ARE WE REALLY TEACHERS ANYMORE?

Every student I know, from the young to the old, have a story about a teacher that influenced them for the better.  Maybe it was extra time spent listening to a student or perhaps it was just a little extra attention given during a difficult time but somewhere throughout a student’s life a teacher as made an impact.

As I go into my eleventh year of teaching, I am ashamed of what my profession has become.  We no longer follow the simplest of rules taught by Mr. Harry Wong which is to, “know your students.”  Why?  Because all the focus is on “the test.”  Never mind the student who was beat by her father last night, or the one who hide from the gunshots ringing outside their window, perhaps it was the body left outside in the gang related death or could it of been that the 8th grader was home taking care of his or her brothers and sisters so Mom could go to work.  Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter.  All that counts is the test score.

Funny but I would like those from DESE to subject themselves to the living conditions faced by a large population of our students and get up every morning with a smile an the ability to learn.  Better than that…how about they leave their children in the Holyoke hotel and see what it is like to live their, or in one of the other shelters across the district.

Look my scores will never be perfect but I have something that is more important than a score on a test, the trust and respect of most of my students and their parents.  Am  I perfect?  No!  Do I expect my students to be perfect?  No!  I expect them to try their best and try and break the cycle that deals with education from most of their families.  I do this by treating them like people.  Yes I said people.  Young adults who may be living in difficult situations and many who are experienceing problems that they don’t know where to turn to for help.  Forgive me for not focusing all my attention on the test, but I will continue to do my test to prepare them not only for the MCAS but for life as well.

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