This post is a guest post by Anonymous
My daughter came home today and told me about something that happened at school. Her whole class, herself (presumably) included, although she tries to deny it, had had an argument with the music teacher. One which progressed into a shouting match. The conversation went something like this…
“So we asked the teacher how she could give ‘So and So’ a good mark when they did no work, and other people a bad mark when they did much better work than ‘So and So’…”
“…and then she told us that it was because she was marking things as a group effort…”
“…so then we, no, i mean everyone else, started screaming at her that that’s not fair, because ‘So and So’ really did no work, and now we’re all just so angry…”
Well, you know what – i’m angry too. I’m annoyed as hell at that whole class, including my darling daughter, because, as much as i love her, it’s not okay for school kids to shout at or ‘take on’ a teacher the way that they did. Never mind how they made that other child feel… Sorry my dear – Mama’s Not impressed!
Perhaps i’m old-fashioned, but the way i see it, what happens academically between a teacher and student is most definitely not another student’s business. If anybody is ‘in charge’ of the classroom, it’s the teacher, and if something needs to challenged, then there’s a ‘proper way’ to do it – and having a shouting match in class, where the teacher’s out-numbered 25 to 1, is not it.
So, while i think of what i’m going to say to my daughter, here is what i want her teacher to know…
Dear ‘Terrible Teacher’
I heard about what happened today… The ‘chaos’ in the classroom…the absolute ‘injustice’ of it all! I heard exactly what you did! All the ‘gory details’… (12 year old girls are good like that… sometimes they don’t even realize how much information they’re giving away…)
I heard about the disagreement, and yes, i understand. “Teen-ing” isn’t easy, but, i know, neither’s teaching. I heard about the confrontation, about how my child and her class mates decided to challenge you. I heard how you stood there, and took it while they ‘yelled’ at you… and how you didn’t yell back. I heard what a Terrible Teacher you are – and let me be the first to say…
What Absolute Nonsense!
Let me jump right up and say it…’Thank You!’ I appreciate everything you do for my child, and every child in that class, and i apologize for my child’s behavior today. I don’t know you personally, but i know that you work really hard to make your class fun. To make sure that those kids take something educational away from every single class. I know you’re probably up at the crack of dawn to finish your preparations for the day. Those lessons don’t plan themselves, i’m sure!
Thank you for all the time you spend away from your family, just so that you can spend time educating mine (I know there are days like today where i’m sure you’d rather be doing pretty much anything else). And thank you for taking all that time to make sure she understands everything that you teach so clearly – there are so many things that i wouldn’t be able to teach her (i don’t know how to play the flute, or how to do this crazy new style maths!), and yet, you do it, day after day, with a smile (sometimes forced?) on your face.
Thank you for spending time with my child, for getting to know her. I hope that by now she has shown you that she really is a wonderful young woman, with an inquisitive mind and a gentle soul. Her behavior today most definitely was not ‘wise’, or ‘gentle’, and when i find the right words, i will be sitting down with her and discussing the damage that could have been done.
Hopefully, my daughter and her friends will see that they need to trust the people that are put that are there to guide them. I know that you did not just ‘walk’ into your position. I know you worked hard to get were you are today – into one of the most important, yet often under-appreciated, under-payed positions in the employment field.
I want to say, dear Terrible Teacher,
Thank you, I appreciate you. I appreciate everything you do for my child. And i’m so sorry for the tough days like today.
Regards, The Mom of “That Kid Today…”
I still don’t know exactly what i’m going to say to my daughter – I’m disappointed… I expected more from her… but i know that we all make mistakes… Teen-ing is tough. I get it. But i do know that together we are going to find a better way to handle this the next she faces a situation like this…
Have you been in this situation before? What have you done?
If you’ve ever felt the same way, or know a teacher that you think deserves to hear this letter, please go ahead and share it. Our teachers are such an important part of our society, and are often taken for granted. Let’s make sure they know that there are millions of us that care!
To all the teachers out there – Thank you!
This post is a guest post by Anonymous
