We had parent conference day a few days ago, on election day, as usual. Students stayed home from school, and teachers were available to meet with parents from noon until seven o’clock. It works out nicely this way: teachers can vote in the morning, and in the afternoon and evening a few parents trickle through, and teachers like me have some time to work on other priorities.
This year three of our school board’s five members were up for re-election or replacement, including the board chairperson, who is the mother of both one of my current and one of my past favorite students and who is the representative for our area’s and my school’s part of the county.
In the morning M and I and the girls shopped largely unsuccessfully for boots and coveralls for me and a few other things before stopping for M and me to vote at the local poll, where to my relief, I confess, we didn’t run into the campaigning board chairperson. Then I ate a quick lunch and headed to my classroom to read the manual for a new digital recorder I bought for our band, shove some digital paperwork back and forth and even print some of it, and say nice things to the good parents who came by.
That’s how it is, much of the time, on parent conference days: The parents who take the time to come in are mainly the same parents who have taken the time to raise their children with attentive care. Conferences take on a rhythm of accoladation.
Like the school board chairperson.
“How are you doing today?” I asked her. “Nervous? I’ve never thought too much about this aspect of being an in un in el-un a el. In an elected position.”
“I’ve had to develop a tough skin,” she said. “The last few weeks especially have been pretty harsh. But I have good, close friends, and wonderful family, and faith, and so all of that is all that matters. And I’ve gotten to meet so many good people all over the county.”
I smiled and nodded and showed her her daughter’s essay about horseback riding, and hoped my eye contact and voice were suitably steady.
She lost the election by three votes. If two of the people who voted for her opponent would have changed sides, it would have been a game changer.