Ah, the Springtime! The bulbs begin poking through the thawing ground; the birds begin invading the yard to catch early grubs; the beards are flowing.... And, it is the annual Elementary School rite of passage: the Spring Conferences.
Why not take a moment to discuss the progress of your child, our class, and my beard. Let us, for a moment, take pause to look back at how far we have all come this year...and would you please stop staring at my beard?
I didn't really see many parents confounded by the beard, though more and more of the kids discover it every day. It is a strange thing when a beard can sneak up on anyone, even after nearly four months of growth. Why not fluff it out this week for Conferences and see what happens. Pardon me while I pull up a few adult chairs to our round table...one for you...one for me...oh, and two kid-sized chairs for my beard.
The reactions are coming in strong from all camps, as some now join the beard-wagon and all-but shout words of encouragement about the strength and length (nearly two inches at the chin and right jawbone, though only about 1 1/2 inches at the left...?) of the beard. But just as many urge me to trim, shape, or delete it altogether. Not so fast. One of my former students, who has not seen much of me in the past year, stopped by after school the other day, leaned her head in, revealed a look of confusion, shock and revulsion, then turned and ran off, saying, "Oh my God, what happened to your face?"
Something amazing!
Oh, and a two-fer this week: our youngest daughter asked me to come to her preschool's Special Friends Day last Thursday. I am not sure where she is in the photo, but she may be that little kid behind the beard...
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