Tuesday night I attended my first open house at my son’s school. I wasn’t really sure what to expect and I must admit I was excited all day long. And although I talk to his teacher just about every day to see how he’s doing, it was nice to be able to sit down and talk in more detail and also find out more about what’s going on in the classroom.
I have to say right off I was disappointed that more parents did not show up. I am hoping that more came after I left because frankly during the hour I was there, only a handful came. I understand a lot of parents work and some were probably just getting off from work at 5 pm when open house started. Some were probably too tired to stop by. But some of these parents are the very ones who needed to come since many do not drop or pick their kids up from school because of their work schedule. I drop Tyler off and pick him up every day and I like I said I talk to his teacher most days. So I really didn’t need to attend. I also talk to the principal, the bookkeeper, the cafeteria workers, the resource teacher, the traveling music teacher, the school crossing guard and a few of the other teachers at the school. If I knew who the janitor was I’d talk to him too. I’ve managed to make sure as many people as possible know who I am, especially the principal. Kids seem to behave better when they know that the principal is on a first name basis with their mother. She even told me that she thinks I should run for PTA president. I want to be involved but I don’t think I want that much responsibility. I can’t commit to something unless I am sure I will have the time to do it. Unfortunately, a lot of people still think if you work from home you’re not really working.
Anyway back to open house, after squeezing my big rump into one of those teeny tiny chairs, Ms. Jordan talked about how well Tyler was doing in school and showed me some of his work. And although we are a month into the school term, they still don’t have their workbooks! The good news is they are getting another kindergarten teacher. This poor woman has been having to deal with 23 students for a month now. Initially there were two teachers but they had to send the other one back to her third grade class. I can’t imagine having to deal with all those little ones. But fortunately someone from the school district was in last week and agreed that they need another teacher so hopefully by the beginning of October the new teacher will start.
After about 20 minutes of sitting in that little chair my butt was starting to get numb so I pried myself up and headed down to the cafeteria where the principal (and the refreshments) were waiting. She was practically begging for parents to get involved in the PTA at the school. I told her I would do what I could to help (anything but run for president!).
I also got a chance to meet the PE coach. I made sure to let him know that Tyler talks about him all the time. I want the teachers to know that they do make a difference to the kids once they leave school. I also think it’s great that the school even has PE since many are doing away with it. Thankfully, they attend every day and go outside every day except Monday, when they participate in activities in the gym.
Although it wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned an open house would be and again I was disappointed in the number of parents that showed up while I was there, all in all I was glad I went. And I am looking forward to being an active parent in Tyler’s education.