PRL: Began from just a phone call . . .

I doubt there are any of us looking to take on additional roles in our lives today while we work, raise families, or participate in our communities. However, sometimes opportunities find you instead of you looking for them. That's what happened with us--and it all began with a single phone call!

You have to understand the background of the entire story to appreciate all of it. My daughter had a difficult time K-4, so my husband and I decided to make a change in her elementary schools. We felt like we had difficulty getting teachers to understand her specific needs, attempts to work with educators had seemingly failed, and it had been difficult to find the right classroom settings for her to feel comfortable or grow and make new, lasting friendships. We were tired of drama filled scenarios, silent lunches, and a lack of connections between her classmates and her educators. It was a difficult undertaking for us to make the choice to switch schools in Grade 5, but we did it with an open mindset and a ready heart.

Imagine the first parent communication I received from her homeroom teacher after a full-day field trip to tell me that my daughter threated to "bust another girl in the mouth on the!" I began to ask the questions:

• Who was involved?

• What was the setting?

• What was the scenario?

Knowing my daughter too well, I know once she reaches her breaking point, she is likely to have made the comment; however, she would have had to be pushed to get there. She doesn't go around making random comments on a whim. So, I wanted to know what the remaining details were for the situation.

The new teacher was very sweet but unfortunately had no answers for me. She had not seen the argument, nor overheard it. She had not witnessed it but rather was going off re-telling the story from another 5th grade student. Needless to say, because of my previous post-traumatic K-6 experiences, I went bat crap crazy on this little BT teacher! I was not the professional secondary teacher/mom but rather the crazy, ranting person you could not compromise with: "What do you mean you did not see or hear the altercation? What do you mean you do not know who was involved? What do you mean you heard about it 3rd party from another 5th grader? Are you kidding me? Why are you even calling me without facts instead of hearsay?" Needless to say, I was not cool, calm, or collected.

The poor girl was so overwhelmed, she handed off the phone to a veteran teacher close by. "We'll figure it out and call you back tomorrow."

As I was relating all of this to my life long friend, who is also a 5th grade teacher, I ranted another hour: "What in the world is going on, Lisa? Why would she make a phone call home like that, and that being the first one?" to which Lisa responded, "She just didn't know, Rhonda. She's a BT. She hasn't been trained. No one has taught her."

I quickly added: "Well, somebody needs too! This stuff can be devastating and destroy parental relationships, relationships with the students--contact all around! As a new teacher, it's devastating on so many levels." While I did have empathy for the BT, it made me even more sad for Beginning Teachers as a whole who were simply not taught, not trained, not mentored to show them how important developing good, working relationships can be. I remembered my own time spent in the classroom, calling parents, introducing myself, so in case something came up later on, they would know who I was, and that basic relationship would already be in place. It was imperative for the success of the student!

Lisa agreed, "You're right. Someone should be training new teachers better. I see it all the time in my own building. But no one takes the time. Why do you think so many leave the field so quickly?"

I said, "Then, maybe we should do something about it! We've worked a long time in education. At least we know what works and what doesn't work with parents and the community."

Lisa said, "You're right! Maybe we should!"

I said, "Let's just pray about this thing. See what God wants us to do. If He wants us to do more, I'm sure He will tell us!"

Lisa laughed, and said, "You're right, I'm sure He will!" And we prayed together before we got off the phone about God's direction of what, if anything, He wanted us do about helping teachers and educators about their passion for teaching. relationships with parents/community, and their success for what they are doing.

"Bat Crap Crazy!"