'What teachers really want to tell parents'

Some good stuff here, written by an author and "Teacher of the Year" type:

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

I don't know where he's getting his numbers, but he says the average career for new teachers is now an NFL-esque 4.5 years, with "many" citing relationships with parents as the reason they're getting out.

 

This is one of those situations where I'm sympathetic to both sides. My wife teaches, and parents who do things like haggle over an A- or an A on a first-grade spelling test are a royal pain the ass. On the other hand, man, it's competitive out there. People just want the best for their kids. And, knowing several teachers in the inner-city who get like two parents to show up for parent-teacher nights, the alternative is much worse.

 

Sounds as if the guy is a bitter pill who probably shouldn't be a teacher anyway. It does take a bit of patience and selflessness

 

Clark spoke in my division a few years ago and I got to meet him. Nice enough guy, and he is spot on here.

If as a parent you side with your child over the teacher, the teacher will start to focus on other children, especially at the secondary level. The teacher tried with you, but then they will move on to someone who is responsive.

Also, please consider that at the elementary level, the teacher has about 25 students. At the secondary level, they have about 100 students. Since there are only so many hours in the day, if the teacher is spending all of their waking hours responding to you and your child's needs, the other children are getting slighted. That might sound terrible, but it's the truth.

 

Trust me, this man is a saint.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Clark_(teacher)

 

Looking forward to YF dropping by to tell us that elementary school teachers should have 200 kids in their classes.

 

Or for Alma to suggest that, if we eliminate all compensation, we can be certain that every teacher is there in answer to a calling.

 

I once had a coach tell me that the best place to coach was an orphanage - no parents to deal with. He was spot on.

 

This part:

I would do that, and I can see how it comes off to the teacher as me not taking his or her word, but that's also a truth-teaching moment between me and my kids. They know that they're in trouble anyway, but if they lie it's going to be a lot worse.

Anyway, small threadjack to an interesting topic. Apologies.
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It cuts both ways. I have a son who is motivated about school and one who is not.

I'd love to keep on top of grades and make sure that my unmotivated son is on task, has all his homework done in time, studies for tests, etc., but no teacher was willing to work with me.

They say the homework is on the blackboard every day. Yeah, that doesn't help me.

I can keep up with grades on the website. Yeah, I see he had a zero for a missing assignment. Thanks.

Etc., etc. etc. All I can do is react after the fact. What good is courting parental involvement if our involvement is to say "Why didn't you turn in that paper?"

And most teachers I have talked to have seemed poised to be accosted by parents blaming them for their kids' issues. I am not blaming them. I just want something to work with so I can counter when my son says he did his homework in class, etc.

Plus, if griping from parents is your biggest problem, you have a pretty sweet job. I get gripes from readers every day.

 

My wife's biggest issue is people who go to her principal before they go to her. That seems like a legitimate complaint.

 

Nobody likes people going ove their head.