The dreaded "Mister"

Oh my goodness! My momma-heart is aching tonight. We drove up to school tonight to see if they had class roster lists posted. They did. Alpha was SO excited about seeing who her teacher was even though she doesn't actually KNOW any of the 1st grade teachers. So, we spot the lists, get out of the car and start looking. Alpha spots her name right off. I look at the teacher and think, "who?" Last year they had 3 1st grade teachers. This year they have 4. Alpha is in the new teacher's class.

The new teacher's first name, according to the list, is "Chris".

Hmmm. I think. There are some other names that are shortened by the computer. So I think it must be "Christine".

Nope. A quick look on the updated school website reveals a "Mr."

Alpha's first grade teacher is a man.

She is not happy.

The ironic part is that last week, out of the blue, she says, "I sure hope my 1st grade teacher isn't a man." A quick look at the yearbook showed 3 women teachers so I told her she was probably safe. Then, they didn't have the lists posted yesterday so she came home, looked in her yearbook, and picked out which teacher she wanted.

To top it all off, Mr. Dustin, Jim's friend, was visiting tonight when we got back with the news. Without thinking, and quit kiddingly, he says, "Wow, I wouldn't want a man teacher. He's probably mean."

So at bedtime, Alpha is in her room crying. It breaks my heart! Jim & I both tried to reassure her, since she hasn't even met this guy yet, that she might just like him. I pointed out the new principal, whom she really likes, and asked if he was her teacher would she like him, and she said yes.

This makes all those sleepless nights and temper tantrums seem easy. It's so hard to help your child realize and deal with the realities of life. As an adult with *ahem* several years experience in the classroom, I know that we'll have no idea what he's like until we start classes. But trying to explain that to a scared 6 year old, at 10:00 at night, is difficult.

So keep us in your prayers. This Friday is an open house/meet your teacher night. It's going to be interesting.