Reply to MCPS teachers - what would you tell parents in your class(es) if you could?

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[quote=Anonymous]I finally quit teaching but here is one thing: how your child's year in my classroom will be is largely depend on the luck of the draw of who his or her other classmates are.

There are some years that you get a really enjoyable cohort of students. By enjoyable I am not talking about academically advanced instead it is when there are no massive behavior problems, not many kids who whine or pester relentlessly,  and no really difficult parents. Those years I pour my heart and soul into the job. We could do fun projects, I was willing to stay late to help students, I spent more money for supplies to do these projects or activities, etc. I still think about the students I had those really enjoyable years.

Other years when there is a really difficult cohort I am not doing anything extra. Not one thing. I do my job then go home and think of what else I can do. One year there was a student who regularly destroyed the classroom by ripping down things no the walls, throwing things, cussing me out, as well as spitting and hitting. If he was just ripping down things but not hurting anyone then he wasn't stopped because he wasn't being a danger to others.

Then there was another year a parent who wanted what the parent and attorney thought was reasonable but really wasn't so there were endless IEP meetings that lasted for hours during the school day. So those days I had to make sub plans and all the other students had to miss out on my instruction. Then there were endless emails from that parent even though I was required to summarize every afternoon how the child's day went, document a gazillion things, accommodate for that one student. The accommodations were so onerous that it took away from the other 23  students. It just isn't fair that one student should take up half of your teaching time which happens when you are required to make sure the student is looking at you before you deliver instruction, check for understanding with that student before moving on, then write the directions on the board, etc.  The other students have to wait even if they all can go at a faster pace because you have to spend so much time redirecting the student. Then you have to mark down on a paper every few minutes if the student is on task. Then check in with the student after they have begun to work, allow the student to give verbal answers instead of writing them down if the student chooses, provide alternative assignments if it is too difficult, etc. The list seemed endless.

Then added to those two previous situations, then you might have students added to the mix who are just annoying- students who whine, parents who want to volunteer so they can gossip about other kids, and just other difficult situations.

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