Connecting with my oldest daughter (16 years old – 10th grader) has been a challenge. We’re in the awkward stage. She no longer likes my jokes or goofy behavior (which took months and several blow-ups for me to acknowledge – duh!). I’m getting better at tactical approaches to uncover opportunities to connect.

It was back-to-school night. I rushed through very crowded hallways (is it this bad during real school days? “Yes,” she said). I got the quick “curriculum overviews.” Some better than others. I met – very briefly – a few of the teachers. I peered around the classrooms. I sized up the new technology my annual property tax increase paid for. But what I really got was a day-in-the-life – albeit compressed into 90 minutes – in a big suburban high school and a simple way to connect with my kid. “What do you think of Mrs. X?” “Mr. Y seems very thorough.” Each question elicited fairly long “performance reviews.” Instead of the generic “how was your day,” I’m now armed with enough details to ask, “Did you start Stephen Crane’s Maggie yet?” “And, by the way, how do you possibly make it from Band to Geometry on time?”

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  Posted by: Joe Keenan