Mother’s Intuition | When a Teacher Isn’t a Fit
A gut feeling. You can’t explain it, but you KNOW something is off or just not right.
As mothers, I feel like we’ve been given an extra superpower: our intuition.
I must admit, I haven’t always listened to that nudge. Maybe I was “too busy,” or just “making a big deal out of nothing.” And that’s why I’m thankful for grace and the opportunity to do it right the next time. But when I do listen, it makes me grateful for this gift.
One day, several years ago, when my son was attending preschool, I noticed that he suddenly didn’t want to go to school. He loved going to school, playing and seeing his friends, so this was quite unusual for him. I know kids have off days, so I took a “wait and see” approach.
The next day it happened again, but this time his actions were escalating…I was dropping him off while he was kicking and screaming. This was completely tearing me up. And my insides were telling me that something wasn’t right.
I contacted one of my friends, whose son was also in Harrison’s class, and asked her if she noticed anything unusual about him regarding school and she said yes. He suddenly didn’t want to go anymore either. And he also loved school. After trying to figure out what could have caused this unexpected upheaval, we realized the boys had a new teacher.
Now, I’m aware that kids handle change differently and some need an adjustment period. But my gut was telling me I needed to talk to the director about it. And you know what? It turns out there was something to it. In a rush to fill a vacant teacher position they hired someone that was under-qualified and clearly not a fit at the school, especially since other parents had also voiced their concerns.
Please hear me out, I am not suggesting you go and get your child’s teacher changed or removed just because they may not get along with them. I greatly appreciate teachers and I’m so thankful for them! But in this particular situation it turned out I wasn’t the only parent that was unsettled and knew something was off.
