ok so it has been a long time, but i feel the urgent need to update. first things first, overall, things have been pretty good professionally and personally and i have been beginning to feel like i have been in one state of euphoria after another: N and I have been doing really well marriage-wise for the past 7 months! my students (for the most part) heart me and are learning! i got tenure this year as a teacher! woohoo!
now for the drama. so today began as a good day. i was sitting in my classroom during 4th period about to enter some grades (prep period) when suddenly the AP comes into my room to tell me that a parent wanted to see me. I asked what it was in regards to and the principal said the parent wouldn't say. now the child of this parent is doing okay in my class (79.77 average). she could definitely be doing much better, however, she doesn't put enough effort into her work and it shows in everything she writes. my teaching style as an english teacher is not to put a red mark on every single thing a child writes because a) it doesn't teach them anything at all and b) it is virtually impossible for me to do that for 120 students!
anyway, this parent arrives and she walks into my classroom filled with lots of attitude and hostility which already pissed me off and made me not want to talk to her at all, ESPECIALLY DURING MY PREP! so she walks in and proceeds to say that her child has serious spelling issues (which her child does, especially considering the fact that she is in 9th grade). now granted, her child is not the worst speller in my class, however, she is definitely not the best either. so this crazy woman actually says to me: "my child was filling out an application for a summer job the other day and she spelled so many words wrong, and the only thing i could think was, it has to be her english teacher's fault!" WTF?! how is it my fault that your 15 year old daughter has serious spelling/grammar issues. i have been teaching your child for approximately 6.5 months if you count all of the vacation time and i see her for 4 hours a week! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? HOW DARE YOU BLAME ME FOR SOMETHING YOUR CHILD SHOULD HAVE MASTERED BY THE 5TH GRADE?! i was so angry and seriously wanted to tell this woman to get out of my classroom. how can i be responsible for your daughter not knowing how to fill out a job application? and when she as a parent realized that, why didn't she do something about it?
i try my very best to be the most effective educator i can be. i get to school most days at 6:50am when school starts at 8:30am just to grade papers and go over my lessons. i don't have to do this but i choose to because i love teaching and i love my students. but seriously, i have a damn life and i am not a teacher 24/7. i am someone's daughter, sister, wife, friend and last but CERTAINLY not least, i am a writer! i have other things going on in my life thank you very much crazy parent! research has proven that it is not effective to correct all of student's spelling/grammatical errors for them, because then they never really learn how to spell or put sentences in order. in fact, i NEVER had teachers in high school hold my hand through everything. i had to take INITIATIVE and figure things out on my own because that is the purpose of education, TO BECOME INDEPENDENT. ughhh!
although i love teaching, it is way too much and i just cannot take all of the ridiculous crap that good teachers are often inundated with (ie: paperwork, pushy and irritating parents, systematic bullshit, etc.) i just want to teach and not deal with the bullshit. and guess what? students need to be motivated and take initiative damnit. it is NOT my job to teach your child manners (which i do on a daily basis) or listen to all of their problems (which i am always doing), or give them extra materials to do projects! that is YOUR DAMN JOB AS A PARENT.
when will parents take some damn responsibility for the education of their children?! when will good teachers be fully respected and not have to deal with dumb ass parents? arghhhhh! thankfully my principal was very supportive and sat through my entire meeting with that parent, however, at my old school, that parent wouldn't have been allowed in my room, PERIOD! make an appointment!
for the last time, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR CHILD!
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2 comments:
What a bold parent! I can't believe she went as far as to say that it's your fault. I am lucky to have parents that are grateful that their child is even getting an education because, in their home countries, it was tough to get to school or actually attend school. It makes a world of a difference when a parent understands your woes as a teacher and appreciates all that you do. Some, can be a little bit insensitive (which is a nice way to describe that biatch in your class). And I agree that she needs an appointment; that's how we roll here, too. Anyway, you've already read my post and know how I feel about the craziness that they ask of teachers; they want us to be Gods ... almighty and powerful and able to drop everything else just to cater to the child's every want and need. It takes a village to raise a child and people often forget that.
hahaha actually it's a LG Xenon! how do you like the samsung? i considered it.
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