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Parent Teacher
"Whenever other kids from my school realize who my parents are, they flip out and have a million questions."
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By Max Abrams
Whenever other kids from my school realize who my parents are, they flip out and have a million questions.
At my school, my dad is a teacher and the head of a small school within the school, and my mom is the only college counselor. I didn't even know we had a college counselor until my junior year when my mom took the position.
People always ask me "Oh my god, is that weird?" "Can you get any grade you want?" "Can your mom get you into any college?" "You know what your dad said today…"
I don't really mind when people ask me about my parents. I know they're just curious. It's become normal - I deal with people saying these things everyday. I'm part of the program my dad directs and I'm a senior, as are most of my friends. This year, the college center is like a second home to us. So my parents have a big role in all my friends' lives.
They're still my parents though - just at school they just have work to do. As faculty go, they're chill, so it doesn't feel weird to see them in the halls. That doesn't mean I would go start a conversation with them at school, but I'm fine with them being around. Most of the kids at my school tell me my parents are down to earth and don't talk down to the students. In fact, of them most actually like my parents. The April Fools edition of the school newspaper even named my dad 'Pimp of the World.' It was a joke, but it's also a term of respect coming from high school students.
It's helpful to have my parents at school sometimes. Instead of having a locker in a far off corner of the school, I can just put my stuff in my dad's car and get to it whenever I want. And when I need help with college applications, I have an adviser right down the hall from my bedroom. It gets annoying with my mom always on my back about my college work, but it's worth it for the amount of help I get.
I'm not even aware that my parents work at my school until someone inevitably comes up to me and says, "Oh my god, your dad is Mr. Ayers?!" I try to brush them off by just saying "yep" and leaving it at that. But I know they'll always find it interesting enough to start a conversation. I figure I won't have to worry about it after high school. But since my uncle is a university professor, I just hope I don't end up in one of his classes next year.
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