Teaching the child of celebrity!

[Ducklings45]

Has anyone done this and how did you get past the 'oh wow it's Xxx'. A new child join my class recently with famous parentage.

I am still a bit starstruck when speaking to
mum and wondered how you move past it?

Posted too early... I just want some advice on how to move past the feeling of being starstruck!

I think you will just have to try and get past it, be v professional and pretend they are just any old parent. They aren't celebs when they are doing school stuff so just do your best to treat them normally and not say anything stoopid.

You just have to pretend schlebs are normal people. Because they are. Just have a bit extra in the bank, and paps in their faces. It's no big deal. They still do the same as you - work for a living, watch trash tv, read, listen to music etc. Plus treating them like a regular person makes it easier, ime, to get money when fundraising , unless of course they are mega tight (just like none schlebs)

Celebs don't bother me.

Spencer from Balamory came to tea twice. My dc were excited and Rodd was great at explaining he's not really Spencer. But one of the nicest guys I ever met!!

And you need to hope the celeb doesn't do anything very silly and end up in the papers in some scandal.

You need to get a grip, teach the child, not disbelieve if some aspects of their life are outside your experience and accommodate any privacy issues that might arise with the support of the school.
And don't get all squeaky and start dropping clues to all and sundry.

I've had the children of a Lord, famousish international footballer, human rights activist with a contract out on the parent, several academic writers and a world class musician in my class at one time or another.
If you can't talk to the parent without dribbling or stammering in awe, you need to work on staying calm. Practise. Enjoy the time, it might not last very long.

I gave Princess Beatrice a polo lesson once. I wasn't star struck but she was sooooo shy I found my self not chatting away as I normally would.

Treat the child 100% normally, keep any conversation with the parent 100% about the child. Be neither rude nor overly deferential to the parent.

I used to work with slebs. It was hard at times as I too would get star struck occasionally and would have to give myself a sly slap while they weren't looking.
The majority of them know people get star struck and they know it's awkward at times. I would zone out their media persona starting now and just treat them like any other school parents.
They all pick their nose, have hissy fits and worry about their kids like us mere mortals not under the glare of the Paps.

You'll get used to it i'm sure. My mum used to work at a v naice private school, and had a fair few footballers' children etc, she got some ace end of year presents

My nephew is in a class with a few footballers kids and a famous northern comedian's son. My SIL is utterly oblivious - totally wasted on her.

I've treated a few famous people and not recognised them, amuses my colleagues no end.
I am terrible with faces and quite often names too.
I comfort myself with the thought that if they're ill enough to need an ambulance they probably don't want to be recognised and at least they can be sure of my confidentiality.

You should have seen my sons face when the current James B dropped off his dd to visit neighbours dd. (yes, she frequents our local estate and mingles with council tenants a whole lot of less judgmental than some folks on here!)

I think sometimes being starstruck and in awe is human nature. It is hiding it that is the problem!

Same son once asked a friend of mine "How rich are you?" I wished right there and then that her pool would swallow me up.

Oh sherbetpips, is it a private RC school? If its the school I'm thinking of I did supply there for half a term and taught said comedian's son. He was lovely as we're his boys. Great school too!

Duckling, when we lived in Cheshire my kids went to school with kids of premiership footballers and Corrie stars. It was strange at first but good to see the mums sometimes looking just as frazzled as the rest of us at 8am. Probably helped that football isn't my thing and I don't watch Corrie though!

Were not we're.

I teach the son of a well-known TV actor but had no idea until he sat down in front of me at parents evening, since the boy doesn't use the same surname. I struggled momentarily with composure until it became clear he didn't know the first thing about my subject!

I taught a deejay' s daughter. I was a bit star struck at first but eventually it settled down and she was just another kid.

we have a very famous parent at our school, and I felt very sorry for him in the interval at the school play as he was standing alone (as everyone was ignoring him so as not to look as if hey were star-struck) so I went up to him and chatted about the play, as I would have if he's been ano person stading on his own with a very sour-faced unfriendly wife

The Rooney child is at my friends school.
My DH taught several children of very famous parents. He didn't even realize about one of them till I spotted them at the school fete worse than death.

I understand why you can't (and mustn't) say who it is BUT I DEMAND that you at least give us an idea of exactly how famous, loosely what they are famous for and provide some similar comparisons.

Thank you.

I know what you mean, MrsS it's a tricky one. No-one wants to looking like a desperate social climber or an autograph hunter, do they? One of my eldest son's very good friends has a famous dad, (pretty legendary among certain circles in fact) and while I always chatted to his mum and got along really well with her I could never quite bring myself to do the same with the dad. I was pleasant to him, but reluctant to start or sustain conversations in case he as scanning my eyes for signs of evidence of being a Star Struck Hanger On. It was a shame because I got on very well with the mum, and would ordinarily have invited them for dinner or something, but it seemed a bit sucky-uppy.

Don't see them any more as son at uni and we have moved away.

I should add that she didn't tell me about little Kai, her DS did.