More and better

Evening of 1997. My parents came home from an interview with the teacher. Among my brothers, all the toys and the screams, my father came and told me something I will never forget: “Today we are going to have dinner, you and me alone”. He left aside everything to give me 30 minutes and a hamburger, which gave me the confidence, security and exclusivity I needed at that moment. For me it was a turning point.

November 2012. I met with some parents to see what we could do to improve their child’s reading habit, since the process was quite stagnant. We established a joint plan: to transmit a liking for reading, to value small progress and not overwhelm him. Based on applauding the steps he was taking, after a few months, the student had already secured the habit. No magic: put things in common, unify criteria and walk together.

December 2016. We had the first interview with the teacher of our first child; he had a bad year. After assessing his adaptation to the school and its evolution, she asked us if our son already had an assignment at home. “A year-old boy with assignment?” I thought. He proposed one: throw the diaper in the trash. “We will try it”, we said excited, but not very convinced. Since that first day he has thrown them all away.

I saw that as a student, I live it as a teacher and now I also live as a father: family and school we need each other, because together we do better.