Dear Teachers:
I have been reading over the last several years about the struggles of teaching. I've been reading about the internal conflict that many of you feel between your love for the kids, your difficulties with their parents, and having to work within a system that sets you up to fail.
I am not a teacher. However, I am a parent. I am writing this to let you know that there are still some parents out there that think what you do is important, and so I am writing to you to encourage you to let you know how I see things.
1) I want you to have high standards in the classroom. I don't want you lowering expectations of my child so that he or she gets A's. If my child gets a good grade, I want it to be because he or she worked hard for it, not because you made it easy for him or her.
2) You will never see my in your office complaining about a grade. I will never ask you to change my kids' grades. They earn what they earn, and if they failed to learn the material, it's their fault. You may have done a great job. You may have done a terrible job. But that's life. My kids have to learn how to overcome challenges. If you are not presenting the material well, I want my children to figure out ways to succeed in spite of your shortcomings. If they have to spend more time studying because you don't teach well, so be it. I want my children to know that their success is not going to come easy and they can't rely on the perfect set of circumstances in order to succeed.
3) I hate that you are being forced into an assembly-line production role. Teaching is not a rote position that can be done automatically. As a parent, I understand that you need to have freedom and that true teaching takes creativity. I understand that if you love your subject, you will want to teach it in a passionate way that is not possible with these standardized, measurable objectives being imposed on you. I understand that you are doing the best you can while being forced into a mold that you didn't know existed when you got your 4-year teaching degree in college.
4) I know that not all kids will learn. All kids CAN learn, but not all kids WILL learn. You are not responsible for the success or failure of every child in your classroom. I would like to see the school system shift the majority of the responsibility for learning back onto the students themselves. This whole "No Child Left Behind" nonsense looked good on paper, but it just doesn't work in the real world. No matter how good a teacher you are, some kids just won't work, won't get it, won't learn, and won't care. I don't think the school system should hold you responsible for the grades or performance of such a student.
5) I believe in true education, which is more than just the acquisition of knowledge. Believe it or not, there are some parents out there who think education is more than rote memorization and regurgitation for a test. I believe that the goal of education is to train the child to love learning. I am a lifelong learner, and I believe there are very few things in life more satisfying than learning and mastering something new. I want you to teach my children to love learning, not to memorize and perform for a test. My children's education will last much longer than their twelve years in school and whatever college and graduate programs they enter. Please help me teach my child to love learning. That's what is important to me.
I am sorry that you have to put up with administrators who tell you that children aren't allowed to fail. Why an administration would want to cripple a child in this way is beyond me. Most of what we learn in life is from failure, and by not allowing them to fail, we are stunting their growth.
I am sorry that you have to put up with parents who blame you for their child's lack of respect, lack of discipline, lack of effort, and lack of learning. These parents are blaming you for things they should be taking care of in the home, and it is making you miserable. I apologize.
I am sorry that you are not able to pass on a love of learning to your students- rather, you have to teach them how to take a test. I hope that somewhere in the teaching for the test, you are able to inculcate a love of learning and a passion for knowledge. Please continue to try.
Teachers, there are still some of us out there. I know that a lot of us have chosen to home school, or taken other education options for our kids. However, not all of us have. Some of us still think that what you are doing is the best option for our children, and we support you. We need good people leading America's classrooms. Please do your best work and please do not apologize for giving our children a true education- teaching them to love learning and to become lifelong learners.
I just wanted you to know that there are still some of us out there.
I have been reading over the last several years about the struggles of teaching. I've been reading about the internal conflict that many of you feel between your love for the kids, your difficulties with their parents, and having to work within a system that sets you up to fail.
I am not a teacher. However, I am a parent. I am writing this to let you know that there are still some parents out there that think what you do is important, and so I am writing to you to encourage you to let you know how I see things.
1) I want you to have high standards in the classroom. I don't want you lowering expectations of my child so that he or she gets A's. If my child gets a good grade, I want it to be because he or she worked hard for it, not because you made it easy for him or her.
2) You will never see my in your office complaining about a grade. I will never ask you to change my kids' grades. They earn what they earn, and if they failed to learn the material, it's their fault. You may have done a great job. You may have done a terrible job. But that's life. My kids have to learn how to overcome challenges. If you are not presenting the material well, I want my children to figure out ways to succeed in spite of your shortcomings. If they have to spend more time studying because you don't teach well, so be it. I want my children to know that their success is not going to come easy and they can't rely on the perfect set of circumstances in order to succeed.
3) I hate that you are being forced into an assembly-line production role. Teaching is not a rote position that can be done automatically. As a parent, I understand that you need to have freedom and that true teaching takes creativity. I understand that if you love your subject, you will want to teach it in a passionate way that is not possible with these standardized, measurable objectives being imposed on you. I understand that you are doing the best you can while being forced into a mold that you didn't know existed when you got your 4-year teaching degree in college.
4) I know that not all kids will learn. All kids CAN learn, but not all kids WILL learn. You are not responsible for the success or failure of every child in your classroom. I would like to see the school system shift the majority of the responsibility for learning back onto the students themselves. This whole "No Child Left Behind" nonsense looked good on paper, but it just doesn't work in the real world. No matter how good a teacher you are, some kids just won't work, won't get it, won't learn, and won't care. I don't think the school system should hold you responsible for the grades or performance of such a student.
5) I believe in true education, which is more than just the acquisition of knowledge. Believe it or not, there are some parents out there who think education is more than rote memorization and regurgitation for a test. I believe that the goal of education is to train the child to love learning. I am a lifelong learner, and I believe there are very few things in life more satisfying than learning and mastering something new. I want you to teach my children to love learning, not to memorize and perform for a test. My children's education will last much longer than their twelve years in school and whatever college and graduate programs they enter. Please help me teach my child to love learning. That's what is important to me.
I am sorry that you have to put up with administrators who tell you that children aren't allowed to fail. Why an administration would want to cripple a child in this way is beyond me. Most of what we learn in life is from failure, and by not allowing them to fail, we are stunting their growth.
I am sorry that you have to put up with parents who blame you for their child's lack of respect, lack of discipline, lack of effort, and lack of learning. These parents are blaming you for things they should be taking care of in the home, and it is making you miserable. I apologize.
I am sorry that you are not able to pass on a love of learning to your students- rather, you have to teach them how to take a test. I hope that somewhere in the teaching for the test, you are able to inculcate a love of learning and a passion for knowledge. Please continue to try.
Teachers, there are still some of us out there. I know that a lot of us have chosen to home school, or taken other education options for our kids. However, not all of us have. Some of us still think that what you are doing is the best option for our children, and we support you. We need good people leading America's classrooms. Please do your best work and please do not apologize for giving our children a true education- teaching them to love learning and to become lifelong learners.
I just wanted you to know that there are still some of us out there.
No comments:
Post a Comment