Accountability of All

Teachers are always getting the blame for students poor performance. How about the parents who never seems to take any responsibility ? Again, everyone must play a vital part in a child’s education. I look at it as pieces of a puzzle that must work hand in hand if any true success is to realized. Students themselves need to step up to the plate and share some of this accountability. I am in full agreement that teachers, administration, parents, and students are of utmost importance with their individual contributions to ensure that our children achieve complete success. It seems that there is never any mention of parents contribution. Remember, students are in school for approximately 6 to 6 ½ hours a day out of twenty four hours. In whose company are they in most of the day? Of course, the parent and not the teacher. Teachers can only do so much. Already, we are the teacher, counselor, nurse, and surrogate parent, just to mentioned a few of the roles we play in addition to providing them with their needed supplies such as pencils, paper, and anything else that they may need. What else more can we do?
Yes, I realize there are some incompetent teachers in the field. But in my thirteen years in this field, I can honestly say that the largest majority of teachers are excellent ones who daily go over and beyond what is necessary to accommodate students. Daily, we put up with verbal abuse, profane language, disrespect, and no common courtesy or manners from these students. Who is setting the role model at home for these youngsters? Where does the blame really lie? And the sad part about the entire situation is that for those in the classroom that really want to learn or those needing additional assistance from the teacher sometimes cannot receive this guidance due to huge amounts of behavioral problems in the classroom which has become a daily occurrence. Yes, as a teacher, I will speak for the vast majority of us. We need help, and first of all that help must come from home to educate students on proper manners and etiquette, something that many of them do not have or even care about. Once this occurs, support to improve the school system financially, socially, and politically will likewise improve. Only then will we see true improvement in our children and our nation’s future for the next generation.