A Letter To My Son’s 4th Grade Teacher

Dear Mrs. C.,

Did you think I forgot you?

I didn’t.

Did you think I took all the hard work you did this year for granted?

I didn’t.

Did you think I didn’t notice the extra things you did for Number 3 that you didn’t need to do?

I did.

I know I told you that I was an elementary school teacher for ten years before I got married and had kids. So I have some experience on the teaching end of things.

And now, with our sixth child entering kindergarten this fall, I’ve got a decent amount of experience on the parenting end as well.

And here is what I can tell you.

You are one of the best out there.

Like the bes of all the teachers I have ever come across in my years on the planet.

And like I said before, I have been around the block when it comes to teachers.

I’m not saying this because there is a chance you will get Number 4 next year (for her sake I hope you do, but for your sake, well…  you might want to get some extra sleep this summer just in case).

I’m saying it because it’s true.

I don’t think you were great just for Number 3.

I think you are just really f*cking great.

The best.

You sent home a survey for parents to fill out and return to you by the last day of school.

An evaluation.

Of you.

I have never, ever received one of these from a teacher.

And I sure as hell never handed one out for parents to grade my performance when I was a teacher.

To be honest, I didn’t really look at the questions.

I don’t think that surprises you.

And then, true to form, I lost the thing before I ever had the chance to fill it out.

But we both know I probably never would have filled it out anyway, because you know that it takes at least a second copy sent home before I manage to send anything back in to you.

And I don’t think I ever handed in anything on time to you. Ever.

So anyway, here is my HONEST evaluation.

Better late than never.

So, for starters, you are the most organized teacher I’ve ever met.

And not organized in a psycho and OCD way.

You just seriously have your shit together. And it really helped Number 3 to succeed.

Next, you are the perfect mix of firm and fun.

I know I mentioned to you at the beginning of the year that Number 3 has a tendency to get silly. That he demonstrates some attention-seeking behavior. And that I wanted you to let me know if he was doing anything that was disrupting the class or making your job more difficult.

And when that inevitably happened, you let me know very early on, before it had the chance to turn into a major issue.

But I’m certain you would have done that whether I had given you a heads up or not.

I think I also mentioned to you that Number 3 had such bad anxiety before he started kindergarten that he had a FOFO (Full-On-Freak-Out) when I tried to bring him into the building for his kindergarten screening. That he thrashed around on the sidewalk and cried hysterically outside the building and never actually made it inside. And how throughout preschool and kindergarten he was basically mute and non participatory.

So part of me is a little bit happy that he can be somewhat of a challenge with respect to his behavior.

Because he’s at least not petrified anymore. He’s grown some balls.

That being said, I know he can be really freaking annoying.

And I’m not sure I can convey to you enough my gratitude for your appreciation of him.

For keeping him in check but also allowing him moments to shine.

Moments that weren’t necessarily academic.

Because academics aren’t really his thing.

Not that he’s not a clever kid.

But when it comes to the 3 Rs, he’s pretty average.

Which brings me to my third point.

However much homework you assigned, it was the perfect amount.

I use Number 3 as the benchmark for the average student.

He almost always had some homework. Enough to teach him to be responsible. But he never had too much.

It was like Goldilocks and Baby Bear’s bed.

Just right.

Those are the three things that are important to me.

And you nailed them.

I think as parents, we all just want our kids to be happy.

Not that we want a free-for-all and play time all year long.

But we want our kids to succeed, to build confidence, and to become more responsible and productive members of society than they were when they entered the classroom in the beginning of the year.

And you nailed it.

I don’t know if you plan on having children or not, but I hope you do.

Because you are going to seriously kick some ass at it.

So thank you.

Thank you for taking care of my guy.

And if we’re really lucky, we’ll see you again next year.

Thank you for making me Number 1!

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