Continued......

I was in the middle of an ARD for my oldest daughter and her special ed. teacher announced that she did not know that my son was adopted. I was a little shocked since we had just moved to the area a few months before. I sat staring at her in shock that she would bring this up in front of others, how exactly was this related to my oldest daughter’s education special needs. Needless to say they could tell I was a little upset. I did remind everyone that anything discussed in an ARD was privileged information and I appreciated it if they would keep any information they had learned to themselves.

The teacher did apologize after the meeting. She explained that she was telling my daughter that she wanted to adopt a child one day and my daughter shared with her that she had adopted brother and sisters. I then explained to the teacher that my children had the right to privacy and especially being in a super small town I did not think it was everyone’s business. I did tell her that I would be happy to talk with her about adoption if she would like information. She did ask questions, which I answered and was happy to do so.

I am not saying I am secretive about my children’s adoption, I just do not wear it as a badge for public knowledge. I do talk about it to people and I am open about it when I discuss it, just not to every person. I do not tell people all about my personal business so why should I discuss my children’s personal business.