I love having teacher friends.

Especially as a stay-at-home mom, I appreciate that in the afternoons and during the summertime, I can call a teacher friend to catch up and chat.  On the whole, I’m in better touch with some of my teacher (and student) friends than with those friends who work in offices, simply because we have more similar schedules than those who work nine to five (or eight to six!).

I’m grateful for this because 1) my teacher friends are some of the most phenomenal people I know and 2) they offer an objective perspective on children that I already find very helpful as a parent.

I know not every teacher out there is good at what he/she does, but I am blessed to know who I believe are some of the very best teachers out there—teachers who go the extra mile to plan bonus field trips, to teach hip hop after school, to be an open door to talk about faith and what it means in the way one develops as a person in relationship with others.

I love visiting with teacher friends because they always have new stories about either something incredibly creative they did in the classroom or something tough they had to deal with and the way they managed the situation.

Although right now I’m closer to the time I was in school than Jacob is to the time he’ll likely start, as a parent I appreciate hearing teachers’ perspectives on what children with a variety of learning styles and home situations need to thrive.  So often, I hear my teach friends say that a problem a student is having is more the fault of the parent’s not paying attention than it is the fault of the student not working hard.

It’s often said that a parent is a child’s first teacher, and I certainly believe that.  That’s why I’m so grateful to have some more—or at least differently—experienced folks to help show me the way (this means you, Alex!).