The Nerve

September 18, 2005

I’m annoyed. Yesterday during the birthday party the mother of my newest student cornered me to grill me about homework and discuss her son’s progress. She apologized for talking about it on Saturday, during a social event, but she wanted to make sure we spoke. It took about thirty minutes.

This morning Zachary awoke at the crack of dawn and insisted on going up to the club to play. After some time we headed back home to get Carrie and then we all went to the club for breakfast and a game of darts. We had a lot of fun. It was good family time. Sunday morning, it turns out, is a busy time at the club. We saw many familiar faces and spoke to everyone.

Eventually, the new student and his mother showed up. We said hello and went about our time together. As we were getting our things together to leave, she approached us and had the audacity to talk to me about the same things we had discussed yesterday. We rehashed the conversation and then I made a hasty retreat.

She has now encroached upon my entire weekend to discuss a topic that is not even really an issue. How much progress does she expect a teacher to make between Saturday and Sunday? I didn’t mind the first conversation, but the subsequent one really tanned my hide. It is an incredible challenge to live, eat, and breathe in the same space as my students and their families. Hopefully, this is an isolated incident.