A first....

Nathan is in fourth grade. He has always been a good student and received high marks for his behavior from every teacher he ever had. One time in kindergarten he had to sign the "sad" book. After that, he has never had a note sent home and never had a behavior issue. His teacher last year made the comment to me that "she wished she had a room full of Nathan's".

However, tonight, as I was putting him to bed, he shared with me that he had been in trouble several times this week (his definition of trouble is being called down in front of the class for an infraction of a rule). He struggled to tell me about it and there were many tears. It's perplexing to me. The things that he got called out on were very minor issues but he feels like he has gotten off to a bad start with his teacher.

As a parent, I know my child and I know that this is not a reflection of who he really is. This may be a reflection of a rough start but not a reflection of a deep character issue. I try really hard not to be blind to issues with my kids. As a matter of fact, if it had been the other two kids that told me this I wouldn't have been so perplexed about it, particularly if it was Braden. My kids have never been perfect nor do I expect them to be. However, this just doesn't fit who Nathan is...something is not right.

It's hard to know how to handle issues like this. I reminded him that every other teacher he has ever had has had high praise for him. I encouraged him to keep trying to rise to her standards and to realize that he has to respect her whether he likes her or not. He mentioned wanting to be in another teacher's class and I told him that was not an option. I am a firm believer in kids learning to cope and adjust in all learning situations. This may be a first but it won't be the last time he struggles with a teacher and he needs to learn to adapt.

But, my heart hurts for him. He wants to be successful in school and it is important to him to follow the rules.

I prayed with him tonight and we had a very personal prayer time about this specific situation. I will be praying for him tomorrow that he has a better day. I am hopeful that this is just a bump in the road and not the beginning of a very long and frustrating year.

Parenting is so hard...and I am sure this is minor in comparison to some of the stuff we will eventually deal with....