Rate My Teacher Comment



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Steve Smith, Ohio has left a new comment on your post "Rate My Teacher":

Let's face it, teachers. We're in a day when teachers are increasingly seen as public enemy number one. I am a veteran teacher who has earned awards for my work. I have a masters in English and have been approached in public restaurants by former students who have told me how much I meant to them during their developmental high school years. One young man had tears in his eyes, and we embraced then. My wife told me that no one in the private sector knows what that moment is like. She's right. However, this Rate My Teacher has become a sounding board for the underachieving student who feels maligned. If students looking back at say, age 25 (once reflection occurs in the adult), were allowed to post comments that required a name, then the site would have credibility. I personally have two positive comments and two negative comments on my rating. The one comment I know came from a student who was not permitted to turn in a paper late without a penalty, because I stand on the principle that the group and its fair treatment trumps the rights of the individual, no matter how much a student may see his or her treatment as 'unfair.' It's that notion that has seemingly lost popularity in America, a country where at times it appears that raising our young has gone off track. I point at the droves of helicopter parents who interfere with the maturation and seasoning of their children by taking issue with teachers who are teaching them life lessons in addition to an academic ones or skills. Conversely, some parents could care less because they are dealing with their own life issues--substance abuse, broken families, joblessness, etc. The summative effect of all this is that one of the last vestiges of authority--teaching--has become the whipping boy of today's society. Be careful what you wish for. Remember, a vacation from teaching 100 kids everyday is necessary for anyone who's done it. And, for the supporters of the super-rich right, just remember that making $50,000 isn't a sin. Teachers earn it with stress and in some districts, physical danger. Bad teachers exist. Bad lawyers exist. Bad plumbers, pilots, managers, etc. I have witnessed a few in my time, and yes, they were shown the door by concerned administrators doing their job. I will write plainly to close; I am tired of the vilification of teachers. I am currently applying for employment outside the field of teaching. When the value of doing what I do is trumped by wage freezes, pay cuts, invasive politicians, meddling legislation, and lawyer-happy parents, the job loses its appeal. I am confident I am not alone. And when the tipping point is reached and enough talented educators have either left or young aspiring professionals have avoided teaching, the schools may be staffed by mindless goons, like the blogger on this site who hates teachers and remains nameless.