Parent/Teacher Conference

Well, its that time of year again...time to hear the dreaded (or sometimes not so dreaded) school terms: "proficient, nearly proficient, emergent" etc. I have to say that for some reason I was a little nervous about this particular conference. I don't really know why, exactly, but I feared the worst....repeating kindergarten...my son is a bully....he disrupts class...you know, the usual fears when you have kinder.
So, I walked into the classroom this morning at 8:15 on the button and Ms. Warder was ready for a long talk. She told me to take a seat and the whole time I'm thinking: 'he's mean to the kids, he's not at the level he should be, he's going to have to repeat....'. And here's what she said: "I want you to know that I have no complaints with Carter. He has come so far with his confidence, and now he sparkles. He plays well with every single child in the class, he doesn't exclude anyone. His reading is where it should be and he has been labeled 'proficient' in every area that he has been tested in." Talk about breathing a HUGE sigh of relief, but I just had to ask what I had been wondering..."do you have any behavioral issues that I should be aware of?"
With a wrinkled brow, she asks, "with who? Carter?"
Uhhh....yeah....who else would I be asking about? "Yes, Carter".
Her response: "NO, never with Carter. Why? Do YOU have behavioral issues with him?"
Me: "Are we speaking of the SAME Carter....?"
Ms. Warder: "Oh, that's usual...he knows that he will be loved no matter what he does at home, so he lets his guard down. Don't worry--he'll grow out of it. At least he only acts that way at home.."
She went on to say that Carter has become quite the little wise-guy in class, but in a good way. He's respectful to the teachers as well as the children, but isn't afraid to crack a joke every now and then. He has also learned that even if he doesn't know the answer to a question, he can still take an educated guess, and if his guess is wrong, his world will not crumble around him. He has come a long way from the times of me prying him off of me, the pole, the door frame, crying and wailing uncontrollably. I can't even believe he is actually LOVING school. How thankful we are that he has made this incredible transformation.