How much for a ticket to hell?

How do you know when you've been to hell and back...when you're blogging about it at 6am because you've been up for over an hour recalling every detail and thing you wished you had said!!
Yesterday was a particularly rough day at school with parents. Side note: I had a completely wonderful day with the kids. It was our prize drawing on Friday and it went great. The kids were super excited and were great sports even if their ticket wasn't drawn. No suicide threats or crying! :) Back to the main reason for this blog and early morning distraction. Sometimes I feel like as a teacher I just can't win. No matter what my degree and my training I'm just two steps behind because I didn't have this specialized training or didn't attend this beneficial conference. Sometimes, ok well, a majority of the time parents just need to realize that your child's teacher is the professional and is doing what is best for their child. (Yes, I know, I HATE the phrase "What's best for kids?" if you were there you know why!) This was not the case yesterday.
I can't and won't get into details but I'm leaving all non-teacher parents with some advice for handling your child's future/current teacher.
1. Report all health and medical conditions to your child's teacher and the school ASAP. Don't leave someone in the dark because it is a safety hazard.
2. If there is a problem go to your child's teacher and talk to them about it!! I promise we won't bite but please come with an open mind and a dialogue to start with.
3. Be an advocate for your child but realize as a teacher we have to be an advocate for the other kids and ourselves.
4. Realize we are human and that we do make mistakes sometimes, just as you do also.
5. If you aren't sure how to handle a situation with a teacher or school call a friend that is a teacher and ask him/her how it should be handled and what you need to do. The best advice comes from experts, so ask one.
6. As a teacher we are often with your child more hours of the day than you are, sleeping doesn't count as contact time. In fact, we are often with your children more than we are with our own. We get called "mom"a lot. I know this may break your heart hearing that but it's true. We are like a third parent but we don't get paid nearly as much child support.
7. Finally, if it sounds irrational it is!! If you need specific examples of irrational requests please e-mail me and I will send you a list.

I'm feeling slightly better but still annoyed and I'm hoping to get out of this funk with some housework before my boys wake up. Here's hoping!!