On top of having a difficult group, the children's parents were very vocal and wary also. Parents weren't at all sure that they liked the fact that she didn't have children sitting at desks in rows doing worksheets all day. They wondered if the children could be really learning. She was determined that she wasn't going to live through another year like it. She accepted that every once in awhile she was going to have a very challenging group of children, but she wanted ideas for being proactive with her families so that she could share her philosophy and strategies in ways that families could understand and support.
Teachers increasingly describe children as challenging, so too are families and communities.
Gone are the days when the teachers' role is to shut her door and teach to a group of compliant children. The trust that the public had in its officials and public servants has evaporated in many places. Public education has come under public scrutiny in ways that are to teachers often bewildering and frightening. Many parents want to see their children learn the way they did. Families are rightfully uncomfortable and distrustful of strategies that they don't understand.