The Starfish Idea

Tonight's blog will be very interesting, for the sole purpose of writing is to illustrate the amount of impact a teacher may have over families without even knowing it.
I held a parent night in my classsroom tonight hoping that I would be able to instruct a classroom of parents and students what responsibility looks like both at home and at school. I prepared my outline, sent home the reminders all with the hopes that I would have a full classroom and a productive parent night meeting.
Donna Shreve showed up and we were discussing various ideas prior to the start of the evening. The time was slipping away and Donna and I were the only ones in my room. We were the ones who had decided to show up, or so I thought. All of a sudden, 2 of my students show up (brother and sister) along with their dad. Finally success, I will have participants tonight.
The 5 of us sat down and worked through homework questions and my "responsibility" agenda. I instruced the students on what their jobs are in 5th grade, its their responsibility to complete them alone, and what my expectations were in my classroom. The family left about 7 and Donna and I were left with our own reflective thoughts.
I came to realize that, yes only 1 parent showed up, but tonight's 30-45 minutes that I talked to that family made all the difference in the world. They were the one starfish that I saved, the one I made a lasting (hopefully) difference with. In closing, just remember it is always possible to make a difference without ever knowing if you just take the time to do so.