Where Education Really Needs to Happen is NOT in School

Society is full of entitled jerks, and adults are fanning the fire of ignorance every single day. As an educator, I bust my rear to teach children, not tests, but each year it becomes increasingly more difficult to teach anything of substance when young people have no regard or respect for authority. People jokingly post memes making fun of the shift from students being disciplined at home to teachers being disciplined for trying to hold students to standards -- a meme I think is far more sad than humorous. 

I could go on, but a news story from this morning is the real reason I'm here, so I'll just hop on my soap box and get to the point:

A local teacher has been suspended for "screaming" at a student. Let's start with that word, screaming. If you listen to the video, he did raise his voice, but he is not screaming. I've had students accuse me of screaming when I only spoke sternly to them, not even beginning to raise my voice. They seem to mistake being told "no" with being verbally abused, and I think it's interesting that our society perpetuates that thought by posting news stories such as the one I've mentioned. 

I'll go on: not only has this teacher been suspended, but he's been suspended without pay and the only accusation is "screaming." He didn't curse; he didn't say anything inappropriate; he didn't even say "SHUT UP!; he became extremely frustrated when a 13 year old continually talked back and wouldn't sit down and stop running his mouth. Parents, raise your hands if you have NEVER raised your voice to your child for continuing to mouth after you've told him to stop. I'd love to meet you and learn your voodoo ways because I've been teaching 14 years, and I'll tell you I've raised my voice a time or two. 

I'll go even further: said teacher also has no previous issues or violations of any sort within the school system and is even a respected baseball coach, I'm sure, loved by his players. Oh wait...let's talk about coaches and players. I've taught in many high schools, and let me tell you, if you stand close enough to the fence on a Friday night, you'll hear some colorful language between coaches and players (coming from both sides). I don't hear parents throwing fits over that -- no, those parents are telling their boys to quit being Pu****s and get their S*** together. That's ok, I guess. But a teacher loudly telling a student to sit down and shut his mouth is scandalous. I'm not sure I really follow the logic.

Each year I find myself more stressed out, more helpless, and endlessly jaded by the unrealistic and completely inhuman expectations placed on civil servants. Teachers and police officers really have their hands tied when it comes to doing their jobs, and dare I say I'm about to the point where it makes me so exasperated to know that I have to face the impossible each day that I cry weekly and wonder how much longer I can trudge on. Forget the breaks (don't talk to me about breaks, people) and consider the fact that teachers work about the only job in the world that never really gives them a raise, only after putting them on a pay scale that never updates over time. They work a job that forces them to tear down their "offices" every 10 months and then reassemble them again for the next year of work. They work a job that requires them to go far beyond their academic degrees and be parents, counselors, educators, tutors, confidants, disciplinarians, and account managers. They show up at 7am and have no idea when they'll leave the building, and when they finally leave, they carry giant tote bags and backpacks containing work to do at home. They work a job that holds them accountable by way of standardized tests that never work properly. They work a job that expects them to serve students they can't even talk to because the language barriers are so great. They call DCS when babies cry about being abused; they work extra jobs to make ends meet; they repeat themselves 100 times a day and are expected never to have human feelings and lose their cool.

If I'm anything in front of my students, it's human. I smile, laugh, cry, become frustrated, share (within bounds) personal stories of triumph and failure. I remind them that I am not a robot but a fleshy, exhausted person who spends sleepless nights trying to figure out what will make society "get it." What I am is disappointed in our education system and government for breeding this idea that when we don't understand, we should claim to be offended; when we don't like something we should fight. I'm disappointed when I go to work because I know someone on the state level is telling my district that I'm not good enough because the numbers don't add up. I'm disappointed in a system that is so broken that it is only moving itself into more disrepair. 

It's interesting to me that some folks on the state and federal levels can mess up monumentally and can keep their high-paying positions. They can continue to try different variations of the same things and when they fail, push it off on faulty fibers, downed networks, or hackers. I've taught in schools where there was known sexual misconduct and things were pushed under the rug. Yet, a good teacher -- a human with feelings and nerves and a want for students to do better, to play a good ballgame and to move on to the next grade level with more manners than they walked in with is in the news, probably about to be fired because he raised his voice to a disrespectful kid who just didn't know when to stop. 

Let's be fair and evaluate parents like we evaluate our teachers and police officers. Let's put a number on their heads, hold them accountable for how crappy some of their offspring turn out, and then threaten their livelihood when things don't go as planned. If parents would do their jobs at home and teach manners and respect for authority, then the world wouldn't have to worry about disgruntled people smashing windows in Starbucks when their coffee isn't made correctly. Parents need to discipline their kids and be the authority at home instead of being friends and tolerating the smart mouths and threats of "I'm going to call the police on you." I tried that ONE TIME with my momma, and she picked up the phone and said, "I will dial the number for you." Then she grounded me after popping me on my lips for sassing her...and I deserved it. I'm a well-adjusted, compassionate human, and I don't think anyone owes me anything. 

Who knows, maybe voicing my opinion will call my teaching ability into question -- it seems to be the case that we also work a job where we aren't allowed to exhibit any sign of political leanings, religious beliefs or opinions, so I'm probably climbing out onto the weak part of the limb at this point. Either way, stop and think about how technology is destroying perspective. That man raising his voice at a disrespectful 8th grader is the least of this world's worries. Even a photograph shows only one side of an issue, but perception is reality, and that man's career is probably ruined. Honestly, I think more people need to be yelled at -- if that's the only way to get them to shut up long to hear anything, then so be it. I mean, I may only be typing my opinion, but I assure you, I'm yelling at the top of my lungs, and most of the time, I feel like no one is listening.