Won't Back Down!

Now, that was a great idea for a movie!  Won't Back Down!  I have my share of complaints as a mother with children in the public school system.  But, I was raised in a house where you respected authority... period.  Let's not point blame on who did what.  

• It isn't because we don't say the pledge of allegiance or pray in school anymore, because in most places we do it anyway.
• It isn't because teachers aren't allowed to spank anymore, because we all know that they have just changed to attacking the child's self-esteem.
• It isn't because teachers aren't earning enough money, because if they were working at any other job their work ethic would be the same and their income would reflect that as well.

Oh, it's because of the home?

•  The parents don't help the children with their homework, probably because the parents do not have the skill to teach in Math (oh that could just be me; thank the lord my husband does!)
• The parents don't make the kid read and don't read to their children; because we all know that we put our kids in front of a computer or they have a smart phone where they text and/or tweet messages all day.
• The parents don't check the child's homework or backpacks; because you know we just don't care and want them to eat, shower, and go to bed and not share stories of our day. 

Well, isn't that why we had children....to shuffle them thru our day?  Come on people.  This is a partnership here.  Like a business that depends on one another to thrive.  Think of the hotel that outsources a linen service.  It is just as much responsibility of the Hotel to provide ALL the dirty linen to the Linen Service as it is for the Linen Service to provide a clean product on time back to the Hotel.  In this business relationship the Hotel needs the Linen Service to provide quality service on time so that their customers remain happy with their experience of staying at the hotel.  This is the same for the Linen Service.  The Linen Service needs the Hotel to continue doing well and maybe open another location so that they can grow and get more work.

What if these businesses worked like our public education system today?  The Hotel doesn’t give the Linen Company all the dirty linens as agreed.  The Linen Company decides it isn’t their fault; the Hotel should’ve made sure they had all the dirty linens available when their driver came by to pick it up.  So the Linen Company charges the Hotel another delivery cost for the driver to go back by to get the rest of the load.  The Linen Company has their own internal issues and decides to take advantage of the Hotel being irresponsible, so they make excuses why the linen load is late or the quality of product isn’t as usual.

One of my favorite sayings is, “explain to me like I am a two-year old.”  So here it is.

You get out of the relationship exactly what you put into it.  

·         If you are a teacher and there is an assignment due on Friday, when Friday comes you should expect that assignment turned in by all the students.  If Friday comes and you tell your class, “well, make sure it is turned in by Monday, or you won’t get full credit.” That is conditioning the kids that they do not have to have their project in on time ever in your class.

·         Like the Hotel, if you want all the linens washed they all have to get to the laundry.

This is a partnership and we need each other.

·         Parents want to raise good citizens.  They want to see their children grow, prosper, and do better than they did themselves.  We didn’t have children to just shuffle around from one activity to another so we can check off on an imaginary list at the end of the day…bath, feed, read, talk, sleep…check!  So, teachers need to remember that their job is to teach.  Our money goes to taxes to pay for you to have a job.  Your job is to teach.  We need each other.

·         Like the situation of the Hotel and the Linen Company, if the teachers are not producing the quality of education for the child, then the teacher should be let go or the relationship of the parent and the school system is re-evaluated.

The reality is that there are alternative solutions.

·         The teachers need to realize that their job has changed.  We are a fast moving, informative, educated, and professional society. 

·         The parents will find alternative education for their child, and the teachers will deal with even more layoffs because of the number of students in traditional public schools are dwindling.

Pretend that I am a hotel that is looking for a linen service.  This is my example as a parent and what I am looking for in a teacher for my child.

• ·         In exchange for me checking the parent portal, checking my child’s homework, and helping him with his project.  I would like the teacher to keep the parent portal up to date, check their email, and prepare for their day in class before they get there.

• ·         When you as a teacher assign a project with a due date, I would like a form with instructions, an email, or a post with instructions of the project on your website.  And, when my child actually goes thru the process of doing the assignment and it is handed in on time, I would like him to be given the opportunity to be recognized for a job well done.  This is called reinforcement and it will encourage him to want to do even more for you next time.  Responding with, “if you don’t have your assignments turned in by Monday, you will not get full credit” to the rest of the students that don’t hand it in on time just reinforces to my child that next time he doesn’t really need to worry about meeting the original deadline.

• ·         Take your job seriously.  Teaching is a profession.  It is not an hourly job that you can decide to get ready for 15 minutes before you are running out the door.  Teachers are known for spouting “they have the most important job in the world”.  Well, then act like it, dress like it, and be an example.  Decide that you want to be a “teacher”, and be the best teacher you can be and don’t be afraid of being evaluated on your performance.  Analytics is here to stay.

The reality is that we want our public school system to work.  And, I believe that teachers really do want to do a good job.  If we are going to continue doing business together, it has to be a relationship where both are profitable…..or, we will be looking for alternative education and you will see more teachers in the unemployment line.