Is tough love the answer to the lack of student initiative? Have parents gone too far in coddling their children and sheltering them from the consequences of the real world? My life as a teacher "was no crystal stair". I had my share of student rebellion and parental overreaction. You have to be so careful of how you say things, worry about who may misinterpret, and yet still be true to yourself. I treated my students as if they were my own children (I had taught my own son Math for 2 years in elementary school.). Did I make mistakes in things that I said to them? Of course.
We are all fallible and human. To demand more than humanity from teachers is unrealistic. If you have made a mistake in what was said or done to a student, what is wrong with sitting down with that student, either alone or with the class, and discussing the incident. Mistakes are not bad; they just need to be corrected. Children need to see that teachers are willing to apologize when they are wrong. Just as students need to do the same with their teachers.
Here is the article that prompted a response from me. Read it and form your own opinion. What follows is mine. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41618492/ns/us_news-life/
This teacher, Natale Monroe, wrote in a blog like this one her feelings and assumptions about her students. I'm sure, like most of us in the education biz, she was not referring to all her students. Just those "nuts" that are harder to crack. By that I mean those that do not seem to understand the importance of an education.
I was once told by a superior that: "I didn't not understand middle schoolers today. That they were not the same as when I went to school. They became rude only because they were embarassed to be scolded in front of thwir peers." The truth was that I did understand them, and I would not accept anything but their best. Hard work does not come easily to many students, but if encouraged they will eventually see it's value.
Tough love has it's place, because many times we are tougher on ourselves and our performance. Never did a time go by that I did not question my role as a teacher, or my beahvior in a situation. You can never go wrong if you are true to yourself and your beliefs.
Parents need to stop feeling guilty for working and not spending as much time with their children as they would like. They have to stop overcompensating and overprotecting them. They need to listen to all sides of an argument and not jump to the conculsion that their child is never wrong or never misunderstands. They need to sit down with their child and the teacher and rationally discuss the best methods for their child to achieve success.
I don't know too many teachers, who are in it for the money. They are dedicated individuals with high moral values who dedicate their lives to a profession that lacks respect in the eyes of some. We need to bring back the respect and work together with the parents for the good of the students. We need to listen to one another and hear what is said for the good of the children in our care.
We are all fallible and human. To demand more than humanity from teachers is unrealistic. If you have made a mistake in what was said or done to a student, what is wrong with sitting down with that student, either alone or with the class, and discussing the incident. Mistakes are not bad; they just need to be corrected. Children need to see that teachers are willing to apologize when they are wrong. Just as students need to do the same with their teachers.
Here is the article that prompted a response from me. Read it and form your own opinion. What follows is mine. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41618492/ns/us_news-life/
This teacher, Natale Monroe, wrote in a blog like this one her feelings and assumptions about her students. I'm sure, like most of us in the education biz, she was not referring to all her students. Just those "nuts" that are harder to crack. By that I mean those that do not seem to understand the importance of an education.
I was once told by a superior that: "I didn't not understand middle schoolers today. That they were not the same as when I went to school. They became rude only because they were embarassed to be scolded in front of thwir peers." The truth was that I did understand them, and I would not accept anything but their best. Hard work does not come easily to many students, but if encouraged they will eventually see it's value.
Tough love has it's place, because many times we are tougher on ourselves and our performance. Never did a time go by that I did not question my role as a teacher, or my beahvior in a situation. You can never go wrong if you are true to yourself and your beliefs.
Parents need to stop feeling guilty for working and not spending as much time with their children as they would like. They have to stop overcompensating and overprotecting them. They need to listen to all sides of an argument and not jump to the conculsion that their child is never wrong or never misunderstands. They need to sit down with their child and the teacher and rationally discuss the best methods for their child to achieve success.
I don't know too many teachers, who are in it for the money. They are dedicated individuals with high moral values who dedicate their lives to a profession that lacks respect in the eyes of some. We need to bring back the respect and work together with the parents for the good of the students. We need to listen to one another and hear what is said for the good of the children in our care.
