August Column Winner

Tips for a successful year

By John Martin, Choctaw Times

Thanks to Kylee (Phillips) Voyles, who was one of the greatest advocates of my G-T program and shared her son, precious mother, father, brother's son, countless students and many encouraging words to an old man for many years.

She is the ultimate cheer sponsor and really hit the jackpot with the shoes for her 2019-20 squad. I love her dearly.

She claims no credit but, as usual, is trying to make things better for kids.

OK, with school quickly approaching, I want to make a few public service announcements that I think will help a lot of folks out and cause the year to go by so much more smoothly! (P.S. If you don't have a sense of humor or open to constructive criticism, you might want to keep on scrolling.) Remember, we have to laugh at ourselves!

1. DO NOT use the old "My daughter got Mr. Monks (Not his real name) this year for 1st grade. Is he nice? Who else got Mr. Monks? What all can you tell me about his class?" This is wrong on so many levels. First, Mr. Monks is a person outside your 1st grader's class. I'm sure he loves the positive things you have to say about him. But let's be real, this opens up a can of meanness just waiting to explode

2. DO NOT get mad about school lunches!! In most school districts, they are free. FREEEEEEE! And, if they aren't free, remember that your child's education is. So, if you want to use your energy complaining, use it to whip up a sandwich for them. If your child is starving when they come home, it's YOUR fault. You're the parent.

3. DO NOT complain about a teacher on Facebook! Go talk to them first. Seriously. Have a sit down over a cup of java I'm quite certain (cause I've been there and done that) you’ll get more accomplished in 3 minutes of a conference than 4 hours of status updates on social media. Trust me, it works.

4. Oh, this one is a good one! Do NOT be the crazy parent in the stands!! Just don't. Ya wanna know why? Cause all the other parents are saying, ''Look at Mr./Mrs. Somebody throwing a fit cause the coach made that decision." I promise you, that's what they say.

5. School supplies!!! It is NO ONE's responsibility to make sure your daughter has a pencil for class except your daughter! Or, you (her mom). If your child doesn't have a pencil for class, and chances are her teacher is SICK AND TIRED of it and doesn't give her a pencil for the day, and then precious little Princess comes home weeping innocent tears cause she had to stay in from recess, IT'S PRINCESS'S FAULT!! Do not flip it around on the teacher! It's her fault and your fault for not making her more responsible in keeping up with her crap!

6. HOMEWORK!!! Do NOT be the parent who wants to rip a teacher's head off because they haven't texted, called, paged, visited, smoke-signaled your child's missing assignments to you. They have 125-140 kids they are grading papers on. You have one! One. One child you have to keep up with. Almost all schools have an online program where you can log in to check your child's grade. Do it. Every week. I have to with a certain child's Algebra grade. Every. Single. Week. You know what?? When she's missing two assignments, it's her FAULT. It's not the teacher's because she didn't smoke signal to me that little Miss Priss is missing Pages 31, 48, 72, 4, 70. It's hers because she hates Algebra!

7. Parent pick up line. Chill. Calm down. We all know the parent pick up line is CRAZY. It will never change. Ever. So, go ahead and prepare yourself for the next couple weeks that it will be hell on earth. Pack a book.

8. PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES!! Go to them. Goooo! This is a conference about your child. This is an opportunity for you to visit with the teacher about your child. Don't not go, and then complain to everyone about, "How I never hear anything about what's going on up at that dang school.". Take an hour out of your schedule to sit down and visit about your child's successes/struggles! If your child's doctor, coach, counselor, physical therapist, advisor, mentor, pastor, or friend wanted to set up a conference with you to discuss your child, you'd go. Same should be with a teacher conference.

9. And, lastly the most important!!! Remember that 99.9% of the folks in the classroom and schools chose this profession because they love kids. Be open-minded and keep a line of communication with them. And, for Pete's sake, if your child drives you crazy at times, chances are they drive them crazy, too. Be supportive of them!! I pray you're laughing about these and not cringing. But, if you're cringing, maybe this list will help you.

Prayers for all the school districts out there and this upcoming school year! I love public education and what it has done for my family and I’m here to support you all 100%!! Good luck this school year.