No Teacher Left Behind

Here's a Letter to the Editor I wrote that appeared in the Hays Daily News, Hays, Kansas, November 6, 2005

"Dear Editor,

I write to vent some frustration. I do not intend to be mean—I just want to vent and, perhaps, clarify a couple of things. I am a teacher and I am getting weary.

Our current administration has dictated that no child is left behind. Herein lies my frustration. I am busting my backside to be a better teacher in every way I can. I try to teach kids the things they need to know according to this doctrine. It is hard. It is very, very hard. Here’s why: I have some parents who do not realize that I have around 90 students to teach each day. I want to give each and every one of them my full attention, but time does not allow it. As it is, I end up using way too much of my time dealing with disruptive students, trying to get them to want to learn so that I—and they—do not fail “No Child Left Behind.” Then I also like to contact the parents of these children to see if we can work out recurring problems. Occasionally I find that many of the parents of these children exhibit the same behaviors as their children, so it is not always an easy task to talk a parent into seeing things through a teacher’s eyes. Therefore, this takes even more time. In taking time to deal with these discipline problems, I end up neglecting, to some degree, the needs of the students who truly want to learn—whose parents fully support what I am trying to do. These are becoming the children who are left behind.

Students who WANT to learn are the ones being pushed aside so that I may pamper and devote excessive time to those who DON’T want to learn. Do you see the irony here? I am not alone in my frustration. I have also seen some parents of difficult children wanting to run the show, to demand that their children receive special treatment by teachers, administrators, and paraprofessionals. Everyone is walking on eggshells with these parents. Well, frankly, I’ve become so weary that I am seeking the help of the parents who have the children who DO want to learn, who are not problems on a daily basis. You need to start speaking out. If you think the teachers of your children are doing a good job, you need to tell the school administration, school board, and community how you feel. You need to help defend the privilege of education.

I am tired—I am under stress. I regularly work 10 to 12 hours a day during the school week. Then I go home to grade papers and prepare more for the next day. I also spend 4 to 6 hours at the school on most weekends. In the summers, I am continually researching information for the upcoming year, as well as taking college courses to strengthen my knowledge base to make me a better teacher. I use my time efficiently. I am not complaining about the hours—I love to teach and I love to learn. I am constantly trying to find new ways to facilitate student learning—to make it interesting for them. I am not alone in this quest. I see my colleagues doing the same: neglecting their families and private time to be good teachers. Sometimes we do this, only to find a note or message on the answering machine from a parent who has no intention of supporting what we are trying to do. It’s often like paddling against the current—only it seems more often than not that it is during a storm.

I once received a phone call from a parent letting me know how much I meant to her child as a teacher. That phone call made my day, maybe even my whole year. I teach because I love teaching. All I ask is that I am allowed to do my job.

Educationally yours,
Jennifer T-W
Middle School Science Teacher, Kansas