I've seen some old videos recirculating lately since the school year has begun for many. I was also on a pregnancy app the other day checking out some of the message boards and opened a post from a high school teacher asking for advice on whether or not people thought she was asking too much of her students & being too strict. Every time I see one of this videos or read a post all I can think about is how bad I feel for the teacher and when did they become the enemy?
An entertainment blog I follow posted one of the videos this morning as a back to school "joke". My first thought was how disgusting do you have to be to make fun of a situation like this. I'm not sure if you've seen the video. In it is a white female teacher having a meltdown and asking a black student to "shut the hell up", which I can only really describe as being a "class clown" (I didn't look at this as a racist act I only stated their racist so you would know what video I was referring to) . He's being really loud and obnoxious to her and clearly disrupting class. She then repeatedly yells and screams begging him to stop which he does not. I'm watching this and my heart was just breaking for the teacher and the lack of respect being shown to her. By now you know my favorite part is the comment section so I head there to see what other people are saying. I'm not surprised that these people are placing blame on the teacher and school for her not being "properly trained" to deal with a situation like this. When it came to the boy they were more sympathetic saying "he's just doing what teenagers do." I obviously disagree strongly. If it were one my children in this video in this video it would be a different outcome. I would film a video of me taking my son to that same class apologizing to that teacher for treating her less than human and zero respect. Next, he would be apologizing to the class for disrupting their education because that is the purpose they are in school. Then, he would apologize to the principle for making the school gain national headlines for something negative. He would also apologize to myself and my husband for embarrassing and shaming our family when he was taught better than that at home. Lastly, he would apologize to himself for not having any self respect!
I'm going to sum up the board post as best I can because I'm too lazy to look for it right now. Basically the woman is a high school teacher and she said at the beginning of the year she gave all her students a syllabus that included what her students can expect from her class and what she expected from her students. She had a line in there about not reprinting any assignments, if you skip a testing day you will not be allowed to make it up unless you had a reasonable explanation, and she does not give extra credit so if they miss an assignment they cannot make it up. She stated not only did she give them to her students but she gave a copy to the parents as well. The last thing she pointed out was that she stays after everyday for up to 45 minutes for any tutoring needed. I honestly don't see anything wrong with any of those rules. I think it's great that she is teaching them responsibility and holding them accountable for their actions which is a great preparation for college. She was met with a lot of negative feedback from the parents whose children skipped class during a test or missed an assignment. Unless the teacher is being completely unreasonable and has multiple complaints from several parents and students as a parent you should back up the teacher. You should be teaching your child that there are negative consequences for being irresponsible and it's not always going to end with mommy and daddy fixing the problem. She also received negative feedback from parents saying she doesn't stay long enough for tutoring. She pointed out that teachers do not get paid for tutoring so if they do so they're doing it on their own time and that she has children of her own that need to be picked up after school so her hours are set accordingly. Again, I don't disagree with any of this. If your child is struggling and they can't make it to tutoring within her 45 minute window then it's your responsibility as a parent to help your child find other forms other tutoring. There are many and some are free or low costing.
We as parents need to have empathy for these teachers and stop expecting them to raise and parent our children! No parent wants to be blamed constantly for their child's shortcomings but as a parent you are their main educator. It starts at home. They are a reflection of you and what you do or do not teach them. I'm not just talking about what you tell them I'm talking about what you show them in how you interact with other people. Sure a school can train teachers how to be prepared for multiple children berating, belittling, bullying, and disrespecting them everyday but isn't it a lot easier if we teach our children to be respectful to adults and their fellow classmates? Let me also say this, I don't see anything with harmless class clowning but there is a difference between a child telling a joke or pulling a prank that gets a quick laugh and everyone moves on and a child that takes it so far that the teacher can't teach and nobody else in the class can get an education. Also, your child is not always the victim. I know our natural response is to defend them but we also need to learn how to get all the facts first before we just attack a school and teacher. Lets try to remember we were in school once so we know how things go and how shameful some kids can be to the adults in school. A teacher should be a parents ally not the enemy.
