Good article - what teachers want to really tell parents

[daisyt]

Be a teacher is never easy. :salute:


So far, I grade myself not this kind of parent. In fact I used to seek lots of advices from teachers, learn from them and most of the time, I would feel it is the fault or misunderstanding of my child towards the situation or teachers. I always encourage my child to have a heart to heart talk with teachers if problems arise.

[tutormum]

Very well written article though the part about giving grades is different from our system. The ideal is of course close parent-teacher relationship to help a child excel. Sadly, nothing is perfect in this world so both parent and teacher have to learn to compromise. Personally, I’ve met all sorts of parents that I’ve sort of cultlivated immunity already. If not, how to survive? It’s passion for the children that drives a teacher more than anything else to stay committed. If a teacher doesn’t love children, there’s no way he/she will be able to last long.

[limlim]

Joule:

Trust us. At times when I tell parents that their child has been a behavior problem, I can almost see the hairs rise on their backs. They are ready to fight and defend their child, and it is exhausting. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I tell a mom something her son did and she turns, looks at him and asks, \"Is that true?\" Well, of course it's true. I just told you. And please don't ask whether a classmate can confirm what happened or whether another teacher might have been present. It only demeans teachers and weakens the partnership between teacher and parent.
Please quit with all the excuses

While some other points are quite valid, I don't agree with this.

There is nothing wrong with verifying with the child. Sometimes, teachers can make wrong judgement too.

Assuming what the teacher saying is true, Asking the child is a way to teach them responsibility. If the kid does not admit, I will try to seek the truth and if they turn out to be lying, they'll get it from me real jialat, bcoz I'm very strict about kids lying. If they admit, then I'll ask the reason for them doing what they did, then explain why they should not do it. Who knows, they may have a valid reason?

Those who watched Jack Neo's movies on student will understand what I'm saying. Sometimes, it's a misunderstanding, sometimes, the kid may have good intentions. But not just take the teacher's word for it.

Another example is the \"on the fringe 2\" where the girl is found with a condom in her bag due to some \"setup\" by classmates. We should always give the kid a chance to explain.

Just bcoz the teacher says it doesn't mean it is always the whole truth. Let the kid a chance to answer for his/her actions. The teacher might have missed out some facts or they may not be aware of it.

[limlim]

daisyt:

Be a teacher is never easy. :salute:

You work for something, you get paid for it.

Which job is easy? Ask the engineer, salesman, waitress, workers, foreman, etc etc.. everyone will have a tale to tell.

Actually, I find teachers 1 of the job with the most benefits.. and salary is comparable or better than other professions requirement similar qualifications, especially engineers.

They may not have annual leave like others but the rest days during the school holidays is usually much more than the 14 days that is standard industrial practice. And I meant the \"Rest days\", which are period during school holidays which they are not called back for duties.

And, for little little things, the school can just make it a \"no school day\".

For e.g., School have some events on Saturday, Monday no school! They can just give those involved off-day instead of whole school off..

Teachers days also got replacement off. Children day no need to teach. Youth day also??

National day also got many related off.. when not all the child or staff are involved.

Fire-drill, also half day off.

Sometimes, they just use normal working hours to carry out some activities, also got replacement off.

Another example is polling day. From what I heard (not limited to teachers), They work on Sat, so 1 PH replacement. But bcoz they're on duty, another day off! (This is what I heard from the polling officials on duty) Any other profession who works on Sat just get that day off with no replacements.

And the Friday before, no school again. And for no apparent reasons, even if the school is NOT a polling center (like PCF kindergartens etc..), also Off..

Which job are so shiok.. little little things only no school for the day no need to work.. If some teachers got extra duty, they can also give them replacement offdays.. why the entire school off.... really like no other job/profession..

[b2b3m4]

limlim,

I think you really do not understand the job of a teacher. I am not a teacher.
But i know i DD’s teachers have lots to do even on your so called ‘off days’. For 1, the lastest presidential and general elections. Who do you think are the counters and the people manning the booths and centres. It was the teachers! The teachers were called in for briefing and meetings way before the elections.

During school holidays, these teachers need to bring students to Ubin and OBS for camps. Ya, lots of fun, right? And not to mention, coming back to prepare for competiton, performances etc. National Day- holidays??? Did u see when the teachers need to practicse with them for the National Day Parade? Bring the students for rehearsals? Dun they even deserve 1 day break?

Yes, not to mention the many nights they need to bring papers, student works back home to mark. And nowadays, a teacher can’t go to a class and flip her textbook and teach. She/he must plan the course, the objective, opening blah, blah… the paperwork itself is like another thesis. And the KPIs to meet and maintaining school standard and the many telephone calls, e mails that they need to reply from parents.

Yes, they do not have scheduled leaves, and these poor teachers can only get married in June or Decemeber. Imagine being controlled to the point on which day to marry???

And patience involved to teach. For one, teaching DD myself almost make me vomit blood. I cannot imagine teaching a whole class of DDs.

[concern2]

b2b3m4:

Yes, they do not have scheduled leaves, and these poor teachers can only get married in June or Decemeber. Imagine being controlled to the point on which day to marry???

:yikes: Never occurred to me! \"Is that true?\" :rotflmao: Sorry, just trying to be funny..you don't have to laugh if you are offended. But seriously, it had never occurred to me. Hmm.. :idea: Will go check it out... :evil:

b2b3m4:

And patience involved to teach. For one, teaching DD myself almost make me vomit blood. I cannot imagine teaching a whole class of DDs.

This is DEFINITELY TRUE! :frustrated:

[sall]

limlim, what you said shows that you are not a teacher and all teachers will be very upset to read what you wrote. I agree with b2b3m4 and also don’t forget, the amount of reports, portfolio etc that they have to complete, the amount of time spent dealing with unreasonable parents etc…A lot of teachers are seeking psychiatric treatment. If life is so easy as a teacher, why is the turnover rate so high, why is there always a shortage of teachers and why so many teachers’ mental health is affected?

Unfortunately, there are still a lot of people who think that the easiest job is to teach, all they think about is the long hols. Don’t forget teachers are always called back to sch during the hols, that’s why they have something called ‘protected leave’ which is 2 wks of the hols.
Do you know a lot of teachers even go back to sch during PH to conduct suppl. lessons or to finish up some admin work?
MOE has to approve of any additional sch hols. No principal, in the right frame of mind, will declare any day a off-day.
Fire-drill takes only about 1 period or 2, at most 50 min. No sch has fire-drill for half a day, unless it’s a real fire, then maybe they need half a day.

[concern2]

concern2:

b2b3m4:

Yes, they do not have scheduled leaves, and these poor teachers can only get married in June or Decemeber. Imagine being controlled to the point on which day to marry???

:yikes: Never occurred to me! \"Is that true?\" :rotflmao: Sorry, just trying to be funny..you don't have to laugh if you are offended. But seriously, it had never occurred to me. Hmm.. :idea: Will go check it out... :evil:

Wa, really'e!! :scared:
How about confinement ha? Do you need to plan your date due to be during the school holidays too? Then if you give birth during long school holidays like June or Dec, do you get extra days off? If not, really loogie hor?

[Mdm Koh]

I do not agree with all the points in the article, especially the point about the teacher writing on the student's face with a permanent marker... :skeptical:


However, I concur with what the article says about parents making excuses for their kids. While it's good to be considerate of the children's feelings, some parents overdo it by giving in to the whims of their kids. When that happens, I think it has become over-pampering or 溺爱。For example, if the kid dislikes a particular subject, is on the verge of failing and resisting tuition, instead of cooperating with the teacher or tutor and motivating the child to work hard, the parent cooks up excuses like \"he's very tired lah\", \"it's ok if he never do his homework lah\"... As a tutor, when I teach students with parents who give such excuses... I can already see it coming that the kid's exam grades will be :gloomy:

There's also been a shift in attitudes towards educators. Previously, school teachers were still respected as figures of authority in school. But it's becoming more evident now that parents are looking at education as a form of \"customer service\" that the teachers are providing. For some parents, whenever a teacher doesn't do as they requested, their argument is, \"But I PAID for you to teach, so you do whatever I say.\"

Is teaching simply a form of paid customer service? That's something to ponder.

[pinky]

do you think parents will demand teachers: what can you do to help my child achieve 4A* in the coming PSLE or 6 pointers in the O levels?