Prologue: Parent Teacher Conferences
My desk is always as neat as I can possibly keep it.
A metal bin for papers in the top left corner. An organizational container for my writing utensils at the right. Notepads that sit side by side beneath that and a wooden name plate with the name Miss Thompson at the center edge, facing the room.
My desk sits in the front of the room on the far side from the door. My class is decorated in vibrant jewel tones and everything you would expect to find in a second grade classroom.
I keep a large round rug in the back for circle time. There's a small library of books in the corner with a little tent and pillows for my students to get comfortable when they read. An activity corner is set up on the other side of the room beside a conference style table that I use for meetings and reading groups with students.
As chaotic and cluttered as it is, the room does not reflect me. It reflects the students and their childish nature.
As it should.
Twenty-four small desks sit before me in columns of six and rows of four. I've received some feedback from my colleagues that it is not a practical set up for a class of seven and eight year olds.
They'd prefer I arranged them like they did.
Pushed together in groups of four to imitate a table or like a large horseshoe around the class. I prefer my way as I'd like to keep some semblance of order.
I clean my room, decluttering and sanitizing after a long day. As hard as I try, I can never get the marks off of my student Logan Clark’s desk.
He digs his pencil in so deep and presses his crayons to the laminate with a vengeance. There are also bite marks and scratches that will never go away. His desk is forever deformed and at the end of the year, will need to be replaced.
When I finish my cleaning to the best of my ability, I take in the unusual silence and sigh.
My day with my students has come to an end.
While I usually look forward to my evening of solitude and bingeing my comfort series of the month, I have something else on my agenda tonight.
Something I loathe more than anything else but comes with the occupation I chose...
Parent-Teacher Conferences.
