'We Need To Talk'

Yeah. When you hear those words it always means something bad; never good. If it's something good, you'll hear "Hey, I'd like to talk to you about [whatever]. "We need to talk" - *shudder* - is bad news.

But that's what I heard from Bella's teacher when I picked her up from school on Monday afternoon. What the heck???

About her teacher - she's in her mid-seventies and a smile would surely crack her face. She's not your typical happy, touchy-feely, affectionate grade school teacher type. She looks better suited for dealing with unruly teenagers. But Mrs. F is something of an institution in the Vicenza school system. Probably because she's most likely been teaching since the end of WW II. You would think that words, either spoken or written, cost her money or pain for the little she uses them. Just sour lemons. But she's supposedly the best the school has and the only one who teaches an immersion program for 1st grade.

Bella was excited about school, because she loves school. But after the first couple of days, she didn't want to go anymore and said her teacher hated her. Now when kids say that, that usually means that the teacher is being strict, which I'm all for!, and making them do their work. But I paid attention when I dropped her off and when the teacher would look up and see Bella, she'd make a face like someone just farted in her classroom or something! Other parents who have had her that I've talked to reported the same things and thought she had lost her passion for teaching and should have retired years ago.

So I was very upset and very stressed out about all this. I emailed her and told her I'd make myself available for a meeting whenever it was good for her. I also told her a bit about our situation and how we had just moved here, just received our household goods, etc and how this had been a huge adjustment for Bella. In other words, give my kid a break already. I mean seriously, they haven't even been in class for two weeks yet!! How much trouble could she be??

In talking to a neighbor, it was suggested that I go see the 1st grade counselor. They have one for each grade because the school is so large. This was an awesome bit of advice. The woman was totally fabulous and actually listened to me and my concerns. I told her all about Bella, our move, and the school experiences so far. She also gave me some insight into her teacher and her background. She suggested I go to the meeting with an open mind and to try not to get all defensive "Mama Bear". Easier said than done!! But I'm going to try. I know Bella isn't perfect and she's always had issues here and there with her focus. She's a very social girl and would rather chit-chat than do her work. She's six!! She needs someone to gently re-focus her and not belittle her.

So my meeting is in about an hour. Hopefully it all goes well and we can smooth some things out. Otherwise it's going to be a real hassle and we'll have to go to a committee to get her moved to another classroom. Which of course is just going to add more stress on Bella too. This really sucks.