A Message To Parents From Teachers

[MA-Caver]

Editor's note: Ron Clark, author of "The End of Molasses Classes: Getting Our Kids Unstuck -- 101 Extraordinary Solutions for Parents and Teachers," has been named "American Teacher of the Year" by Disney and was Oprah Winfrey's pick as her "Phenomenal Man." He founded The Ron Clark Academy, which educators from around the world have visited to learn.

(CNN) -- This summer, I met a principal who was recently named as the administrator of the year in her state. She was loved and adored by all, but she told me she was leaving the profession.
I screamed, "You can't leave us," and she quite bluntly replied, "Look, if I get an offer to lead a school system of orphans, I will be all over it, but I just can't deal with parents anymore; they are killing us."
Unfortunately, this sentiment seems to be becoming more and more prevalent. Today, new teachers remain in our profession an average of just 4.5 years, and many of them list "issues with parents" as one of their reasons for throwing in the towel. Word is spreading, and the more negativity teachers receive from parents, the harder it becomes to recruit the best and the brightest out of colleges.
So, what can we do to stem the tide? What do teachers really need parents to understand?

(read on) http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/06/living/teachers-want-to-tell-parents/index.html

Underpaid for what they have to put up with during the school year.

The truth is, a lot of times it's the bad teachers who give the easiest grades, because they know by giving good grades everyone will leave them alone.
Ron Clark

This article makes me feel a little guilty about all the crap I gave my teachers through the years, when I could've appreciated what they were doing for me and what they have given me. Now, I'm grateful to each of them for the education that I have gotten from them. I wish I could find them all and say "thank you".

 

[NSRTKD]

This is exactly why I believe the parents need to be involved and active in their kids' education. We are moms and dads, not chauffeurs and cooks, and its time parents start acting like it. When all kids have to do at home is eat and play their Nintendo ds's and watch tv, its no wonder kids are lazy and undisciplined at school. And then the biggest problem: parents back up their lazy kids and come down on the teachers, because the world isn't "nice" enough to their kids. We are a society addicted to sugar coating and niceness. Parents need to discipline and teach!

 

[granfire]

This is exactly why I believe the parents need to be involved and active in their kids' education. We are moms and dads, not chauffeurs and cooks, and its time parents start acting like it. When all kids have to do at home is eat and play their Nintendo ds's and watch tv, its no wonder kids are lazy and undisciplined at school. And then the biggest problem: parents back up their lazy kids and come down on the teachers, because the world isn't "nice" enough to their kids. We are a society addicted to sugar coating and niceness. Parents need to discipline and teach!

slippery stretch of road there...
On one hand a teacher can't perform the job when then so called 'adults' back home pretty much torpedo every effort.
On the other hand the balance between 'involved' and 'uninterested' is difficult to achieve.

Last Friday a lady recognized me...a 2nd grade teacher from an elementary school I have not set foot in in 4 years, plus I never had direct dealings with her! (I was involved, in a positive way)
The bunch I am dealing with now, I can't get them to return a message....different school district, different clientel.

 

[rlobrecht]

Great article. I couldn't help but be reminded of the "Parents don't belong on the mat" thread.

 

[HammockRider]

I've heard plenty about the problems some parents can cause from friends and family who are in education. That's why I decide to become a librarian instead. You mess with a librarian, you get the...SHHHHHH!

 

[NSRTKD]

slippery stretch of road there...
On one hand a teacher can't perform the job when then so called 'adults' back home pretty much torpedo every effort.
On the other hand the balance between 'involved' and 'uninterested' is difficult to achieve.

Last Friday a lady recognized me...a 2nd grade teacher from an elementary school I have not set foot in in 4 years, plus I never had direct dealings with her! (I was involved, in a positive way)
The bunch I am dealing with now, I can't get them to return a message....different school district, different clientel.

Just so we're clear, I wasn't at all implying that the teachers should do more than they are doing. I'm uncertain what you're calling a "slippery stretch of road?" Sorry for any confusion...

 

[MA-Caver]

I've heard plenty about the problems some parents can cause from friends and family who are in education. That's why I decide to become a librarian instead. You mess with a librarian, you get the...SHHHHHH!

So I'm sure you can tell me a little story about a man named Shhh
Shhh! That was a per-emptive "shh!" even before you start.

I like librarians they're cool.

 

[Nomad]

Underpaid for what they have to put up with during the school year.


This article makes me feel a little guilty about all the crap I gave my teachers through the years, when I could've appreciated what they were doing for me and what they have given me. Now, I'm grateful to each of them for the education that I have gotten from them. I wish I could find them all and say "thank you".

Excellent article, and as a parent it reflects my feelings pretty strongly. Teachers have an incredibly tough job, and usually the best thing I can do is to let them do it, reinforce any lessons at home, and address any criticisms of my children directly and seriously with the kids to help find effective solutions.

On a related topic, many schools have gone over the top in trying to protect kids from themselves by prohibiting dangerous activities like "tag", or by stating that pointing your finger at someone and saying "bang" was the same as bringing a weapon to school (actual events at the public school my kids used to go to... now they've gotten into a good charter school that seems to take a much saner approach), and IMO, this type of behavior just adds to the problems.

 

[granfire]

Just so we're clear, I wasn't at all implying that the teachers should do more than they are doing. I'm uncertain what you're calling a "slippery stretch of road?" Sorry for any confusion...

Can't win, on either side of the fence.

We have allowed for the system to erode.
As parent you have to support the kid while making sure your requests are not unreasonable, while going to bat for Jr when the school shows it's insane side.

As teacher? Well, seems you have to battle with the official side of it that wants you to teach all children to a passing grade, even if they don't have 3 brain cells to rub together, while making sure the papers are filled out right, the students don't dismantle the class room and the overbearing parents that stand on your threshhold...or trying to connect with parents who just don't care.

As a high school teacher of mine put it, 25 years ago: as teacher you stand with one leg in jail, with the other on a banana peel....

However, as parent, while I see the teacher's blight, right now I am having problem connecting with the staff at my kid's school. Have so since we moved here since 3rd grade, through elementary and middle school, so far I am in a desperate want to slap some coaches...only marginally related...the teacher I get the best feedback from is the band director.
But he in turn appreciates supportive parents.