I told my daughter’s teacher that children should be treated with respect and she rolled her eyes

We can’t demand respect from children if we don’t give back the same respect they deserve.

“I believe that for children to grow well, to become a responsible individual, it takes a lot of work, patience, love, and more than anything showing them the respect they deserve.” I looked into the teacher’s eyes, a young woman who is one of the two primary teachers in my daughter’s class.

She rolled her eyes. Visibly. Undeniably. Disregarding.

My daughter is now in second grade. The school system in Florence, Italy, encourages homework, not enough time outside, not enough time to engage in extra activities your child might want to pursue.

When she began navigating through the system, I didn’t think too much of it. She went for half a day to preschool, and even that decision was made for her to improve her language skills and integrate into the culture she was born. Then first grade came along, and we were all excited. Although I searched for a loop in the system to take her out of school after lunch, I couldn’t find any; thus, she started school at 8,30 am and finished at 4,30 pm.

But on that Thursday evening, all the common sense and diplomacy I had…