The Line

The thin line between love and hate is one that people are fairly familiar with. In my mind that line is passion. The overwhelming and intense emotions felt towards circumstances or situations involving significant relationships-(think parent, student, teacher) may make it difficult to discern the one feeling from the other.

One might argue that a similarly thin line exists between constructive criticism and contemptible slights.

Parents' passionate advocacy for their students and their learning is and should always be welcome in the learning environment. Educational professionals find room for effective observations and use that information to elevate their teaching practice and [to] enrich the teaching and learning experiences for all members of the classroom community. However, the line between advocacy and attack can become quite blurry for some.

There is room in the school house for passion and ardent enthusiastic efforts on behalf of one's child. There is no room whatsoever for discourtesy or disrespect.

Sometimes teachers have to be more clinical in their approaches and responses to students' needs. Maybe their replies and/or reactions to student/parent requests or appeals do not match the parents' urgency or enthusiasm. Their measured, seemingly dispassionate response(s) may be more of an indicator of their commitment to the boundaries and confines of their role than proof of disinterest or indifference .

Teachers and parents do their students a disservice when their interactions are contentious.

Stakeholders must remain dedicated to their roles as collaborative partners- teammates if you will, aligning their efforts toward the common goal of student success.

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."

Henry Ford