Little Michelle's High School Years... (1)

My next ambitious goal is to organize all the email correspondents between me and Michelle's high school teachers from 2004 to 2008 when Michelle was in high school and I was working in Reno.

Below is only a random selection of a few emails, but they reminded me of the LONG road I traveled with my little Michelle during those rough years...  It was not easy, but as Mrs. Nesci said in her email below, (Michelle) is a good person.  Yeah, she was, and will always be a good person -- for that, I am forever grateful.  You know what else I am thankful for?  I thank god every day for having the guts to reach out to those teachers back then, repeatedly and persistently!!  Their wise words helped me immensely... and 10 years later, as I look back today, I finally understood what they meant.   

Some day, I will show you the intense negotiation sessions I went through with her English teacher in 2005 on why Michelle should not lose 6 points for not "stabling" her paper according to "paper stabling" instructions... unforgettable good old days!! 
 

I am very hopeful that my little Michelle will some day become a GREAT doctor to save human lives!!

5/26/2004 (This is my very first email to her teacher.  1 month before Michelle turned 14)

Dear Mr. Schlumpf,

Attached is the revised version of Michelle’s assignment.  She told me that she was asked to delete the word “shit” from the document.  Michelle had a difficult time understanding why she was given books from school that contained swears, but she couldn't use it in an essay to prove a valid point about having good manners.

As I carefully review the points Michelle was trying to make in her paper, she clearly expressed her judgment of right and wrong and what she had learned from Mrs. Kappel, which I believe is the most important thing to focus on when grading a student’s paper.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Pei

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From: Pei Tang [mailto:tang_pei@yahoo.com]
Sent: Fri 6/2/2006 11:23 AM
To: Allison Antink
Subject: Michelle Zhang

Dear Mr. or Mrs. Antink,

I am Michelle Zhang's mom and am checking in with you on Michelle's progress in school.  Could you give me some feedback? 

1.  Does she put in enough effort in this class?

2.  Where do you see her areas for improvement?

3.  What do you think is the biggest challenge for her next year and for the rest of her high school years?

4.  What do you think we as parents can help guide her?

Thank you,

Pei

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From: Allison Antink <aantink@naperville203.org>
To: Pei Tang <tang_pei@yahoo.com>
Sent: Friday, June 2, 2006 10:54 AM
Subject: RE: Michelle Zhang

Ms. Tang, 

I feel that Michelle has shown appropriate effort in class considering chemistry is not where her interest lies.  She has done especially well on the last topic we covered(redox), a chapter many students do not do well in. 

Areas for her improvement as far as I have seen would be to ask more questions or make more comments in class. 

As far as her experience in high school goes, Michelle might want to start looking at colleges and admission requirements and focusing most on her ultimate goals. 

Being a parent of a teenage girl is not easy and although I am certainly not an expert, Michelle appears to be a very independent young woman and this will serve her very well in life.  For the time being it is probably appropriate to allow her to suffer the consequences of mistakes that she makes (grades, friends etc.) so that she can learn from them.  Also and most importantly acknowledge her strengths and uniqueness and perhaps look into some outside of school programs she might be interested in through universities and museums.  

I hope I have been of help,  

Allison Antink

-----Original Message-----
From: Pei Tang [mailto:tang_pei@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, June 02, 2006 11:20 AM
To: deanna nesci
Subject: Michelle Zhang

Dear Mrs. Nesci,

I am Michelle Zhang's mom and am checking in with you on Michelle's progress in school.  Could you give me some feedback? 

1.  Does she put in enough effort in this class?  She is quiet at times, but when she wants to speak her mind...she is not afraid to contribute to the class discussion. She actively asks questions ALL the time.

2.  Where do you see her areas for improvement?   Motivation...when she finds a challenge she is GREAT...if it doesn't interest her she does not seem very motivated.

3.  What do you think the biggest challenge would be for her next year and for the rest of high school years?   Keeping up her motivation...this drives everything as you must know.  She is incredibly bright...but she must utilize her strengths to see any benefit. 

4.  What do you think we as parents can help guide her?

Support her and RECOGNIZE how talented she is and know that she is a teenager but a young adult.  Encourage her to do things that she enjoys....as a parent myself I know that I just want them to be happy.  How this helps you with parenting her, I can't be sure, but good luck...she is a good person.

Take care, 

Deanna Nesci