THURSDAY THOUGHTS: SUPPORT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD TEACHER

I'm always drawn to conversations about teaching. 

A teacher friend has been struggling with whether or not it is worth it to remain in the classroom. 

It makes me sad that students would miss out on an opportunity to have such a conscientious teacher, and I've been trying my best to be encouraging.

Someone recently commented on a social networking site, that teacher's unions don't advocate for children. 

It seems like a blanket statement to me, and I beg to differ. 

If the people who encounter children, each day, are happy, secure, and regarded well, it can only be a plus for the children. I'd venture to say that few professionals need a viable, effective, relentlessly supportive union more than teachers do.

 

It makes me a little bit mad when I hear people, who have successfully made it through school, talk as if they did it all on their own, and their teachers were just incidental, disposable bumps along their educational road.

I suppose it could be said that I don't have a dog in the hunt anymore. My baby has graduated Law school. I left the public school classroom in 2002, did a nine-month stint in a charter school in 2009, and subbed periodically after that. 

I admit, I miss being a teacher. I suppose it's in the blood. 

My grandmother was a teacher. 

My mother was a teacher. 

My two sisters are teachers. 

My niece just passed the Praxis. 

I have little great-nephews in elementary school, and one in high school. 

I have a niece who earned a full scholarship to college, as a result of her academic achievement in high school. 

I have a little nephew who will be starting school soon. 

I live within walking distance of public schools. 

Daily, I encounter the results of something going horribly wrong in schools--and in the minds of too many, it always seems to be the teachers' fault. 

People cite lack of funds, lack of equipment, poor facilities, but parents are conveniently left out of the equation. 

Having taught in DC Public Schools for 16 years, I KNOW the blame for everything that ails school systems, CANNOT fall into the laps of teachers. They just seem to be the easiest available scapegoats. 

No one wants to challenge parents-- or the students themselves-- and put authority and responsibility where it belongs. 

Parents MUST know that THEY are their child's FIRST teacher. 

The condition in which a teacher meets a child, can definitely, continuously improve if the teacher's right to authority in the classroom is honored.

Kids may have issues because:

they don't study, 

stay up too late, 

don't do their homework, 

don't complete assignments, 

don't eat breakfast, 

don't get immunized, 

don't live with their fathers, 

don't like their mothers, 

have too many siblings, 

don't own a computer, 

spend too much time on the computer, 

don't have a uniform, 

live in the hood, 

listen to rap music, 

live in the burbs, 

are given too many material things, 

and all of that's the TEACHER'S fault? 

Kids:

curse, 

fight, 

disrupt class, 

skip class, 

ditch school, 

don't pay attention, 

don't follow school rules, 

smoke, 

drink, 

use drugs, 

have unprotected sex, 

and it's the TEACHER'S fault? 

Kids: 

can't get along with the kids at THIS school, 

so they get a transfer to THAT school, 

can't get along AGAIN, 

and it's the TEACHER'S fault? 

ENOUGH ALREADY.

I said it made me sad, but let me change that. I hate, hate, HATE to hear a GREAT teacher talking about abandoning the profession. 

I especially hate to hear it when the reason is that they can no longer abide the total lack of corrective action taken toward unruly students by either the administration, or the student's own parent or guardian.

(I also hate to hear people bragging about the academic achievement of children from low income families, as if it's an anomaly. Given the opportunity, ANYBODY can learn. Given the message early enough, students will know the importance and purpose of school, and the respect that teachers are due.)

Teachers deserve EVERY dime they EARN, every recognized holiday, snow day, and every benefit they can get. They deserve staff development that is substantive--something they can actually use. They have no time to waste on drivel. 

Some people have NO idea what it is like to deal with other people's children on a daily basis, and I challenge them to volunteer at a public school for one week--no--one DAY.

People are paid millions to dribble and run with inflated balls, but the individuals who regularly encounter children--THE MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCE ON EARTH-- 9 months out of a year or more, are expected to work miracles with little or nothing, and put up with foolishness that some people wouldn't accept from a stray dog. 

Teachers are expected to work in fear of losing their jobs, and not having the wherewithal to care for their own families. 

On ANY given day, some little darling can lie on a teacher, and their career is over. 

EVERY day some teacher is called a vicious name, cursed, and hindered by someone who doesn't have the SENSE to realize that the person they're disrespecting HAS earned a high school diploma AND at least one college degree. 

Every day, highly inappropriate behavior is swept under the rug, and considered part of the territory. 

WHEN did it become alright to be so unbelievably BACKWARD and ignorant toward someone who has attained what you are trying to get--and whose evaluation/recommendation you NEED? 

When did parents start ENCOURAGING their children to go to school and behave so foolishly that they learn NOTHING--except how to be a fool?

 

Sometimes I honestly do believe that there is a conspiracy in place with the sole purpose of churning out inept citizens. Year after year, more emphasis is placed on "Stars in Education" and not a single one of them works in a classroom WITH students.

When did "education" become a trendy, fashionable buzzword and not a serious matter? 

People are trotting out children from poor neighborhoods and bragging about what they can do. REALLY? DUH! Putting them in an environment where they either comply with the rules or GET OUT, pretty much guarantees the success of those who stay!

WHEN did we forget how important it is to instill certain messages in our children so that they can be gladly given the best that a teacher has to offer? 

WHEN did we start sending our children to school with directives about what the adults they encounter "better not do"? 

I have NEVER seen more children with lawyers and psychiatrists in all my life! 

I have NEVER heard more pride in the voices of people who have accepted labels for their children that require them to be drugged and darn near catatonic in order to function at school. 

Why won't people just be honest? They dropped the ball when Johnny was acting like a fool at 2 years of age. Instead of correcting him, they laughed and thought his antics were funny. When someone ELSE tried to correct him, they called it interference and copped an attitude. Now NO ONE can do ANYTHING with little Johnny, and if someone DARES give Johnny what's coming to him, they'd better have a quick seance and hope they can contact Johnny Cochran. 

WHEN did a child's disruptive behavior at school translate into a financial windfall for the parents? 

"Do you have a rotten kid that IS so, because you refused, or were too otherwise preoccupied to do YOUR part? You can become rich! Just take him/her to school and wait for them to pluck the already overwhelmed teacher's last nerve!" 

WHAT? Is THIS what we're promoting now? Is the only communication between parent and teacher, the unjust war cry, "Im'a have your JOB"? 

Most teachers don't look at what they do as JUST a job. 

Every teacher is not simply looking for a way to repay student loans and earn a free master's degree. 

 For many it is a CALLING, but does a parent know what MUSIC "Im'a have your job" IS to the ear of a teacher who has begged for help concerning an out-of-control kid, has gotten NONE, but HAS been told, by the people who SHOULD offer able to help, "Our hands are tied"?

It's not the household income, or even the neighborhood that matters most, but the values established in the HOME, the unwavering standards of the school where academics and discipline are concerned, and the cooperation, MUTUAL respect, and expectations of parents and teachers that contribute to student achievement. 

A child armed with the knowledge that school is not a joke to be trifled with, is a force with which to be reckoned today and in the future. 

An overwhelmed parent who has the GOOD sense to allow "the village" to help, is a WISE parent. If you can't handle your kid, don't hinder those who can. Don't let guilt or shame cause you to add to the disruption of the school day. Defending unacceptable behavior is a good way to ensure that it continues. 

Too often I heard, "I KNOW my child is bad..." REALLY? Is that something of which to be PROUD? Is that the way a parent wants their child to REMAIN? BAD? OFF THE CHAIN? DUMB AS A BOX OF ROCKS? Is everyone that child encounters just supposed to suck it up and deal with it? 

No wonder so many children were socially promoted or given passing grades. 

Some parents have a lot of lip, threats, expectations, and demands for everyone except their own children.

Given an opportunity, ALL classrooms can be bursting with positive activity. The problem is OPPORTUNITY. 

A teacher who is threatened, harassed, bogged down with minutia and paperwork that has NOTHING to do with student achievement, is overworked and underpaid, and has to spend time defending themselves against litigious parents and their equally unruly offspring, has very little time to teach! 

If negativity continues unresolved, and seems to be the norm, even the brightest teacher will soon demonstrate a negative shift in their once infectious enthusiasm for the profession.

Why SHOULDN'T a teacher EXPECT to teach in a reasonably orderly environment? 

A classroom is the only professional environment in which anyone can just walk in off the street and burst in unannounced because "My child is in there". 

Why should a teacher have to put up with a brat who labors under the misapprehension that he or she is in charge of ANYTHING else except his/her own learning? 

Why should a teacher be told that a REPEATEDLY disruptive student is on his/her way BACK to their classroom and NOTHING can be done about it? 

Why should a child, after being kicked out of ONE school, be allowed to continue their reign of terror at another? 

Why is it the TEACHER'S problem when the child decides to be a daily pain in the butt?

If one more person yells "It's about the children", but sees no need to discipline children, or have the back of the individuals who spend more time with them than their own parents do, I am going to scream! (I think I just did.)

It's not even about class size. A teacher can have SIXTY-EIGHT students, a hamster, and a goldfish, but if ORDER is maintained--and not negotiable--they ALL can excel. 

Large groups of people assemble everyday to attain information. They get it because they want and choose to be there, have a mind to pay attention, AND distractions, interruptions, and inappropriate behavior are NOT allowed. 

If it can be done at the movie theater, it can be done in schools.

SOMEBODY has to advocate for good teachers! 

You can't say "Children First" and not care about the physical and mental well-being of the people who encounter them each day. 

You can't treat teachers like dirt and expect that students will fare well. 

Too many people TALKING about teachers/education have not spent much time in a classroom--except when they were students. 

Some who ramble on negatively about teachers have either failed at teaching and became administrators (because it's easier to push around grown people), or they don't have children of their own.

Teaching APPEARS to be easy, but it is more than just imparting information. Theory is good, but practice is better. 

Teachers have to care about the WHOLE child, and when you have people like that in place, you shouldn't hound them, disrespect them, instill fear in them, or allow havoc to be wreaked until they decide to hang up their chalk and take their caring selves somewhere else.

Because many systems claim their hands are tied where disciplinary problems are concerned, it's a wonder that a teacher can even get a lesson in. 

Classroom management is one thing. A rude, profane, out of control student who possesses the GO-AHEAD to interfere DAILY with the learning process-- courtesy of their parents and spineless administrators, is all the more reason why teachers need SOMEONE on their side.

Perhaps it's time for people in the Education Conversation to look back and figure out why/how it is that THEY can read, write and comprehend so well. 

Is it because they attended a state-of-the-art, multi-million dollar school in a wealthy neighborhood? I

s it because of their amazing genius, tremendous self-motivation and drive? 

Is it because they only had 9 other kids in class, and had a hot meal every morning? 

Is it because they knew their places as students, and understood, from DAY ONE of Kindergarten, that the teacher was in charge--just like a parent away from home--not an enemy to be belittled, disrespected, short changed, overworked, and expected to fear their supervisors and students? 

Is it because they knew THEIR parents didn't PLAY, and were under NO legally binding threat of spending time in jail, or losing custody of them for soundly correcting them-- on the spot?

Have people decided to be friends and buddies, and not parents? 

Have parents decided that children don't need discipline? 

Have we stopped loving children enough to chasten them when they need it? 

Have we turned school into a giant playground where kids hang out because parents can't leave them at home while they work?

 

God bless the athletically excellent among us, and the artistically gifted but do we push our children that way because we feel it is ALL that they are capable of? Do we fail to remember that discipline is expected and demanded in THOSE circles, too?

Let teachers teach, and they will. 

Trust them to teach, and they will. 

We have got to give teachers back the cherished place in "The Village" that they deserve. 

We've got to include teachers in EVERY discussion about education and take seriously what they have to say--whether we want to hear about our little darling's propensities to be Jeckyll and Hyde, or not.

A kid is a different animal away from home. 

Here's a thought: 

Drop in on your child's school every now and then. Just watch. Then make a concentrated effort to be a supporter of your neighborhood teachers--not another unfortunate reason for them to abandon ship in pursuit of another profession.