I know no one asked me, but....

This is my first blog ever.  I am a teacher, and I have a lot to say about education, teachers, the classroom, parents, and administration.  Of course, at school, I don't think that anyone is really interested in what I have to say, except for my colleagues that eat lunch with me, of course.  Thus, the title of my first blog.

Lately, I have been asking every teacher I know whether anyone has ever asked them what their biggest challenges are within their classroom.  So far, the answer has been consistently, "No."  

Well, I am asking.  What are our biggest challenges?  What would help us do our jobs better?  And why doesn't anyone think to ask teachers what is going on within their classrooms?

In New Jersey, everyone has an opinion on education, tenure, teacher salaries, test scores, and classroom discipline.  I read every day about the views of Chris Christie, Bill Gates, Cory Booker,
our legislators, the NJEA and our seemingly informed contributors to the editorial page of the Asbury Park Press.  I always wonder whether they have ever asked a teacher for their input.

It does seem like common sense, correct?  Teachers are the only ones that are actually in the classroom with the students on a daily basis.  If someone asked me, I could give  plethora of suggestions about how to help me advance the achievement of my students.  And no, Mr. Gates, it would not include adding twenty more students to my classroom.

Today, I will start with one suggestion, which came to me as I watched a TV commercial this morning.  I forget what it was about, but it had to do with protecting our children from something.  It made its point by having a mother stand in front of her child to protect him from the other players in a sports game.

A classroom environment should be safe, yes.  However, perhaps the teacher should have authority to enforce reasonable rules, and assess work.  With the ease of e-mail and computers, parents now have daily access to the grades students receive on their work, and communication with teachers.  That should be a good thing, right?

The problem arises when teachers are challenged on every decision made, from a grade on an assignment, to a detention for a behavior issue.  Possibly parents should realize that when you are trying to teach 20+ students, they and the students need to respect the teacher's right to enforce classroom rules and judge the quality of the work completed by the students.

We all have stories of children who misbehave, are issued a consequence, and go home and tell Mommy that the punishment was unfair.  I don't know any teacher who wants to take time and effort to discipline a students for no reason.

So my suggestion is that parents, instead of jumping in to "protect" their child from the teacher's "unfairness" should use the situation as a learning and communication tool.  "Yes, Johnny, I know you are upset, but the teacher must have felt that you need to correct something about  your conduct in class, and I have to support that."

Or, "Let's spend a little extra time each night on math, so that we can get that C+ up to a B next marking period."

And administrators, perhaps you could encourage parents to give it a try.  You could have more time to do your job if you don't have to "investigate" these situations every day, after receiving a call from a parent who has not even spoken with the teacher about it.

And think of the time teachers would have to focus on their lessons, without having to constantly defend their classroom procedures and decisions.

I have lots more to say.  Is anyone interested?