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The
following was an e-mail submitted by a teacher in Texas. It
is a tongue-in-cheek reminder of how much appreciation our
teachers deserve.
Let
me see if I've got this right. You want me to go into that
room with all those kids and fill their every waking moment
with a love for learning.
Not
only that, I'm supposed to instill a sense of pride in their
ethnicity and behaviorally modify disruptive behavior.
I
am to fight the war on drugs, check their backpacks for guns
and raise their self-esteem. I'm to teach them patriotism,
good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, how to balance
a checkbook and how to apply for a job.
I
am to check their heads occasionally for lice, maintain a
safe environment, recognize signs of potential antisocial
behavior, offer advice, write letters of recommendation for
student employment and scholarships, encourage respect for
the cultural diversity of others, and, oh yeah, always make
sure that I give the girls in my class 50 percent of my attention.
I'm
required by my contract to be working on my own time summer
and evenings at my own expense toward advance certification
and a master's degree; and after school, I am to attend committee
and faculty meetings and participate in staff development
training to maintain my employment status.
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|
 I
am to be a paragon of virtue larger than life, such that my
very presence will awe my students into being obedient and
respectful of authority. I am to pledge allegiance to supporting
family values, a return to the basics, and to my current administration.
I am to incorporate technology into the learning, and monitor
all Web sites while providing a personal relationship with
each student.
I
am to decide who might be potentially dangerous and/or liable
to commit crimes in school or who is possibly being abused,
and I can be sent to jail for not mentioning these suspicions.
| “I
am to fight the war on drugs,
check their backpacks for guns and raise their self-esteem.
. .
Is that all?” |
I
am to make sure all students pass the state and federally
mandated testing and all classes, whether or not they attend
school on a regular basis or complete any of the work assigned.
I
am to communicate frequently with each student's parent by
letter, phone, newsletter and grade card. I'm to do all of
this with just a piece of chalk, a computer, a few books,
a bulletin board, a 45 minute (more-or-less) plan time and
a big smile, all on a starting salary that qualifies my family
for food stamps in many states.
Is that all?
Send
your comments and letters to aliseal@aol.com.
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