What Makes a Good Teacher!

It’s his third teacher who, unfortunately, teaches him two subjects who is the focus of my attention. She has done nothing to help him. He had four assignments, three of which were overdue when he turned them in. He did, eventually, turn all of them in. She gave him NO credit for the late assignments. She explained that it would be unfair to the other students. At no time in our conversations has she ever tried with him, or me, to figure out how my child, her student, is feeling or why he might be doing this since he is obviously not stupid. Well, if his conversation with me is any indication, he has a legitimate reason. It doesn’t indicate brilliance on his part, but pain rarely encourages brilliance. I would say to her that she should do whatever it takes to help any student succeed but, above all, she should care enough about the student to find out the reasons for poor behavior or performance. Giving my son additional time to hand in assignments while he works things out is not doing any other student a disservice (which is her explanation for why she refuses to accept late work). It should be something she does for any child who needs her help.

Instead, she has done nothing to help him and nothing to help him find his way. That is unfortunate for my child and all the other children who cross her path. She has taught my son some lessons. She has taught him that the world can be cruel and that people who are supposed to help him can hurt him instead. She has taught him that when it hurts the most, some people will hurt you even more. She has taught him that not all of the adults in life know very much about life or are interested in helping or protecting him.

I am a teacher. Even as a parent, I am a teacher. And, my greatest pleasure is knowing that I helped build a happy, positive, loving foundation for someone in my care, whether for a semester, a year,… or a lifetime. I wish more teachers felt that way.

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