Meet the Teachers on the Hill

Last night was Meet the Teachers Night at MBA, for Joe.  It's a hectic night, and a long night, as the parents rush from class to class to meet their son's seventh grade teachers, following their boys' daily class schedule.  

When I got home after work to check on the boys, I was tempted not to go.  I was tired and it had been a long day.  Jude was going, though, and I didn't want to leave her hanging, especially on a night when I was able to get home at a decent hour.  So, off I sent in the middle of a rare September early evening downpour.  

As so often happens when I attend an event at MBA, I was glad that I found the time, or made the time, to be there.  Across the board, Joe's teachers are an impressive group.  Experienced, driven, caring, involved, and available.  It's amazing, really, how high caliber the faculty is at MBA.  All top notch.  

From our first stop in Mr. Cooper's pre-algebra class to our last stop in Mr. McMurray's Roots of Modern America (History) class, I was delighted by what I heard from Joe's teachers.  We only got to spend 10 or 15 minutes with each teacher and, as the bell rang at the end of each class, I found myself wanting to stay longer and engage in a more involved, two-way conversation.  

What a really felt was an overwhelming sense of pride that my sons are student at MBA.  It's expensive and a bit of a stretch for Jude and me to send JP and Joe to school there.  My running joke that my lake house or my mountain house has gone to USN and MBA and, now, MBA, has more than a small element of truth to it.  Still, a night like last night reminds me that it's worth every penny we spend to send our sons to MBA.  Every penny.

With JP starting his fifth year at MBA - fifth year! - I'm more familiar with the school, the faculty, and the parents.  A couple of Joe's teachers - like Emmett Russell - already know me, which is nice.  In the halls, I saw other teachers and coaches I know, like Coach Dunlap, who asked me why I'd shaved my mustache.  I saw Roderick Russ, JP's cross country coach and one of my favorite people at MBA.  I feel so much more comfortable on the Hill than I did when JP first started there four years ago.

It's interesting.  Joe loves all of his teachers and I can see why.  That wasn't the case at USN.  He's being challenged academically.  It's early, of course, but he's working hard and doing well so far.  I'm proud of him.

My fervent hope is that Joe has just as positive and enriching of an experience at MBA as JP has had but that he does it his way.  Joe's experience will be different from JP's and that is it should be.  It's what I want, too.  

Two years with both boys on the Hill.  It's going to be fun.