A new school year is upon us. While this yearly ritual may not directly affect you or me, it affects all of us, whether it be directly (teachers, students, parents, administrators, etc.) or indirectly (paying taxes, voting, mentoring/supporting students, etc.). Further, whether we admit it or not, schools provide foundational learning we carry throughout our lives.
Knowing that schools and schooling benefit us all, it is difficult for me to believe how little this society invests in the teachers and administrators who are responsible for guiding and shaping the children who will grow up to be adults who work, live, vote, and lead the country. I, like many others, remember what I learned in school, and it seems very little value is placed on those who make it happen.
Every school year, I see teachers using their own money to cover classroom needs because the community and parents don’t invest enough resources and time. I’ve even seen parents take to social media to say they are not buying their children’s supplies because they feel this is a service schools should provide. Further, I see children who aren’t disciplined enough to sit and learn because they are used to the internet’s immediate gratification and fast pace. Yet some place the blame and responsibility for ALL learning and life skills solely on teachers, who have more than 15 kids at different maturity and educational levels to supervise, while being paid very little and given barely any respect for this important job that takes special people to commit to.
While I may not be a teacher, I know several who can say that many parents have abdicated their responsibility to teach their kids. This includes manners, respect, self-control, gratefulness, politeness, problem-solving, age-appropriate responsibilities, finishing tasks, and many more life skills. To parents, I say teachers don’t have time during the school day to teach your kids everything, and you must actively participate in your child’s education. If that is not your thing, then perhaps being a parent is not either. And that’s…. JUST MY TWO CENTS.