Wednesday's Winning Words--The {First} Note From the Teacher

My, oh my, how the "note sent home from the teacher" has changed.

Picture it: 1983(ish).  Sweet little brown haired, brown eyed, 2nd grader named Karen.  Daddy arrives home from work and she dutifully hands him an envelope and says "Mrs. Elliott [yeah, that's right, I remember you, Mrs. Elliott] said I needed to give this to you" as she hands him a precious envelope containing white stationery with red apples on it.  Poor little Karen--she had no idea what was contained in that letter, the first of its kind.  Little did she know that Mrs. Elliott was going to rat her out for being socially inclined at such a young age.  Mrs. Elliott reported, among other things:  "Karen is a sweet girl, but a bit...chatty."  WHAT????  NO!  Well, this was not shocking news to John Barger (or anyone else who's ever known me), and I'm pretty sure I didn't get in too much trouble, but I recall being so devastated that my teacher would disclose my school day activities to my dad.  What about "What happens at school stays at school."  Oh wait, that's Las Vegas.  Nevermind.  I'm pretty sure that note still exists in a memory book somewhere because of the impact it had on me. Because I got in trouble, not because someone thought I was too chatty.  Obviously I wasn't affected by that part.  I have no doubt there were other little notes that made their way home (probably also about my propensity to be friendly), but that first one was the one that stuck my like a knife.  Of course, the value was that was the point at which I realized that the parents and teachers were on the same team and I was on the other team.  Hmmm....

Fast forward to 2012, first day of the second week of Kindergarten for one, Justus Hayden Royal.  After a wonderful first week (from his perspective) and a busy weekend where we had several "calm down" conversations, I emailed  Justus' teacher to see how the first week went and to note that we are well aware of his excitement and issues with being calm, still, and quiet.  I provide her assurances that we will do whatever we can to help her, but I was curious how he behaved.  So, admittedly, I solicited the input.  She replies, in part:

 "Last week was eventful learning procedures and getting to know each other.  I have noticed that Justus has seemed wiggly at times and sometimes needs reminders during transitions.  Everything at Pebble Creek is new to him right now.  He seems curious to explore his surroundings.  As we settle into our routine, I will keep an eye on him and keep you posted."

Ahhh, the artful wordsmithing of a very kind and experienced Kindergarten teacher!

So, I talked to Justus about this, and of course, he wants to know how I know.  Justus, I'm Mommy, I know everything!  Don't judge.  It's like everything else with kids this age--you start with the overgeneralized rule so they get it, then you start to build in the exceptions as they get older.  He will learn of my many limitations in due time.

And...thank you technology age for allowing me to quickly communicate in writing directly with my kid's teachers, without his knowledge, and so I don't have to rely on him to get notes back and forth!  He is, by far, smarter than I was, and I'd probably never see half of what was sent home if he knew what it said.

  Although, I do love personalized stationery and kind of miss the beauty of a handwritten note....just not that kind of note.