I met a parent today who also happens to work at the school. The parent's kid is in my class. The student is good--in behavior and academics--but it's still difficult to say if he's innately good or pressured into being good.
I get the feeling that he's pressured into being good. Given his parent's approach to asking about his grades, how I teach, my grading standards, I feel that the parent is trying to pressure me into giving the student an A. "He's an A student. If he's getting B's and C's, then we've got some problems," the parent said.
I don't know what the parent meant by the use of "we." We, as in the parent and me are going to butt heads and have issues; or we, as in the parent and child are going to have a long conversation at home?
If I was a first year teacher, I would totally succumb to that pressure. Now that I'm seasoned, I feel much more confident in standing by and defending my grading policies. A's are earned, not given.
If the parent's got issues, well, the buck stops here. I'm also department chair.