Honestly, the first thing I notice are the aesthetics. Did the teacher comb their hair? Are the clothes clean? How’s he/she smelling: too much perfume, too little bathing? Can’t help it, it’s a big part of the first impression.
My son is considered twice gifted. The schools have found he is both
gifted and has a learning difference. Because my son learns differently, it requires me and his teachers to talk or meet frequently. Otherwise, I probably would never get a glimpse of the teachers. When my older daughter needed me at her school, I only met with the counselor (Mrs. Lepper – yes, that’s her name and my daughter referred to her as the disease)… no teachers showed up.
So, I’ve seen a lot of teachers thanks to my son.
I’ve walked into a meeting and have sat on the other side of the table from them and have wondered about their personal budgeting, or if they have been in the ‘system’ so long they don’t feel its important to look nice anymore. They have devolved into Cro-Magnon men. This past year, during a meeting with Adam’s 7th grade counselor I was so distracted by his affect because I had to figure out who he reminded me of… and then it dawned on me: Rasputin.
Listen, I know how much these folks get paid. It’s not a lot. But it’s enough to afford a hair cut, and some fairly decent clothes. I know for a fact San Francisco has some of the finest Resale Shops in the country. Come on educators, this is a profession! Look professional!
I don’t fault the jean-wearing younger set as long as their jeans are nice and clean. Even the teacher in the movie Half Nelson, strung out on crack as he was, looked better than some of my son’s teachers. Part of the problem is that kids will automatically challenge authority – it’s their job. But they won’t even waste their time with teachers that look scary.
Beyond the surface, some of these characters are okay; but a good number of them are not okay. While I was sitting in my son’s class for a first hand observation of the environment, his Social Studies/Language Arts teacher called one of the other kids a dummy; In front of me. We talked later. He made excuses… and I kindly broached the subject with school Administration and they did the “yeah, that so-and-so… he’s such a card” and moved on. Wow.
Remember your youth? Remember your teachers from high school? Remember the coffee breath, or the smoker’s breath, or when Mrs. Szymanski would flop her boobs on her desk at the beginning of class? Don’t be *that* teacher. Couldn’t we have an ad campaign to end the total destruction of the teaching profession? We could have photos of teachers doing the things we all hated as students – like when they bend over to help your classmate only to stick their smelly ass in your face; or how about when they rip up your work in your face to prove their stupid point that you could care less about; or the not-so-classic and demeaning finger waving; let’s not forget the teacher that would wear the same outfit for weeks.
These teachers are still around and we need a brisk intervention. I’m too tempted to believe the exaggerations my kids come home about how stupid their teachers are when they present themselves in an unprofessional manner.
I’m a teacher. I work with teachers. Where I work, we don’t experience this phenomena. It’s not until I cross the thresholds of the ‘traditional’ school that I’m so ashamed of my fellow educators. So, if you’re an educator and you don’t have mints/gum/toothbrush in your desk drawer for your coffee breath, or you look unkempt, please take a moment to make the simple adjustments to your life and stop degrading yourself and your craft. And if you need some ideas on where to go for a haircut that will fit in your budget, etc. send me a message and I’ll tell you where all the good designer resale shops are in the city. I really want to support you in your metamorphosis.
