Mr. Doesn't Talk Too Much?

Teacher conferences were last week. The hubby and I were looking forward to talking with the boy's teacher, Ms. W., and getting a feel for how he is doing in the fourth grade. We were expecting the usual... "Academically, your son is doing great, but we really need to do something about all that talking..."

It's the same story every year.

As predicted, the boy is excelling at school. Ms. W. even commented how our boy gives every assignment his very best effort.  The hubby and I were thrilled.  We have always tried to remind the boy know that we don't expect him to be perfect or bring home straight A's.  Doing his best, whatever that means, is what's important.   

To our surprise, the subject of talking never came up. The hubby and I were so shocked that we actually asked the teacher, "Are you sure the boy isn't talking and being disruptive during class?"

Ms. W. assured us that everything was great. She said that the boy is very focused on his work and so talking hasn't been a problem.  She also told us that she can tell that the child loves a good conversation, but she "would never want to try and change who he is.  It's what makes him special."

And that's when I nearly fell out of my chair. 

Since this is Ms. W.'s second year teaching at the boy's school, I really didn't know much about her prior to our meeting.  The only thing that I had heard was that she was a kind, soft spoken mother of three grown daughters.  To be honest, I was a little concerned about how my boy would function in her class. 

In my experience, most teachers seem to value students, preferably girls, who are content to sit perfectly still for hours on end and never talk out of turn.  If you have been hanging around my blog for any amount of time, you know that my boy doesn't fit this mold.  

To hear Ms. W. tell us that she loves our son's energetic personality...  It was like a breath of fresh air.  I could go on and on about all of the adjectives she used to describe our boy...  fun, witty, hard worker, kind, a joy...  She sounded more like a doting parent than a fourth grade teacher. 

The hubby and I feel incredibly thankful that the boy ended up in Ms. W.'s class.  If these first few weeks are any indication, the boy is going to have a great year.