14- Parent Conference

Mrs. Greene, Josh’s mother, finally came in for a conference today. I have called her many times on the telephone to discuss Josh’s disruptive behavior. I hoped that she would be able to help come up with a workable solution for her son’s disturbing outbursts. Unfortunately, Mrs. Greene is very defensive when it comes to her beloved baby boy. Mr. Thorpe was only able to convince the busy mother to come in for a conference by threatening to suspend Josh from school if his behavior does not improve.
We were forced to schedule the meeting for 7 o’clock in the evening, due to Mrs. Green’s busy schedule. The three of us sat uncomfortably around the guidance office conference table. Josh’s mother is a high-powered attorney at one of the city’s prestigious law firms. Clad in a charcoal grey power-suit and large pearls, Mrs. Greene looked as if she were attending a funeral. Her black hair was pulled back into a tight bun. When she entered the room, the attorney promptly popped open her leather briefcase, withdrew a legal pad and a fancy pen and poised herself to begin taking notes. I felt extremely intimidated, which may have been her goal.
Mr. Thorpe and I tactfully started out the conference by pointing out all of Josh’s positive attributes. The list was short; Josh was a very bright student with a lot of potential. I expressed my desire to find a way to help Josh reach his fullest potential as a learner while avoiding disrupting the rest of my class. Mrs. Greene frowned a lot while she took notes. I felt like asking if I needed my own attorney present.
Our biggest concerns were Josh’s blatant lack of respect for authority and his tendencies towards violence. Basically, the kid is a huge pain in the ass. He does not follow any of the classroom rules and is a potential danger to himself and others. He uses foul language, makes obscene hand gestures, and throws things. I have not seen him attack another student, but many of the objects (pencils, books, paper) he chooses to throw have come close to harming other students. Josh has also told me to “shut up” on countless occasions. I am unable to teach a lesson without Josh interrupting. His favorite way to attract attention to himself is to pass gas; he farts and burps constantly. The kid is rude and gross.
As delicately as possible, Mr. Thorpe and I relayed our woes to Mrs. Greene. I explained that my current method of dealing with Josh’s behavior is to send him out of the classroom. None of the usual behavior consequences and motivations seem to work on Josh. He spends over half of his time at school sitting in the conference room at the front office.
As much as the kid gets on my nerves, I still believe that he has the right to an education. I worry that he is losing out on valuable instruction time and I want to figure out a way to keep him in the classroom. The current situation is not working, and as long as he continues to jeopardize the safety and education of his classmates, Josh will not be permitted to remain in the classroom.
Mrs. Greene said very little during our conference. She would nod a bit and look as if she were considering saying something, but then change her mind and make a little note on her legal pad. By the time we had finished our speech about Josh’s disruptive behavior, Mrs. Greene looked flat out bored. She pushed her glasses farther up onto her nose and said, “Well, what do you expect? Joshua is just a little boy. Maybe if your lessons were more interesting, he would be more inclined to focus. My son is not being challenged in your classroom.”
Not being challenged? I felt like I had been slapped in the face. That bitch!
Before I had a chance to reply, Mr. Thorpe jumped to my rescue. “Mrs. Greene, Josh is a very intelligent boy and we are working hard to find ways to engage him while he is at school. We will continue to do our part, and would appreciate it if you would talk to him about his behavior.” The rest of the meeting is a blur for me. The audacity of that woman to accuse me of boring her bratty son! Mrs. Greene did finally agree to “talk to Josh.” I got the impression that Mrs. Greene thinks it is our job to handle her wild child while he is at school. I don’t understand how such an educated woman can be so dismissive about the seriousness of her child’s behavior.