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Sorry. It appears I've needed a crowbar to remove the foot from my mouth after every post I've written recently. Please know I'm not deliberately trying to be offensive, and my "joke" was not meant to insult anyone. I was making fun of myself.
Got it. I appreciate the explanation.
Personally, I'm still learning where you are coming from. I'll try and remember to give you the benefit of the doubt in the future.
OTE=somebodynew;20780434]This is a sticky wicket because the issues are not simple. Yes what is described in this article can be very, very true. And a blight on the school systems for burning out our best and brightest. Leaving...
The aged teachers who are marking time.
The people who want summers off.
The people who, yes I am serious, just aren't bright enough to do other things.
I am no helicopter parent. If anything, I am WAY more likely to work with my children to see how they can work through/with what they have. And as far as taking responsibility for their own actions, I am likely much more hard assed about that than any teacher.
Yes I know not all parents are like this. And as such, not all teachers are the Mary Poppins of child love. Nor are they all super highly educated. I remember thinking about going into teaching. Those were among the least rigorous bachelor's programs I looked at. The standard test, whose name I no longer remember, had skills which were not a great deal better than the ones to be taught in school by the supposed teacher. Basic math. Basic literacy. Not one program required classroom management. Some did not even offer it.
I wonder where you get the "majority" assertion. Many? I will buy that. But I am not sure I woudl be down with majority.[/quote]
Great points! Makin' me see the other side of this issue...
OTE=Hopes;20791014]Most professionals are salaried and have to work beyond the typical 9-5 schedule without additional pay.
If teachers want to be viewed as professionals, they'd do better to drop the union mentality.
Cry me a river. My husband works 72 to 96 hours per week. And he doesn't get summer off, nor winter and spring breaks. Teachers get plenty of time off.[/quote]
Mikeshreve said he thinks parents blame teachers for their kids' bad behavior. "After 33 years of teaching, I've seen it all. My favorite is the parent I called about her child's disrespect. 'What did you do to make my child disrespect you?' "
It is not as straight forward as all that. Some kids are little ****s because they were raised to be little ****s. But some teachers don't intuit classroom management either. They don't teach classroom management for the vast majority of education degrees. So it is not a completely invalid thing to posit. DO you have good enough classroom management skills and habits to receive respect?
Especially at the elementary age, you cannot expect the parent to have a great deal of influence over the behavior of the children if the person who is there and on the spot cannot exert their influence.
By the same token, a child who has been allowed to be a hellion since he turned 2 is going to be a classroom management nightmare for even the most wonderfully skilled teacher. (As a side note, there is a great book on classroom management that refers to this as defusing your Larry. If you are a teacher, read Tools for Teaching by Jones. And I am sorry if I offend anyone named Larry. That is just the name he used.)
As long as we view the debate as pitching all teachers against all parents and finding one group at fault, we will never look at the details of situations to find solutions.
Well, that was depressing. If parents and teacher's can't find some kind of common ground - then I fear for the public school system.
Surely they can't all be enemies.
Well, yes and no. I think dialogue is the most important thing. Everyone has gripes and anecdotes to support the terrible teacher/terrible parent stories. People need to figure out for themselves what their priorities should be.
Bandynose disagreed, writing, "I will never take the word of a teacher or any adult at face value when it comes to my kids. I will ask them straight out if it's true. If they say no, I'm going to ask you for proof."
Mikeshreve said he thinks parents blame teachers for their kids' bad behavior. "After 33 years of teaching, I've seen it all. My favorite is the parent I called about her child's disrespect. 'What did you do to make my child disrespect you?' "
It is not as straight forward as all that. Some kids are little ****s because they were raised to be little ****s. But some teachers don't intuit classroom management either. They don't teach classroom management for the vast majority of education degrees. So it is not a completely invalid thing to posit. DO you have good enough classroom management skills and habits to receive respect?
Especially at the elementary age, you cannot expect the parent to have a great deal of influence over the behavior of the children if the person who is there and on the spot cannot exert their influence.
By the same token, a child who has been allowed to be a hellion since he turned 2 is going to be a classroom management nightmare for even the most wonderfully skilled teacher. (As a side note, there is a great book on classroom management that refers to this as defusing your Larry. If you are a teacher, read Tools for Teaching by Jones. And I am sorry if I offend anyone named Larry. That is just the name he used.)
As long as we view the debate as pitching all teachers against all parents and finding one group at fault, we will never look at the details of situations to find solutions.
Oh believe me, my kids KNOW I am there in spirit in the classroom. They know the teacher and I have each other's email addresses. I tell them that every time they misbehave, they will incur punishment at school AND at home. If I learn that my child has been disrespectful or unruly, I have dealt out the following punishments:
- Write a letter of apology to the teacher (or a student he wronged) and read it aloud to him/her after class.
- Go to class before/after school to help out the teacher with any misc work they need done. (Take stuff off the walls, etc) This may sound minor, but it's more shameful when it's a punishment.
- Write 100 lines "I will not disrespect my teacher or classmates." and turn this in to the teacher (at least they know it is being addressed).
As a result, after one or two of these incidents, they behavior improves miraculously.
BTW, this US VS THEM mentality between teachers and parents doesn't help anyone.
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