Teachers play a very important role in the lives of their students. And sometimes that can be a heavy burden to carry. All kids are different, and being able to cater to each one, in one classroom, can be intimidating and difficult. The teachers that manage this are exceptional. Usually, they have more than just students to deal with- there are also parents. Parents who want to tell their kids’ teachers why their child is special, why their little ones are the best, or worse, tell teachers how they should do their job. All this is just one more thing on that teachers have to deal with, but for this parent, it was necessary that the teacher know about the situation her kids were in before school started.

Natalie Brenner, mom of two 3- year-olds and foster mom to a second and fourth-grader recently penned a letter to her kid’s teacher. First, she explained that she was grateful for all that teachers do and she understands that this is a stressful time for them. She just needed to add one more thing to their plate about her foster children.

“You see, the kids I brought to school everyday last year? They come from a really, really hard place. They come from abuse and neglect. I’m talking really intense abuse, the kind you think can’t be real. But you actually wouldn’t know this about them, unless you read their intensive case files or talked to their therapists (neither of which are legal) or become their temporary mom. Instead, they look like pretty typical kids with normal childhoods.” Brenner writes. This is the tip of the iceberg for what she wanted teachers to know.

Brenner goes on to talk about the trauma that foster kids have gone through and the importance of recognizing it in the classroom, not dwelling on it, but recognizing it. “When they are flinching from the stapler dropping on the floor, it isn’t because they are ‘cute and jumpy’, it’s because their brains weren’t sure if you were trying to throw something at them.” These kids have experienced significant trauma and they need someone that understands that’s part of them.

A good teacher isn’t someone who would point out or consider these to be flaws, Brenner’s goal with the letter is to help them understand why her kids are the way that they are and hopefully prepare the teacher for what may come up during the school year. She explains that one of her kids won’t throw a tantrum or cry, but freeze. “She withdraws and is unable to speak. When she freezes it can sometimes last hours… sometimes it lasts days.” For a teacher, it’s good to know this and be prepared with knowledge on how to handle it.

Brenner shouldn’t be worried that she is adding more to the teacher’s workload with this letter because, in the end, she is doing them a favor. A good teacher will see the effort and time not only Brenner put into the letter, but she puts in as a mother. She is preparing the teacher for what’s to come, in hopes that her teacher will prepare her kids for life.

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Source: lovewhatmatters.com