R-E-S-P-E-C-T

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.