What the good teachers do.

[imwjl]

I always have this feeling we need to support schools knowing we all might only get a few good teachers in those K-12 years but they make such a difference. When I became enough adult to forget the bad ones and bad stuff I became more thankful.

Yesterday a Facebook friend posted a toast to her dad who died while she is outside of the country. They were in my childhood neighborhood but both parents good teachers.

It didn't take long to see a huge chain of responses that were not just nice or warm, but also showed her parents were parts of creating far more than their own family. Doing the math, I see it was foundation stuff for thousands of kids. It might also be worth noting her dad was tough and controversial. The net result is still seeing I was just one of so many who got farther down the road from it.

Let's hear it for those teachers we may or may not have liked but who helped pave our paths! All those Facebook posts show Mr. C. did not waste his time on earth.

[RP]

It's very unfortunate that teachers generally do not get the recognition or community support that they richly deserve. Yes, there are bad ones as well as good ones out there; but I fear that as schools are increasingly conscripted to cure the ills of society and education accountability is held up as the litmus test, our better teachers will have a much shorter shelf life in the field. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with accountability; but with school shootings, drugs, gangs, cyber bullying, alcohol use and students coming from homes where neither educational nor behavioral readiness can be assumed, educational subject matter and SOL preparation often take a back seat.

[Silly Moustache]

there is a daily current affairs programme on BBC Radio 4 which I listen to most of the day when at home.

Earlier this week they asked people to call in to talk about teachers who had been positive in their development.

It followed on from a "Desert Island Discs" programme with a Black English footballer who had a very bad family life, which carried over to his schooling.
He cried publicly on the radio programme (we're British - we don't do that!) about one elderly white teacher who would not give up on him and who changed his life.
The call in programme was overwhelmed by callers telling their stories, ad it was quite emotional.

My start at schooling at age 5-6 was terrible, it was a private school where I was beaten and locked in cupboards for the sin of being left handed. my parents took me away when they realised, and I was sent to another very small private prep school. I will always remember Mrs Bradshaw who taught a small class with love and enthusiasm, and I seriously think that it was her who taught me so much about nature, geography, history, as well as taking me way about the English, maths and comprehension levels necessary for my 11plus exam.

My secondary school was terrible. Gangs, stabbings lots of corporal punishment and due to Mrs Bradshaw's teachings I needed to do nothing until well into the third year as I was so far ahead of the rest.

My education in that school could not give me the academic education I really needed as it was just about training us to technical trades, but the teachers were byandlarge caring and committed. The headmaster was the only really violent one apart from the deputy who knocked me out once but it was a genuine mistake .. after all he was very drunk at the time.

[Tracerbullet]

Originally Posted by RP

I think it's very unfortunate that teachers generally do not get the recognition or community support that they richly deserve. Yes, there are bad ones as well as good ones out there; but I fear that as schools are increasingly conscripted to cure the ills of society and education accountability is held up as the litmus test, our better teachers will have a much shorter shelf life in the field. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with accountability; but with school shootings, drugs, gangs, cyber bullying, alcohol use and students coming from homes where neither educational nor behavioral readiness can be assumed, educational subject matter and SOL preparation often take a back seat.

As a teacher, thank you for the above

[frazervalley]

I remember reading a report card from one of my teachers in grade ten that had a huge impact on me. He said that I could earn 'A' letter grades if I made more of an effort in school. I remember being so touched that he had this faith in my academic abilities and I was inspired to take my studies more seriously. He was right and I received mostly A grades in the next two years of school and went on to complete university. That teacher inspired me to learn more and I have been a curious explorer of knowledge ever since.

[Nyghthawk]

Though I was a social worker, I come from a long line of teachers and professors. Teachers are under-appreciated in a lot of circumstances.

Several of my teachers and professors made a lasting impact on my world-view and development.

[imwjl]

Thank you for sharing and the kind thoughts. Being a teacher has been very stressful for my wife in recent years. She teaches a challenged group of kids in a big and dangerous school. I don't think many realize how difficult that is and some people automatically characterize her as lazy and overpaid.

I revisited the Facebook thread and it was neat to see many bring up their version of the few great teachers who made all the difference. I got a private message from a now retired judge from my high school. His perspective was interesting. Some of those teachers helped launch where he ended up. What was most interesting is he knew well what education did and didn't do regarding not having to sentence people for crimes and family law issues.

[Lakewood_Lad]

Something for teachers. You can see for yourselves - however far your students travel, you will never be forgotten.

[RP]

Originally Posted by imwjl

Being a teacher has been very stressful for my wife in recent years. She teaches a challenged group of kids in a big and dangerous school. I don't think many realize how difficult that is and some people automatically characterize her as lazy and overpaid...

The concern that I previously tried to share was that your wife might be the most amazing teacher in the world and work hard to meet her students' needs but could be perceived as ineffective based on the standardized test scores of students whose progress could be limited by any number of factors that have nothing to do with what a teacher tries to do. Such factors include:

Minimal academic support in the homes
Neighborhood gang activity
Minimal parenting
Expected roles of older students in the home - preparing meals, looking after siblings, working to support families
Drugs & alcohol in the home/neighborhood
Pure nutrition at home
Poverty which affects how many kids sleep in a room, lack of space to do
homework, distractions
Jail, juvenile detention & juvenile prisons
Cyber bullying & other negative issues related to social media
Peer pressure to underperform
Medical issues (?)
Blighted school property
Outdated instructional materials - textbooks & technology
Inschool violence

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by imwjl

Thank you for sharing and the kind thoughts. Being a teacher has been very stressful for my wife in recent years. She teaches a challenged group of kids in a big and dangerous school. I don't think many realize how difficult that is and some people automatically characterize her as lazy and overpaid.

I revisited the Facebook thread and it was neat to see many bring up their version of the few great teachers who made all the difference. I got a private message from a now retired judge from my high school. His perspective was interesting. Some of those teachers helped launch where he ended up. What was most interesting is he knew well what education did and didn't do regarding not having to sentence people for crimes and family law issues.

Both of my parents were public school teachers, both in low income areas and considered (by me at least) potentially dangerous schools. Dad was High School and Mom was Head Start and Grade School.
And yes indeed it can be very stressful on them (more so the more they care)
And especially my mom (who was 5 ft. 2 in. and 105 lbs) who at her last school before retiring, taught 5th and 6th grade at a sketchy school. Where some of boys were as big or bigger than her. And on more than one occasion had been physically threatened, fortunately never actually injured.... BUT she went from brown hair to virtually all white, in a matter of 4 or 5 years

[AX17609]

I thank my 10th grade biology teacher, Mr. Munson, for teaching me that everything is understandable if broken into small enough pieces, and that you never stop going to school.

I thank my college mentor, Dr. Cole, for giving me a career.

I thank my graduate school computer teacher, Dr. Athey, for teaching me logic and my Statistics teacher, whose name I have forgotten, for teaching me experimental methodology.

Finally, I thank my professional mentor, Mr. Herman, for nurturing a belief that I have something to contribute.

[fazool]

Originally Posted by RP

.... factors include:

Minimal academic support in the homes
Neighborhood gang activity
Minimal parenting
Expected roles of older students in the home - preparing meals, looking after siblings, working to support families
Drugs & alcohol in the home/neighborhood
Pure nutrition at home
Poverty which affects how many kids sleep in a room, lack of space to do
homework, distractions
Jail, juvenile detention & juvenile prisons
Cyber bullying & other negative issues related to social media
Peer pressure to underperform
Medical issues (?)
Blighted school property
Outdated instructional materials - textbooks & technology
Inschool violence

Great list.

I'd also add a big social and cultural issues: Teachers can no longer discipline kids. There are no authority figures. Parents always take the side of their children. Andy described a horrible situation as a child with draconian discipline but, in the USA, we've swung the pendulum too far the other way.

I work with a number of colleges and the Deans and Presidents are getting abused by parents who have the audacity to call and complain about their child's grades or about the failure they recieve when cheating.

I spoke to a hiring manager recently whose new employee's mother called to attempt to negotiate more salary for him - his job offer was immediately rescinded.

The fact that we even entertain or consider such "helicopter parenting" is really destructive (I think) to teachers attempts to teach.

[RP]

Originally Posted by fazool

Great list.

I'd also add a big social and cultural issues: Teachers can no longer discipline kids. There are no authority figures. Parents always take the side of their children. Andy described a horrible situation as a child with draconian discipline but, in the USA, we've swung the pendulum too far the other way.

I work with a number of colleges and the Deans and Presidents are getting abused by parents who have the audacity to call and complain about their child's grades or about the failure they recieve when cheating.

I spoke to a hiring manager recently whose new employee's mother called to attempt to negotiate more salary for him - his job offer was immediately rescinded.

The fact that we even entertain or consider such "helicopter parenting" is really destructive (I think) to teachers attempts to teach.

We increasingly hear that schools should be run more like businesses, but this ignores the basic notion that public education is compulsory while businesses have many options between opening and shutting down. Teachers who are theoretically underperforming can be fired, but underperforming students can not be removed from the "company"... Given the business model, how many businesses could successfully compete or turn a profit if they had no say in who is hired, thinking of the students as employees and standardized test scores as their product? Looking at educated students as the product, how many businesses could turn a profit if the majority of the raw materials were lacking in some way??? I'm not saying that the students are innately flawed, but just that various items from my list above will serve to make students less than able/willing perform at maximum ability/capacity...

[norseman]

As one who was a teacher, married to a teacher and am the father of a teacher, it's gratifying to see the stories of folks who realize how they were helped along the way by one or more good teachers. The work is hard, it's stressful and it's often criticized unfairly by the public at large and elected officials in particular, but somehow most teachers carry on, make a difference and ignore the pain. It's nice to see posts here that show understanding and support.