A meeting with parents

Today I had a meeting with some parents of my students. The theme of the reunion was the problems they are challenged with in educating their children. I had chosen some clips with problematic kids to give them a starter of discussion. But I was positively surprised to see them start the discussion without any help. This is the second time I manage such a discussion group and they seem to become more and more relaxed at these reunions. Almost every parent present got involved and debated offering various ideas and sharing experiences. They really liked hearing our point of view, mine and my colleagues, and debating what happens with teenagers nowadays and what we can do to keep them safe and disciplined. I liked it when at the end some of them were still talking to us, some haw reluctant to leave. It was a great atmosphere and we really felt that everyone of us learnt something new from the others. Three hours passed without noticing. One of the mums also noticed and told me that she thought the meeting went great and she said that she enjoyed it.
Leaving with a colleague, she talked about stopping in town to drink a hot chocolate. This mum being with us, I invited her too, if she wasn't busy. We ended up going to a pastry shop where we stayed and talked for another two hours. It was a lot of fun. Walking back, this mum and the colleague I was with  kept thanking me for including them in the parent reunion and that sweet getaway. They seemed so happy...I don't think I did something extraordinary but they were delighted. I was thinking that some people need so little to be happy. They both have children and worries and don't get very often the chance to forget everything and get out with friends and forget about everything at a "cup of talking".
All in all, it was another " beautiful" day in my life when I felt perfectly happy to be surrounded by wonderfully open people. I liked to see these parents sharing their dissatisfaction and opinions and at the same time my smiles when I was joking about some deeds of my students.The problems are serious but I didn't want the discussion to become a prescriptive one in which someone teaches someone else what to do with his child. Everyone is smart enough to think about their own problems and learn from the others. One of the fathers was very cute- he wrote down every idea and took the sheet of paper with him. He said that he has to learn and apply them.
When I invited them to the next meetings, I had the surprise to heat that they want more. I say that I am surprised, because very often it is difficult to manage to determine parents to come to school. I think the last discussion was so interesting that they decided they enjoy these reunions. Thus we had today  a greater number than expected. All for the best. I only wish more parents with problematic children come to us. Maybe they will hear how these discussion work, and that we don't point fingers and they will open this communication channel.
 On another note, I feel a certain appeal that I have for people. I like when people feel my warmth and open up. I think for people it's easier to open up to me. This is a thing I discovered about me lately, comparing the reaction of other people towards me and my colleagues. I am not the coordinator of this program for parents, but a colleague is. She is a very kind, elegant person with whom it is always a pleasure to talk. But at parents meetings, it is easier for me to open a discussion and incite people to open up and talk. Maybe because of my younger age, my friendly jokes and smiles. And I think she was aware of this before me and that's why she asks me to elicit and entertain the talks.
 Of course, I am ware that I am a very talkative person ( as you can see from all this writing...) and permanently try to monitor myself as to talk in a reasonable ratio. I don't want to monopolize the discussion. I tried this today too but I don't know in what measure I managed because I saw that when someone else from the group was talking they were looking periodically at me. I will ask one of my colleagues tomorrow, if I talked too much. I hope not!
 A, and today I saw two very beautifully colored woodpeckers in front of the school. I am still surprised to see them coming so close to us. You didn't used to see this in the last years. A moment when I was sorry I didn't have my camera with me today was when visiting an elderly relative I saw a shinny black rooster pouring his soul out in a impetuous song on a brand new red gate. It was a fairy -tale image with the proud,  hell-black strained rooster filling the air with sound perched on a red gate matching perfectly the red on his head.