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Promise Me This…An Open Letter to My Daughter’s New Teachers

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Promise Me This…An Open Letter to My Daughter’s New Teachers

Dear Teacher,

In one week my daughter starts her freshman year of high school. She is 14 years old. Whether she is 4 or 14, the back to school fears I have as a mother do not change. To all of her new teachers this year, promise me this;

You will see my sweet daughter for who she is.

You will not try to squeeze her it into a box.

You will see her as more than a number on your class roster.

You will forget her standardize tests scores, as they are not a reflection of her intelligence or abilities.

You will read her IEP word for word and see her needs as real, valid, and worth every moment that you spend meeting her individual needs.

You will see her invisible disabilities as clearly as you see other’s physical disabilities.

Her true self is often hidden behind these invisible disabilities, dimming the light that shines so brightly within her. She is going to take some extra time and attention. Trust me, she is worth it.

Her wicked sense of humor will never be shared with you if she doesn’t feel safe and understood.

Her incredibly kind heart will never be given to you or her classmates if she is scared.

Her quest for knowledge and a deep understanding will remain masked if her intellectual capabilities and strengths are not embraced.

Her dyslexia, ADHD, and anxiety are all invisible. You will never see them when you look at her beautiful face. You will never see them if she refuses to attend class, preferring to stay in the safety of an intervention room, because her needs are not being met in the classroom. Just like any other student, she wants to feel loved and accepted for who she is.

Her strengths will always be greater than her weaknesses, but at school, her weaknesses are magnified. So this year, yes my baby is 14, and only four years away from adulthood, but she is still a child, my child, still learning about herself, about others. She needs you in her corner lifting her up, helping her see the good in the world, and continuing to be encouraged to love herself in spite of the weaknesses on full display each and every school year.

So promise me that when my child walks into your classroom you will see her for who she is, be willing to work through and accept her weaknesses, and celebrate every amazing strength that she has. She will go on to do great things regardless, because of her fighting spirit and the love of her family and friends, but she needs you more than ever to get through her fears and doubts. She needs you to show her that she is safe and smart and capable in spite of dyslexia, ADHD, and anxiety.

Those three labels are not who she is yet, they are pronounced each and every school year. For three months in the summer, she is free of those restraints. This year please help keep the restraints off of her and let her freely grow as she was intended.

Thank you for choosing the most rewarding, and most challenging, profession. You are a teacher…thank you! This year you are my daughter’s teacher.  My daughter will leave you with memories that will have a lasting impact on your life. She is worth everything you have to offer and more.  I promise!  Here’s to the best year yet!

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Comments

  1. Robin says

    September 6, 2019 at 2:40 pm

    I feel your concern and fear. We didn’t get a diagnosis for my daughter until we’d battled the school for years and lost. My daughter finished high school at home and so will her sister because we lost confidence in that school to protect our girls and meet their needs. Still, I think of all the children like my daughter who have invisible disabilities that are sometimes hard to understand because people can’t see them. Stay strong though. We’ve moved on to the next challenge of dealing with her anxiety and she’ll start college this year! Maybe a bit behind her friends but still moving forward to take on the world!

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Meet Colleen

Colleen Wildenhaus is the mother of a now 17-year-old girl suffering from severe anxiety and OCD. Her blog Good Bye Anxiety, Hello Joy shares with readers the journey her family takes to enjoy the small moments each day, keeping the beast of anxiety from taking away the joy of life.

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Meet Colleen

Colleen Wildenhaus is the mother of a 18-year-old girl who suffered from severe anxiety and OCD for most of her life. Today, she manages it well and is attending college as a freshman, something we didn't believe was possible given her intense mental health needs. Colleen's blog Good Bye Anxiety, Hello Joy shares with readers the journey her family takes to enjoy the small moments each day, keeping the beast of anxiety from taking away the joy of life. She shares real life experiences that have helped her daughter manage her anxiety and OCD as well as vulnarbale posts about what it feels like to move through these daily challenges.

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