On Being Plastic and Screening Calls

I had another 'fight' with a parent this morning and it's draining my energy.  This has been a routine for months now and I'm getting used to it actually. I shared my sentiments with a colleague wherein she advised me to learn how to be plastic. She said, "I've been teaching since 1985 and during my first 10 years I tried to please the pupils' parents. However, I cannot. So take it this way, no matter what you decide on, someone will always negate you and you cannot do anything about it. Be plastic. Try kissing their asses from time to time but don't let these deeds get to you. Treat everything professionally."

So coming from a senior teacher, I think she has a point. No matter how I try to be idealistic and just, I cannot please everyone. So I am learning how to be numb with accusations thrown at me and try to learn how to be plastic.

I don't know whether giving my number to the parents is a good thing or  a bad one. Why you may  ask? It's because gossips are easier to report in text messaging. Whenever a parent says something about my decision/program, another parent will call or text me to inform me about it and probably kiss my ass. Haha! Sometimes I want to screen the numbers calling my cellphone so that I can have my peace of mind at least for a while. Speaking of such, I have found the site www.reportphonenumbers.com wherein you can post certain numbers to let other people know what to expect from that number. Whether it's a sales call or a bill collector, you'll know when to pick up the phone or not. Cool isn't it?