Doing the Best They Can

The Teachers’ Lounge

Being a classroom teacher is the best and the worst of education simultaneously. Most students are fun, delightful and joyful to have in class. Then there are those children who require more effort to love. The latter can literally drain the best teachers’ motivation and morale making for a very long, long school year. The parents of these challenging cherubs are often as draining as the children themselves. Despite the difficulty of dealing with the worst student/family dynamics, great teachers find a way to serve these families respectfully and genuinely, understanding most parents are doing the best they can with their children. Even when what they observe is in stark contrast to what would appear to be one’s best effort.

I agree that most parents are doing the best they can with their children. The problem often lies in what the parents know, the parents’ life experiences and their life situatedness. Like everyone’s life situations look different, parenting and child interaction looks different among families. Author Ruby Payne works extensively with students who live in poverty. In her writings, she offered different purposes of food as presented among poor, middle class, and wealthy students. Specifically, she mentioned among the wealthy, the presentation of food is important. Among the middle class, nutritional value is a key component. Among the poor, a full tummy is the goal of a meal.

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