When a Friend Becomes Your Child's Teacher

Ok, I'll be the first to admit it, but when you think of the people that you are friends with in high school, you never think, "one day when I have children, this person may teach my child."  Or, well at least I never had this thought.  Through Facebook and reconnecting with my old high school that I moved from I have learned that some of my closest childhood friends have become teachers.  Again, never thinking it would affect me since I moved so far away.  But this year, it happened, an old friend is now my daughter's fifth grade homeroom teacher.

So, I have to admit, I honestly couldn't think of a better person and role model for my daughter than Blake.  Blake was the smart one, the one in band, and the quiet one.  He was never involved in the drama of high school, he just listened and laughed as all the girls, myself included, told the stories of the "he said/she said."  We were far from best friends, but at school he was part of "our circle."  At first I didn't know how to act to have someone that knew me in high school to teach my daughter, I wasn't exactly the mild mannered attitude-less person in high school.  But seeing the smile and delight on my daughter's face when we found out who her teacher was just made everything easier.

See, the previous year, Blake, ummm Mr. Jarmon, was a forth grade teacher.  He was her best friend's teacher.  I kept seeing him on the playground and thinking, "I know him, is that Blake?"  I asked my daughter one day and was told, "that's Mr. Jarmon, he teaches reading."  At that point I knew it WAS him.  I guess I was a little relieved that he wasn't Lyssa's teacher at that point.  I guess I'm ashamaed of the old me...  I don't regret, but I mean, I'm not very proud of my attitude and things I may have said or done in high school.  So I surely didn't want my daughter to know and use that as the "well you did it excuse."  

I talked to Blake on the last field trip of the year and asked how weird it was for him to see all these forth graders and know you went to high school with their parents and he laughed.  We joked and he was the SAME Blake from high school.  Cool, calm, well spoken, happy person.  At that point, he didn't tell me that he was moving up to the fifth grade the next year.  I found that out at the softball field that night from another mom.  And again I had anxiety all over again about "what if she gets him."

Well, we found out Tuesday that he is indeed her teacher and she was so overly happy she couldn't really contain it.  I was relieved.  We went to registration and she got to "meet" him, which really it's for you to meet your teacher IF you don't know them and turn in your paper work.  We talked to him for only a couple of minutes because I had Alex in a new place and wanting to run wild with the "big kids."  I did snap a picture of them.  We also discussed how she IS mine, but doesn't have my attitude.  He laughed and said, he "will be watching her closely in case she's a trouble maker,"  and laughed.  I told him he wouldn't have a problem because she's never had a "check" in her entire life.  He immediately smiled and said, "well we will have to see about getting her a check this year."  I have to admit, ALL my fears went out the door.  He's Blake, just older and more professional, but still Blake, the smart one, the quiet one, the no-drama one, the friend, the one she can talk to IF something happens in class.  She is comfortable and happy and THAT means more to me than ANY fears I had about what I was like in high school could ever mean.  So, here's to a GREAT fifth grade year!

Ellyssa (still half asleep) and Mr. Jarmon