getting along. None of this justifies how I acted, and it wasn’t your problem. You made my difficult life bearable.”
‘How many times are you going to wear that outfit?,’ one of my wife’s 4th graders asked her. She then gave her a smug, twisted-lipped look. It made me rage.’
“I’ll be honest, this story gave me pause for a few reasons.”
