My friend is a dance teacher (different sort, I know) and every year she runs an audition to place dancers on the competitive team. She auditions the students, and after each audition she says "Thank you. Good job." Whether they flub the audition, or are the superstar of the day, they all receive the same 4 words at the end of the audition. Pretty standard.

One year, she was auditioning a dancer whose parents were, shall we say, a bit involved and always concerned that someone else was going to get something better than their daughter and as a result, her self esteem was going to be destroyed. Mind you, this girl was a teenager and not a 7 year old.

The girl auditioned, and my friend says, "Thank you. Good job." As she did to every other dancer that auditioned that weekend. Audition results come out, and this dancer was given many opportunities to shine. There were a handful of dances reserved for the oldest and most skilled dancers, and this girl was not selected for those routines, although she made many others.

The parents called my friend, furious. And I mean furious. The irrational screaming kind of furious that only crazy parents can provide.

Their chief argument on why they felt their daughter was wronged? My friend's standard closing of "Thank you. Good job."

The parents felt that by telling their daughter good job, and not placing her in the most advanced groups, that my friend was purposefully setting this young adult up for disappointment and failure, and that it was mean spirited of her to tell their daughter those words if she was not going to be selected for the most advanced routines. Mind you, the girl had never danced in these most advanced routines, and she had not yet developed the skills required in the dance, and the dancers were a few years older and much more experienced with many more hours of training each week. They yelled and yelled, and when my friend did not relent on placement they told her that she was never to use words like that to set their daughter up for disappointment. Nevermind the fact that the girl was closer in age to having babies in diapers than being a baby in diapers. Her fragile self esteem (according to her parents) was simply in shreds because of this life shattering disappointment, all caused by the encouraging "Thank you. Good job."

This was not the first or the last time that the parents had this type of reaction towards teachers at that dance school. She has oodles of stories about them and their over reaching concern for their daughter (a great kid fortunately so it made the craziness a bit easier to handle.)

Anonymous wrote:

Hmmmm.... I could go either way. Really crazy? Or just pretending to be crazy?

Or simply the coffee house wifi lady. Hmmm.

I just checked the P&P wifi thread on the Political forum and, OMG, you're right. The anger, the sock puppetting, the contempt for anyone in a possibly unionized job .... It's all there. And it's all here. And it was all in that Takoma Park thread. This poster is definitely the gift that keeps on giving, as several appreciative people have already pointed out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I am glad you finally found a place that still offers free wifi

I wonder if this is the same poster who thinks Takoma Park is segregated despite his or her obvious lack of knowledge of the place? Looney Tunes.

Boxing in the dark

Anonymous wrote:You people have KILLED the joy in this post. Could have/would have been a hilarious read. I'm out!

I know, the butter on my popcorn is congealed and it's time to flip the channel.

I blame a single poster. I think everyone else has been defending teachers against these bizarre, unreasonable screeds. But it did mean we lost the thread, so to speak....

Anonymous wrote:Altruism is about putting others first and in this case it means a teacher putting the education of their students first. Anyone who has the ability to put their students first would not have time to hang out in the teachers lounge discussing their students and their parents who they have backlisted as CRAZY.

If you consider every student and every parent CRAZY, who asks you a few simple questions then you have obviously chosen the wrong profession. Clearly, your level for tolerating life's minor annoyances is far too low for you to be successful at any profession and especially so for teaching.

The truly great teachers are altruistic. They are not in it for the money, they work many more hours than they are paid creating dynamic comprehensive lessons, they ask probing questions to assess mastery, they read their students essays and problems, they mark them up and grade them fairly, and they develop teacher/student relationships on their own without being mindless slaves to the Teacher's Lounge Groupthink about students, parents, administrators.

Altruistic teachers are kind and gentle, and they put their students first. Great teacher never allow themselves to become part of the cool-teacher clique. They never use uneducated uninformed pejorative terms in which they can't substantiate like crazy, insane, pita and helicoptering. Those are just the verbal expressions of selfish weak minded individuals who have clearly entered the wrong profession.

If your teaching skills are being challenged it's not because your student's parents are crazy, it's because you are less than an effective teacher. If you are a less than an effective teacher then in all likelihood you enter this profession for the wrong reasons. You didn't enter the field of education teach because you have a true passion for the content matter in which you teach, you entered it to have your summers off, or to coach, to be able to pick and choose your teacher's pets, to be the smarty-pants in class again or to one day become an administrator and you can't wait to get out of the classroom.

Take this weekend to think about the real reasons you entered the profession of teaching. If you come up with any other reasons besides having a burning passion to teach children everything you know about your subject and life in general, then you've chosen the wrong profession.

If my advice to you makes me crazy in your opinion then you are a hopelessly flawed human being who has no chance of improvement or ever becoming a skillful teacher.

NP here. I have been dealing with a very stressful medical situation and just want to sincerely thank you for the belly laughs you have provided, they were sorely needed. You have a future in satire, my friend, I bet The Onion is hiring.

Anonymous wrote:And the PP sounds like an arrogant defensive dope to me. Professional Educators don't think of their students or their parents as crazy. No my teacher friend, they think of them as people with whom they work and interact as part of their profession. Apparently you believe anyone who may be outside of your cozy little clique is crazy.

But then again this exemplifies a problem with so many teachers today. They can't even begin to describe the people with whom they interact good or bad. They describe people as crazy, insane, outrageous, annoying, helicopters, or PITAs etc. Those are just insults not descriptions of the things that have upset your precious little fiefdoms.

You know what - you really are not anything special to me until you prove yourselves as such. Some of you are good and an awful lot of you are pure dullards. There are some great teachers who are truly altruistic and no matter how good they are they always strive to make their next lesson perfect. They don't hang out in the teachers lounge, they don't gossip because they don't want to be contaminated by the groupthink of the dullard teachers clique.

If you are a teacher PP, where do you think you fall? Are one one of the few truly altruistic teachers who burns the midnight oil grading and preparing future lessons or are you a former Teacher's Pet yourself who was mediocre college student who couldn't wait to get back in the classroom were you be the smarty-pants kid again.

Give the choice between being a parent who has lived a life rich with knowledge and experiences and that of a wet behind the ears kid who beats the students out the door at the end of the day.... Well, I admit it coming from you and your limited vocabulary and range of knowledge, I'll take your name for "Crazy" as a compliment.

Go back to school, learn something, expand your vocabulary, stop calling people names, take your school's stated goals seriously, stop gossiping about your students and their families.

Learn to use your words.

You're probably are not a bad person, but you've probably never stopped to self-examine the real reasons you chose to be a teacher. Do it now - do you want to be one of the greats - because if you do, it takes genuine altruism. At the moment you are acting like a teacher's lounge slug.

The choice is yours.

I am so glad I am no longer teaching college because I have no doubt I would be getting missives like these via email once (if) your darling managed to get themselves there.

You people have KILLED the joy in this post. Could have/would have been a hilarious read. I'm out!

Anonymous wrote:Altruism is about putting others first and in this case it means a teacher putting the education of their students first. Anyone who has the ability to put their students first would not have time to hang out in the teachers lounge discussing their students and their parents who they have backlisted as CRAZY.

If you consider every student and every parent CRAZY, who asks you a few simple questions then you have obviously chosen the wrong profession. Clearly, your level for tolerating life's minor annoyances is far too low for you to be successful at any profession and especially so for teaching.

The truly great teachers are altruistic. They are not in it for the money, they work many more hours than they are paid creating dynamic comprehensive lessons, they ask probing questions to assess mastery, they read their students essays and problems, they mark them up and grade them fairly, and they develop teacher/student relationships on their own without being mindless slaves to the Teacher's Lounge Groupthink about students, parents, administrators.

Altruistic teachers are kind and gentle, and they put their students first. Great teacher never allow themselves to become part of the cool-teacher clique. They never use uneducated uninformed pejorative terms in which they can't substantiate like crazy, insane, pita and helicoptering. Those are just the verbal expressions of selfish weak minded individuals who have clearly entered the wrong profession.

If your teaching skills are being challenged it's not because your student's parents are crazy, it's because you are less than an effective teacher. If you are a less than an effective teacher then in all likelihood you enter this profession for the wrong reasons. You didn't enter the field of education teach because you have a true passion for the content matter in which you teach, you entered it to have your summers off, or to coach, to be able to pick and choose your teacher's pets, to be the smarty-pants in class again or to one day become an administrator and you can't wait to get out of the classroom.

Take this weekend to think about the real reasons you entered the profession of teaching. If you come up with any other reasons besides having a burning passion to teach children everything you know about your subject and life in general, then you've chosen the wrong profession.

If my advice to you makes me crazy in your opinion then you are a hopelessly flawed human being who has no chance of improvement or ever becoming a skillful teacher.

I have yet to see one post that states they think EVERY parent is crazy. Not one single person has said that. They have posted a funny story about a specific incident. You are nuts poster. You are so overboard it's officially insane asylum time for you. Now scoot...

PP seems more moderate than the person who posted the blanket statement that parents are CRAZY. Certainly some parents are probably unreasonable, but unless you are a trained professional, throwing around terms like crazy, insane, helicoptering, and pita strike me as unprofessional. Once professionals including teachers lose their ethics it's a long road back to professionalism. The great teachers are individualistic and they are altruistic. They throw everything they have into classroom teaching. They don't save juicy tidbits for the cesspool some people call the teacher's lounge, or for DCUM, and they don't work the barest number of years possible before they depart for some menial job in administration.

I'm truly trying to be moderate in this posting, but it is difficult. There are truly great teachers who give so much more than they receive, but there still remain far too many who just do it as an hourly paying job and not particularly well. They have become teachers for a variety of selfish reasons and then they demonstrate their limited intellect by calling people names. These are the people representing your profession.

Hopefully, you're one of the good ones

Hmmmm.... I could go either way. Really crazy? Or just pretending to be crazy?

Or simply the coffee house wifi lady. Hmmm.

Anonymous wrote:Altruism is about putting others first and in this case it means a teacher putting the education of their students first. Anyone who has the ability to put their students first would not have time to hang out in the teachers lounge discussing their students and their parents who they have backlisted as CRAZY.

If you consider every student and every parent CRAZY, who asks you a few simple questions then you have obviously chosen the wrong profession. Clearly, your level for tolerating life's minor annoyances is far too low for you to be successful at any profession and especially so for teaching.

The truly great teachers are altruistic. They are not in it for the money, they work many more hours than they are paid creating dynamic comprehensive lessons, they ask probing questions to assess mastery, they read their students essays and problems, they mark them up and grade them fairly, and they develop teacher/student relationships on their own without being mindless slaves to the Teacher's Lounge Groupthink about students, parents, administrators.

Altruistic teachers are kind and gentle, and they put their students first. Great teacher never allow themselves to become part of the cool-teacher clique. They never use uneducated uninformed pejorative terms in which they can't substantiate like crazy, insane, pita and helicoptering. Those are just the verbal expressions of selfish weak minded individuals who have clearly entered the wrong profession.

If your teaching skills are being challenged it's not because your student's parents are crazy, it's because you are less than an effective teacher. If you are a less than an effective teacher then in all likelihood you enter this profession for the wrong reasons. You didn't enter the field of education teach because you have a true passion for the content matter in which you teach, you entered it to have your summers off, or to coach, to be able to pick and choose your teacher's pets, to be the smarty-pants in class again or to one day become an administrator and you can't wait to get out of the classroom.

Take this weekend to think about the real reasons you entered the profession of teaching. If you come up with any other reasons besides having a burning passion to teach children everything you know about your subject and life in general, then you've chosen the wrong profession.

If my advice to you makes me crazy in your opinion then you are a hopelessly flawed human being who has no chance of improvement or ever becoming a skillful teacher.

I stopped reading in the 1st para when you said teachers shouldn't take breaks, even short breaks, in the company of other teachers. And PSA: you're talking to multiple posters not just a single teacher. I'm an economist, for example.

My theories on this poster:
(1) S/he's certifiably insane.
(2) This is a troll who likes winding people up. Recently a teacher poster said her teacher friend comes on DCUM to post crazy things just for amusement. That would make the poster "pseudo" certifiably insane.

Hmmmm.... I could go either way. Really crazy? Or just pretending to be crazy?

Let me play devil's advocate. Let's hope the formatting cooperates.

Anonymous wrote:Altruism is about putting others first and in this case it means a teacher putting the education of their students first. Anyone who has the ability to put their students first would not have time to hang out in the teachers lounge discussing their students and their parents who they have backlisted as CRAZY.

If you consider every student and every parent CRAZY, who asks you a few simple questions then you have obviously chosen the wrong profession. Clearly, your level for tolerating life's minor annoyances is far too low for you to be successful at any profession and especially so for teaching.

Teachers have a half hour lunch break. Where sometimes the topic of 'crazy parents' arise especially if an unsettling event has occurred.

Parents who ask questions aren't crazy. That's not what teachers are talking about. We're talking about more extreme circumstances. Have you read the stories?

Anonymous wrote: The truly great teachers are altruistic. They are not in it for the money, they work many more hours than they are paid creating dynamic comprehensive lessons, they ask probing questions to assess mastery, they read their students essays and problems, they mark them up and grade them fairly, and they develop teacher/student relationships on their own without being mindless slaves to the Teacher's Lounge Groupthink about students, parents, administrators.

Altruistic teachers are kind and gentle, and they put their students first. Great teacher never allow themselves to become part of the cool-teacher clique. They never use uneducated uninformed pejorative terms in which they can't substantiate like crazy, insane, pita and helicoptering. Those are just the verbal expressions of selfish weak minded individuals who have clearly entered the wrong profession.

If we were in it for the money, we wouldn't be doing it.

As a teacher, I try to stay away from the gossip. But let me ask you this at your job have you ever needed to vent about an unsettling event or something that's frustrating you? Sometimes (and I mean sometimes) teachers might talk to each other to vent or ask advice about a situation.

Anonymous wrote: If your teaching skills are being challenged it's not because your student's parents are crazy, it's because you are less than an effective teacher. If you are a less than an effective teacher then in all likelihood you enter this profession for the wrong reasons. You didn't enter the field of education teach because you have a true passion for the content matter in which you teach, you entered it to have your summers off, or to coach, to be able to pick and choose your teacher's pets, to be the smarty-pants in class again or to one day become an administrator and you can't wait to get out of the classroom.

Take this weekend to think about the real reasons you entered the profession of teaching. If you come up with any other reasons besides having a burning passion to teach children everything you know about your subject and life in general, then you've chosen the wrong profession.

If my advice to you makes me crazy in your opinion then you are a hopelessly flawed human being who has no chance of improvement or ever becoming a skillful teacher.

How does a parents actions reflect on a teacher? We can't control what they do.

A teacher once told me she loves planning engaging lessons, setting up her classroom, teaching her kids through the good and bad days. Helping her kids academically as well as socially/emotionally. Seeing the magical moment when a child finally understands a concept. The toughest part of the teaching profession sometimes is the parents.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Altruism is about putting others first and in this case it means a teacher putting the education of their students first. Anyone who has the ability to put their students first would not have time to hang out in the teachers lounge and discuss .stud and parents who they have backlisted as CRAZY.

If you consider every student and every parent CRAZY, who asks you a few simple questions then you have obviously chosen the wrong profession. Clearly, your level for tolerating life's minor annoyances is far to low for you to be successful at any profession and especially so for teaching.

The truly great teachers are altruistic. They are not in it for the money, they work many more hours than they are paid creating dynamic comprehensive lessons, they ask probing questions to assess mastery, they read their students essays and problems, they mark them up and grade them fairly, and they develop teacher/student relationships on their own without being mindless slaves to the Teacher's Lounge Groupthink about students, parents, administrators.

Altruistic teachers are kind and gentle, and they put their students. Great teacher never allow themselves to become part of the cool teacher clique. They never used uneducated uninformed pejorative terms in which they can't substantiate like crazy, insane, pita and helicoptering. Those are just the verbal expressions of selfish weak minded individuals who have clearly entered the wrong profession.

If your teaching skills are being challenged it's not because your student's parents are crazy, it's because you are less than an effective teacher. If you are a less than an effective teacher then in all likelihood you enter this profession for the wrong reasons. You didn't enter the field of education teach because you have a true passion for the content matter in which you teach, you entered it to have your summers off, or to coach, or to one day become an administrator and you can't wait to get out of the classroom.

Take this weekend to think about the real reasons you entered the profession of teaching. If you come up with any other reasons besides having a burning passion to teach children everything you know about your subject and life in general, then you've chosen the wrong profession.

If my advice to you makes me crazy in your opinion then you are a hopelessly flawed human being who has no chance of improvement or ever becoming a skillful teacher.

I am glad you finally found a place that still offers free wifi

I wonder if this is the same poster who thinks Takoma Park is segregated despite his or her obvious lack of knowledge of the place? Looney Tunes.

Anonymous wrote:Altruism is about putting others first and in this case it means a teacher putting the education of their students first. Anyone who has the ability to put their students first would not have time to hang out in the teachers lounge and discuss .stud and parents who they have backlisted as CRAZY.

If you consider every student and every parent CRAZY, who asks you a few simple questions then you have obviously chosen the wrong profession. Clearly, your level for tolerating life's minor annoyances is far to low for you to be successful at any profession and especially so for teaching.

The truly great teachers are altruistic. They are not in it for the money, they work many more hours than they are paid creating dynamic comprehensive lessons, they ask probing questions to assess mastery, they read their students essays and problems, they mark them up and grade them fairly, and they develop teacher/student relationships on their own without being mindless slaves to the Teacher's Lounge Groupthink about students, parents, administrators.

Altruistic teachers are kind and gentle, and they put their students. Great teacher never allow themselves to become part of the cool teacher clique. They never used uneducated uninformed pejorative terms in which they can't substantiate like crazy, insane, pita and helicoptering. Those are just the verbal expressions of selfish weak minded individuals who have clearly entered the wrong profession.

If your teaching skills are being challenged it's not because your student's parents are crazy, it's because you are less than an effective teacher. If you are a less than an effective teacher then in all likelihood you enter this profession for the wrong reasons. You didn't enter the field of education teach because you have a true passion for the content matter in which you teach, you entered it to have your summers off, or to coach, or to one day become an administrator and you can't wait to get out of the classroom.

Take this weekend to think about the real reasons you entered the profession of teaching. If you come up with any other reasons besides having a burning passion to teach children everything you know about your subject and life in general, then you've chosen the wrong profession.

If my advice to you makes me crazy in your opinion then you are a hopelessly flawed human being who has no chance of improvement or ever becoming a skillful teacher.

As a teacher, you do your best to teach every child and help them reach their full potential. Not every parent makes this easy, whether they realize it or not.

I've had some quote on quote "crazy" parents although often I try to take it in stride and see the full picture. Sometimes they don't mean to come across strongly and only mean and want the best for their child. That I can understand.

I've had some legit ones though, I had a parent stalk me when I'd stay late to work in the classroom. They'd wait outside the school, talk to me about their child, ask why they brought this artwork home, why they got this grade, that so-and-so wouldn't play with their child, etc. It would be 5pm and I'd been at the school since 7 and all I wanted to do was go home, eat dinner, and relax a little bit. I don't mind discussing concerns with parents that's part of my job, but there is a time and place to do so not following me around.

I had another parent scream in my face because their child forgot their lunchbox and then didn't eat their sandwich at lunch. Really? We emphasize responsibility and do provide reminders but it's their child's ultimate responsibility to do so. We can't force-feed a child or check 26 backpacks before they leave to make sure they have their belongings.

I wasn't this child's teacher, but one parent stormed past the office into the classroom in the middle of the school day to scream the teacher out because the child got in trouble the day before (back-talked and threw a chair). The parent had tried to call the teacher, but with it being instructional time the phone went straight to voicemail. Instead of waiting to resolve the issue she came into the classroom and threw a fit swearing and screaming in front of the teacher and students. As a teacher how could you have stopped that?

Lawyers have so-so clients, doctors have tough patients, waiters have pain-in-the-butt customers, and yes sometimes teachers have tough parents. It happens.

Just because the above events happened doesn't mean I'm a lousy teacher. I can't stop how some parents act, I have no control over their actions, and I'm not their boss. No offense, but you sound a little high and mighty to me. Are you a teacher? I doubt it.

Anonymous wrote:Altruism is about putting others first and in this case it means a teacher putting the education of their students first. Anyone who has the ability to put their students first would not have time to hang out in the teachers lounge and discuss .stud and parents who they have backlisted as CRAZY.

If you consider every student and every parent CRAZY, who asks you a few simple questions then you have obviously chosen the wrong profession. Clearly, your level for tolerating life's minor annoyances is far to low for you to be successful at any profession and especially so for teaching.

The truly great teachers are altruistic. They are not in it for the money, they work many more hours than they are paid creating dynamic comprehensive lessons, they ask probing questions to assess mastery, they read their students essays and problems, they mark them up and grade them fairly, and they develop teacher/student relationships on their own without being mindless slaves to the Teacher's Lounge Groupthink about students, parents, administrators.

Altruistic teachers are kind and gentle, and they put their students. Great teacher never allow themselves to become part of the cool teacher clique. They never used uneducated uninformed pejorative terms in which they can't substantiate like crazy, insane, pita and helicoptering. Those are just the verbal expressions of selfish weak minded individuals who have clearly entered the wrong profession.

If your teaching skills are being challenged it's not because your student's parents are crazy, it's because you are less than an effective teacher. If you are a less than an effective teacher then in all likelihood you enter this profession for the wrong reasons. You didn't enter the field of education teach because you have a true passion for the content matter in which you teach, you entered it to have your summers off, or to coach, or to one day become an administrator and you can't wait to get out of the classroom.

Take this weekend to think about the real reasons you entered the profession of teaching. If you come up with any other reasons besides having a burning passion to teach children everything you know about your subject and life in general, then you've chosen the wrong profession.

If my advice to you makes me crazy in your opinion then you are a hopelessly flawed human being who has no chance of improvement or ever becoming a skillful teacher.

I am glad you finally found a place that still offers free wifi