Teachers and adoption

First day of school today. The kids were excited and so far everyone seems to be happy (I think I may be the happiest!). Adoption and adoption related issues can sometimes be a tricky thing to explain to teachers. This article was posted on a forum I read occasionally and I thought it was worth sharing. I sent it to both teachers last week and I think it opened the door for some good communication.

Unfortunately, Samry's teacher announced today (yep, the first day) about an assignment requiring baby/toddler pictures. Even after receiving this article from me, her suggestion was to have Samry just color a picture of herself as a baby. Hmmm, that is not going to help my daughter, who already feels different and part outcast, fit in. Never mind the fact that the "project" involving said baby photos has virtually no educational value. So, yes, I have a little more work to do.  Fortunately, her teacher seems very nice and I am hoping with more persistence from me she may finally "get it".

I do think it is important for teachers to remember that families are created in many different ways and kids come from vastly varied backgrounds. Older adopted children are not the only kids who could feel hurt by this kind of assignment. Children in foster care or children who immigrated to the US with few personal belongings may also have limited or no baby photos. Anyways, it's just one more unique layer when parenting adopted kiddos.