Parent Visit

Instead of visiting a parent for let’s say J… peeing on W…, which actually happened earlier this week I received a parent visit. My Dad flew down to Dixie for the weekend and spent Friday in my class. While he was hoping for fields of snow blanketing the landscape, most of the cotton has unfortunately not flowered and the fields that have, have already been picked and the product sent to the gin. Nothing can be done about that, but we did have a fantastic time in the classroom.

Normally I am more solemn than exuberant about teaching because it is a profession of reflection. There are constantly improvements to be made. The tweaks are endless and sometimes we need a complete operational overhaul. However, Friday was magnificent. A few days before his arrival, I told the children that my Dad was coming to visit. Giddy with excitement to see Mr. Castagnola the elder, they raised their hands and commented, “We need to show him respect.” During the day my Dad worked with a few of the groups as they were rotating through centers and the children were angelic.

A good friend of mine consistently points out the positive and because of her encouragement I will comment on the positive instead of my usual discourse on the need for improvement. If everyday could look like this past Friday I would be living in paradise. The children spoke at the correct level the ENTIRE time. They remained on task. They used positive encouragement and were particularly helpful. They worked hard. They even did well on their test. Rock and Roll!