This post has been swirling
around in my head for awhile, now. I know I might get some negative
feedback from it. However, I feel it needs to be said. I have been
reading so much about disillusionment in my professional, teachers
leaving in droves, not just in Kansas, but across the country. Why?
The is a huge culture shift going on in our nation. A change in the
family dynamic. And while this is not necessarily true for me,
personally, it remains a fact.
Let's talk about the
treatment of teachers for a minute. Teachers, as a general rule,
have the biggest hearts of any profession. They give their hearts and
souls to the children day after day. Given, it's a chosen
profession, just like everyone else's.
Here's the rub: In no
other profession are those professionals treated the way teachers
are. Teachers are now being asked to raise children for parents who
are physically and emotionally unavailable. There are many households
where both parents and children spend more time on a screen of some
kind, rather than interacting with one another as a family. To add
insult to injury, key teaching of soft skills, such as manners and
personal interactions, are being lost on a whole generation of
children. When you truly love children as much as teachers do, this
is devastating to watch happen at an alarming rate.
Children are coming
into classroom across the United States with no idea how to interact
with others, and their behaviors show this. Kids who talk back to
their teachers, even kids who hit, kick, and bite teachers. Kids who
curse at their teachers. My question is this: When did this
behavior become so commonplace? The answer is this: when hand-held
technology became so readily accessible. When a two-income family
became a necessity in order to make ends meet. Parents who come
home, exhausted after along day of work, too tired to spend quality
time with their children. Latch-key children, coming home to empty
houses, being expected to fend for themselves until their parents get
home.
Teachers, on the other
hand are being asked to show up with a smile, day after day. To teach
manners to children, as well as the academics. To deal with negative
behaviors with no regard to their own emotional well-being. As
another blogger put it, “Teaching is one of the most toxic
professions I know of.” And when “Johnny” acts out in class
and parents need to be contacted, who's at fault? You guessed it,
the teachers. In no other profession, would a parent ever dream of
talking to that person the way parents talk to teachers nowadays.
None! Would parents ever dream about talking to their doctor the way
they talk to teachers? Their banker? Their auto mechanic? The answer
is “no!” Teachers have become the proverbial whipping boys for
the faults and failings of the parents. It can't possibly be the
parent's fault and, heaven forbid, the child is to blame.
Teaching is one of the
most important professions. Truly, the most important. Everyone
needs a teacher. Everyone has had teachers. Teachers are
indispensable. No one would have gotten to where they are today
without teachers. Why, then, is there such disrespect of teachers
across the U.S.? Teachers are consistently undervalued and underpaid
for the immense impact that they have on an entire generation.
There is no other
profession where people put so much of their heart and soul into
their job, putting their own time and resources into it because
“there is no money in the budget.” For the tremendous impact
teachers have, they are not paid accordingly. True, we all chose
this profession. We don't do it for the money. We do it because we
care about the kids! We should be respected for the simple fact that
we have such big hearts and care about the future for the children we
serve. Do I think most parents are trying? Absolutely! They are
doing their best in this fast-paced world ( sans the amount of screen
time). All I'm saying is respect the teachers of the children for
caring, as well. Be on their team. They only want the best for your
child.
