What, exactly, are teachers supposed to do? Do they just teach reading, writing, and 'rithmatic? Or are they also responsible for a child's emotional well-being, his grasp of societal norms and taboos, basic manners, and mentoring?
It's a good question, isn't it? I mean, our kids are with their teachers almost more than they are with their parents, so teachers, in some ways, are forced to fill the role of parent in many situations. A teacher with a class of 35 or more kids somehow has to help those kids learn all the basics in any given subject and deal with classroom management. And then we get all upset when they don't also spot every single problem our kid is having emotionally, physically, or spiritually; in fact, some parents get downright sue-happy when they realize that their precious little one isn't being treated with all the special, tender one-on-one time that the parents deem necessary.
I'm not being bitter or cynical here. I'm just throwing out some food for thought. Are teachers actually supposed to be responsible for all of that or is it possible that parents have now placed on teachers too much responsibility while avoiding it themselves?
A conversation I had with a friend today really brought that issue to the fore in my mind. She has intimate knowledge of what goes on in schools in our area, and one school in particular is atrocious. At this school, the principal has cultivated such an image of being a "pal" that he does not in any way demand responsibility or accountability from the students. The kids, who are in high school, attend class when they feel like it, leave school grounds when they feel like it, and abuse their teachers when they feel like it. The teachers at this school have no recourse. If they send a student to the principal's office for discipline, the principal lets them hang out with him, telling the kids to wait "while the teacher cools down." No one gets punished for multiple tardies or unexcused absences. If a parent comes to complain about their student's failing grade in a class, the teacher of that class is ordered to allow the student to make it up, even if the failing grade was a result of homework and attendance negligence.
I wonder what the principal thinks his duty as the leader of his high school actually is? When those kids graduate with what amounts to an eighth grade education (or less, depending on how well they did before they made it to this high school), they will be ill equipped to enter the workforce or attend college. Not only will their academic skills be lacking, they'll find that attendance is required, they have to be accountable for their performance, and no one is going to cut them much slack if they continue to act as if everything is to be run on their own time. They won't be ready to transition to adulthood.
This has already been proven. When a new high school was built in a town close by, students from Atrocious High (not its real name) were allowed to transfer. Nearly every single one of those who began attending the new school eventually transferred back because they couldn't handle having to show up to school on time, stay all day, and hand in their homework. There was no Pal in the head office willing to let every bad behavior slide. Plus, the principal of this school didn't appreciate being called by his first name.
The Atrocious High principal is an example of exactly what education should not be. He's incompetent and dangerous, and those kids will have to work for years to undo the damage that's been done to them by his personal desires not to upset anyone at any time. So again, it raises the question: what, exactly, is a teacher responsible for?
Because where are the parents of these kids? Why haven't they demanded that he be fired? Why are there no letters to the editor or calls to the district Board of Education? The teachers at Atrocious High are afraid to speak out because they'll be fired, and no one wants to be fired in this economy. Yet, they have all the responsibility and none of the authority because the parents of these kids and the principal are working together -- whether through open approval or silence -- to ruin these kids for life. Teachers can teach to empty classrooms or demand homework from kids who openly mock them, and in the end, they will be blamed for not giving them an education in life as well as letters and numbers.
3 comments:
I've never heard this stuff before. I have to say, though, that Atrocious High has a history of changing principals nearly every 3-5 years or so and maybe this person's time is about up. I ALSO think that it is because of parents that we are kind of in this mess. In the past, parents have written, complained, etc. about principals, coaches, teachers, etc. who do not treat their kids "right" and this is part of the reason for administration turnover. From an outsider's view. Maybe some of us more responsible parents should push back.
Good point, Linnea. Maybe it's the two extremes: helicopter parents and parents who don't care at all that tend to skew and twist the system.
I do know that you volunteer a lot of your time to help out your kids' teachers and other teachers, which is probably the single most beneficial thing any of us can do.
As for Atrocious High, I'm just glad my kids don't go there. I would tell you more about my friend on here, but my friend would probably get in trouble if I told you specific instances and experiences. Let's just say my friend is very involved and knows what's going on on the inside.
It's a battle (when the school officials) do not reinforce "acceptable" behaviors. But, as you said, too many parents depend on the school system to "raise" their children.
It's a shame, and disgustingly neglectful.
And then, those same parents wonder why our nation is heading in the direction it is...
Sigh...
Thankfully, thee are still a few of "us" around, eh?
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