Bad Teachers? Yes, There Are Some ,mostly chinese esl teachers

Those of us who value, and are dedicated to education, dont like to admit it, but there are people in our field who give our noble profession a bad name. They are the people who should never have become teachers in the first place.

I received an e-mail from a parent who was going to see her childs teacher over a situation that was upsetting not only to her daughter but to other students in the class. She wrote to me asking if I thought some people were ill-equipped to be teachers. While I didnt really want to say it, even to myself, I had to acknowledge this distressing truth.

She said the teacher used a practice which she felt was demeaning to the students in her daughters class. After each and every writing assignment, the teacher would crumple, in front of the entire class, any paper handed to her that she deemed incorrect or poorly done. The mother called the teacher at the school and told her that this practice upset her daughter very much. The teachers reply? Your daughter is over sensitive. To me, that is an unprofessional comment, as are the teachers classroom methods of criticism.

I knew a teacher who used similar teaching methods.

She taught third graders who were just learning how to hone their writing skills. Instead of constructive criticism, this teacher was teaching a form of what some educators call tough learning. It is a means of getting a student to learn by having them do something until the assignments meet certain standards. Unacceptable work is discarded in front of them, and their fellow classmates, as a form of humiliation. It is a teaching method that is practiced in countries where corporal punishment is still an accepted form of discipline. Good educators, worldwide, have a great distaste for this type of learning. It teaches nothing and is geared to embarrass the student in front of her peers.

It is an unfortunate fact that education has too many people badly suited to teaching children. Most educators dont want to discuss it. The public wants to believe that the persona of a teacher is pure, nurturing, and dedicated. However, if the public knew some of the everyday cruelties which take place in some classrooms, they might all pull their children out and home school them.

I was always proud to be an educator and have known some excellent and dedicated, caring teachers. However, I also am too well aware of some bullies who should not have ventured into the field of education.

Like any other profession, education has its share of un-professionals and incompetents. The worst of the unprofessional people are those who knowingly act in a manner unbefitting an educator. The teacher who humiliates a child in front of classmates is one. (I knew an ESL teacher who used derogatory names for her students when talking about them in the faculty room and mocked the students themselves when they had trouble learning English.)However, unlike other professions where a person can be dismissed for unprofessional behavior, these teachers are protected. The same powerful union that protects good and worthy teachers also protects the cruel and unworthy ones.

And yet, you cannot fault the teachers union. Any teacher who pays their dues and is tenured is entitled to protection from job loss.

I have known many wonderful, excellent teachers and it angers me that, the few who are bad can scar a child emotionally and give them a hateful picture of an educator.

I strongly advise that if you are absolutely sure that a teacher is acting in a cruel way to your child that you dont let the matter get out of hand. Go to the school principal and voice your complaints. Insist on a meeting with the principal and the teacher and bring a friend or your spouse with you, not only as support, but as a witness to the meeting.

I would say that ninety-eight out of a hundred teachers are excellent, caring, and professional. To them I say, great job, keep up the good work! To the other two I say, shame on you. Youre a disgrace to education.