One Great Teacher.....

There has been a sudden, 100% turn around in Babygirl's home teaching.  Last Monday, Ms. T arrived.  She's Babygirl's math teacher, and up until now she's not been involved in the home teaching situation.  But she noticed how lost Babygirl was on the few days she was in school, and since math is the one class that we've been told she's absolutely, positively 'caught up' with, that says something.  When Ms. T discovered how little home teaching she was getting, she met with the assistant principal and offered to take over.  There is now a schedule of teachers for every day of the week.  There is now a written notice to the school, the special education (Ms. I-speak-to-parents-slowly-in-words-of-one-syllable) coordinator and the medical department that Babygirl will be getting two hours per day of home teaching whether she manages to actually attend school or not.  This plan will be reviewed at the end of March.  From now until then Babygirl will have received more home teaching than she has gotten to date even if we count last year.

Ms. T is aware that Babygirl knows almost nothing of the material she missed last semester, and admits that at this point doesn't know how to address that loss.  But she HAS provided us with textbooks - three physical texts for at home and access to another text online.  We also have a website that supplements school lectures, and a CD-ROM with one teacher's entire set of class lectures recorded on it (from the school site that we couldn't connect to from OUTSIDE the school.  She is nagging the gym teacher. Her empathy for Babygirl's plight will not devolve into pity. This is the end of the "you make honor roll because you're sweet and I feel sorry for you" (although the special education teacher still decides what grades she gets, which is interesting).

My phone call to the school is not what started all of this.  It admittedly made it easier for her to get what she is asking for, since I gave the district what-for ahead of time.  But Ms. T started all this not knowing about my call.  And that's the difference between a good teacher and a great one.

Babygirl's tutor teacher is a good teacher.  She's tried, she's been there when she can, and she's gone above what an average teacher might have done.  But Ms. T (who had been out herself much of last semester on a personal leave) saw what was happening and became outraged rather than hopeless. The list of people she called far exceeded mine.  I set up the pins.  She rolled the strike.

Of course, I can't possibly just sit back and enjoy this.  Hubby and I spent over an hour last night configuring the laptop (%(#&%#@*^! Windows 8!) so that Babygirl can easily access the sites she needs, loading up the addresses into her 'favorites' lists and putting passwords where she can find them.  And now I'm hoping that she'll feel well enough to manage the new workload, although she managed it all of last week, losing track only of her weekend assignments. 

It's an amazing 180. 

DeeDee