Today was nuts!  It just seemed like Ms. Baitzel and I were trying to juggle 46 things at the same time.  I don't know how she does this by herself on a regular basis.  Emmy did not do her homework again (which means a parent teacher conference), Matthew finally lost his tooth (which was a huge celebration),  the floor was covered in paint, and of course we were late to music class.  But the real craziness came when Ms. Baitzel received a unhappy and demanding email from one of the parents.  The parent criticized Ms. Baitzel for not challenging their child and for not communicating with them what was expected.  They did not request certain items, they demanded them.  They compared her with the child's previous teachers and informed her that if the child failed a test, it was her fault entirely.  I was furious.  Ms. Baitzel laughed.  She had more than enough evidence to show that the student was at fault for his failure, that she had tried to communicate with the parents beforehand, and that her performance as a teacher went beyond the school's standards.
I could not believe how confident she was.  With everything else that had been going on that day, this email would have brought me to tears.  But she took it all in stride.  I learned so much from today.  Such as....

1) Teaching requires every ounce of you.  Every bit of energy and second that you've got.
2) You cannot make everyone happy.
3) Save your emails.  And keep up with your gradebook.
4) Do not take your frustration with parents out on their child.