<p>I don’t remember ever having teachers that were cruel & my kids haven’t complained at the time about teachers taht were out of line either- although my youngest has commented years later about things that an elementary school teacher did that were cruel- to other students.</p>
<p>My H however, had 2nd grade teacher, that seemed to see him as an easy target ( like all 7 year olds * wouldn’t be ?* for an adult), and it pretty much traumatized him for years.</p>
<p>I know it isn’t PC to say so- but there are certain people who gravitate to professions where they can release their stress inapporpriately.
Pedophiles work at summer camps-Sadists work in schools- its not unheard of.</p>
<p>Just one recent case for example in the paper brought to light a teacher who had been behaving very inappropriately, physically not only verbally, and even in front of a parent. But the principal after talking to both the child and the teacher together- dismissed it even after multiple complaints from other teachers-staff members and parents.(* the teacher was convicted of 6 instances of assaulting students and is now a registered sex offender- the principal after changing districts several times- has now resigned from his latest position*)</p>
<p>I think there should be support for teachers- who recognize they are taking advantage of their position of power- but we also need to protect the children.</p>
<p>Mstee, when I got to read my daughter’s recs for college, they kept using the word “assertive” and “ambitious”. There was one teacher who wrote a positive recommendation, but I had always had the sense that the teacher didn’t really like my daughter all that much – although he was a great teacher and my daughter did will in the class. When I read the recommendation, it dawned on me that the teacher, who was had a quieter personality, probably thought my daughter was too pushy & demanding. I definitely saw a subtext in the letters that my daughter could be the type of person that some might describe in unflattering ways …as you have pointed out, there is a delicate line between being bold and assertive and being obnoxious. I was kind of amused at the rec letters, since my daughter was applying to schools where assertiveness was an asset; New Yorkers have a high tolerance for “rudeness” & my guess is that Barnard likes students who are bold & brassy. </p>
<p>My d. also has a great sense of humor and strong people skills, so she tends to know how to stay on the right side of the line, but she has clashed with a few teachers. My son is even more assertive but also much more likely to be rude – we had some issues starting in pre-school over the things he said to teachers when he was angry. In high school, he had teachers hit him on two separate occasions, and while we definitely complained in one of the situations that was entirely unprovoked and witnessed by another teacher… I could see why it was some teachers got angry at him. But of course, teachers need to learn to control their anger, too, and we drew the line at physical contact. </p>
<p>I know for a fact that school staff was well aware of their problem teachers with or without additional complaints from parents. I honestly think it is wishful thinking for parents to expect much of a change in public schools, if the teacher is doing their job and has not broken any laws. I think from the perspective of the school principal, a teacher who intimidates his students may be less of a problem than a teacher who who is intimidated by the students, and has problems with classroom management – so they aren’t going to go after the teachers they perceive as strict disciplinarians. My kids never went to any schools that had athletic coaches, but it seemed to me that they had the greatest problems with teachers who were older, in their 60’s, and very near retirement. Maybe some teachers just get really grouchy with old age.</p>
<p>"Look at it like this, when someone in an organization doesn’t contribute, it makes everything more difficult. Someone has to get the work done, presumably it’s someone who has their own job to do. "</p>
<p>I agree, the problem is the consistency of the situation in both what comes into a classroom and who evaluates what is relevant. Here’s my concern, usually the people left to decide if an educator is up to snuff have no experience in the field themselves. Our education system is driven by politicans and school board made up of for the most part, novices. One of the reasons the situation exists now is the people that make the rules (above) haven’t spent any time in the field. </p>
<p>It also happens in the private sector, every sales rep hates managers who have never had to sell their product making the rules about how to sell and how much to sell. Usually corporations fail at the top, and then blame the bottom. I tend to look at it the other way, if we’re failing at the bottom who is at the top and what decisions are they making? Sometimes it’s the coach. </p>
<p>In our district there is a system in place to deal with these situations. Teachers do not hold administration hostage and visa versa. The process you described is a fair one, that goes through steps to either fix the problem or terminate employment. I totally agree. What I’ve been up in arms about is the folks who instantly demand somebody lose their job… immediately cause they “feel” their child has been mistreated. And I’m not dismissing all complaints as invalid, but parents are often the worst judges of their kids behavior. </p>
<p>I’ve ran sports programs for my community for many years, and if I had a nickle for every “D1” athelete a parent told me there child was in critism of the coach, well as the song by the bare naked ladies goes …“I’d be rich!”</p>