Being a Teacher

Interacting with parents is one of the joys, as well as curses, of my job. I met with the mother of a student who plays on my tennis team. He's been acting out lately, and is one of those kids who so often gets labeled as a disciplinary problem. As we discussed how to help him, she began to cry. I just sat there.
I saw a mother cry tears of love, frustration, anguish, because she can't mother in such a way that produces a man from the boy she sees. She just looked at me and said, "I don't know what to do."
We prayed together, and reaffirmed that we both love this boy. She asked me to pray with him, immediately, the next time he does something wrong. Hold his hand even.

We both love this boy.