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Demand on teachers high
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Published: September 25, 2008
There are few jobs more demanding than being a teacher, especially in the elementary school years.
The expectations are so high — with test scores, district guidelines, sometimes strained resources, individual student needs and parental concerns all influencing how that job can be done.
It occurred to me the other day what a heavy burden parents often place on teachers. We want them to challenge our children in every subject at their learning level by creating fun and engaging lessons. We don't want teachers to "teach to the test" but we want our kids to go to the schools with the best scores. We want frequent communication about how our child is doing in school and just the right amount of homework (which usually means enough to help them learn, but not enough that we have to help them too much with it every night.)
We also want teachers to open our child's pudding packs at lunch, tie their shoelaces on the playground, help them make friends if they're shy, keep other kids from picking on them and make sure they wear a coat if its cold outside.
As if that's not enough, we expect them to do that for 20 or so other children, all at the same time.
What's amazing to me is how many teachers manage to do all this and more, and still have a smile on their face when the children come through the door in the morning and when they leave in the afternoon.
My mom has been a teacher for decades, and as a child I watched her do all of the above, and then sit on the sofa in the evenings, grading papers. And she'd take calls at home from worried parents or students who needs a little extra help. It never seemed to me that she got enough appreciation for her efforts. But I'm sure she — like so many other teachers — greatly deserved it.
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