About the Things a Teacher Will Not Tell You

Back in September, The Reader's Digest magazine interviewed educators in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, and Texas to get a first approach of what a teacher wouldn't tell you.  

The article has generated almost 2 hundred comments and has been a good place to discuss matters. It also has opened a door that clearly shows the divorce among education participants: teachers, parents, students.  

We expect readers not to get confused about our position in this post. One of our posts was found insulting to the teachers. We are parents but in this case, we are wearing the teacher's suit.

My guess as to why teachers don't say these things out loud is because it really wouldn't change anything. First, we have administrators who will be so happy to apply legislation and then, we all are open to scrutiny by people not trained in our profession such as parents.

I should recognize that putting all kids in the same bucket is a mistake. But the same we can say of teachers. The observer will mention for example that if a teacher has kids running to "fix everything" that is a direct reflection of her inability to teach conflict resolution. Yes, many of us, teachers, deal with classrooms full of 20-25 students, and teach more than one grade. Are we going to give personalized education? 

Education is the responsibility of all parties. It is false that problems at school should be dealt with at school and problems at home should be dealt with at home. I would not hesitate to contact a parent(I usually do) when I think problems at home are affecting school performance. 

 Remember this: Good students made it to college because of their own effort, some really great teachers, but also because parents gave out a bit of time of day.