Submitted by Marie Ribaudo, Aug 1, 2007 09:54

When you become a mother, your hopes are of having a normal child with ten toes and ten fingers and that is healthy, regardless of the gender.

Obviously, our heart does not go past the point of physical characteristics and emotional well being. A baby is loved and nutured and then is handed over the a school to teach them what they need to know.

Here is where parents and teachers -sometimes do not agree---

Every flower in a garden does not bloom at the same time, nor at the same pace. Not even flowers of the same species withstands the weather changes and the harsh climate exactly the same. Yet, we do not go around ripping the flowers every time we see they are slow to bloom......

when a teacher takes on the job........whether with the New York Department of Education or a Private School.......they have obligated themselves to T-E-A-C-H. No where in the contract does it say, they will only be given gifted and talented students......or have the right to deny a child their "skills" because they cannot keep up with the majority of the class.

Belittling a child who struggles is NOT the answer. Telling the parents to force a child to read.........what does that mean??? If reading were the answer for improving scores.....we would have long seen the difference. Encoding, brain processing, alternative methods of teaching..........these are a few of the answers to help those who need more assistance. Teachers need to learn skills that help all types of children, especially if they have a Special Education License. There are those in this profession who want to truly make a difference, and aim to see progress in all. "An inch of progress, is progress, nonetheless!" Then, sadly, there are those who see it as a job that offers the summers off, pays you when you decide to work the summer and allots you ample maternity childcare time when you need 4-5 years to raise your own child.

Do not lay blame at the child's door. Do you actually think, children walk around and want to fail. Do not lay blame at the parents' door; they are not privileged to workshops and lesson plans and creative techniques to teach their child. Do you see yourself dreaming of a child who constantly fails and needs to live with you for the rest of your life, without ever getting on their own two feet?--Neither do we.

Life makes decisions....teachers make choices and parents cope with what they can. We either do what we can now and pay for the help these students need now --so that they may be productive adults in OUR future, or we pay later, when they resort to crime and drugs to house and feed them.

Do not add to the barrier that is there already. It is easier to find reasons why they cannot teach a child........and harder to find the answer to HOW to teach a child. Blessed are they who have children who just learn, without studying, without ever reading -- they worry less about their child's education. My role in life is to love, nuture and feed my child's emotional and physical --- else all of us would be homeschooling our children and teachers would have no jobs.

I love my children, regardless of their academic weaknesses. I fight a system who pays lazy and "look for excuses" teachers. In the real world, if you do not prove yourself worthy, you do not have a job. In education, it is a bodybag or handcuffs that removes you unwilling from the position.

Yes, there are two sides to every story.

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