The French Rule

Since I was small, I have had fantasies about living in France. A friend forwarded this link to me in which the writer's son has a note from his teacher regarding his tardies

“This is to inform you that your children arrived at 8:35 am this morning.  [ie, 5 minutes late but a good 10 minutes or more before class actually starts]. This tardiness is becoming more and more frequent. Please provide me with a written justification as to why. May I remind you, that I also have a class to take care of. These continued late days disturb me in the preparation of said class. Please rectify it.

Okay, who wouldn't want to send a note like that home to one of their regularly tardy students? I made calls about a couple of students this year and both times the parents said they didn't know what to do with their kids and asked for suggestions.

Mom commented:

The attitude of this missive just about sums up how teachers view parents in France. With disdain. Superiority. Essentially, parents are considered larger children. And simpletons to boot. It’s a bit maddening.

Yes, maddening. As opposed to here in America where parents view teachers with disdain, often questioning reading selections, pedagogy, classroom rules.
If only I could remember which newsletter (NEA? NCTE? ASCD?) last week ran an article about teacher-parent conferences and the battering more and more teachers receive. Should I have snipped comments from a recent SF Chronicle story in which posters disparaged teachers as if it were sport? One saying (roughly) that anyone who teaches had no more than a C average in college otherwise he or she would not be teaching.

I do not long for the power of the French teacher, but less disdain by the public would be nice.

 

Comments

[Almost American]

Petite Anglaise has commented on her blog that if she does not get to the 'maternelle' (preschool) in Paris on time with her little one, she finds the gates locked and she has to ring the bell to be allowed in.

I can see middle schoolers and above being only too happy to be locked out!

I had an elementary school parent tell me when she arrived at 9:30 with her son this morning, "I just couldn't wake up today." Very nice, very supportive parent, except for the small matter of getting her kid to school on time.

[Michael McVey]

Yes, a little less disdain from parents would be appreciated. I wonder if the fear of commentary and critque, justified or not, is the reason teachers don't blog much from the classroom.

[Mr. Educator]

I refuse to pile on with educators who constantly complain about the lack of pay for teachers (my wife and I are doing just fine on our teacher salaries), however, I do feel like low pay has certainy equated itself with a lack of respect.

What non-educators do not understand is that although it is possible that some teachers start education careers thinking the work will be gravy (these are part of the nearly 70% that leave the field in the first 5 years), that most educators that stay with the career believe in what they are doing and feeled called to do so.

Would I like more pay? Yes
Would I do this job for free? No
Do I truly believe that the difference my job makes is more important than the money I am making? Of Course!

http://www.educatormr.blogspot.com

[Katy]

Hello,

I too am frustrated by the power and intimidation some parents wield in many ways in our schools.

As an elementary school teacher for the past 8 years, I was particularly saddened when I watched one young, energetic, motivated and talented teacher leave the profession for good. No matter how much I mentored her, her model for teaching was not sustainable (not to mention her pay as a new, part time teacher was tiny). At our small school the community was devastated to see her go. Then I started researching teacher attrition and conducting interviews with people I knew who left the profession or who were thinking strongly of doing so. Most of the time it is the academics, poiticians and others who are removed from teaching that write books and make comments about teacher attrition. I wanted to get the voices of teachers who are leaving, like you and thousands of others, who have their own reasons for leaving the classroom. I am writing Why Great Teachers Quit, an in the trenches, real life view of teachers describing their reasons for quitting, along with creative suggestions for ways to change and improve many of these problems.

I need to hear from teachers from all over the country about why they are leaving teaching. Please visit
http://whygreatteachersquit.wordpress.com to answer survey questions, or to write a more open ended response. You will see two posts with more details about the project. Please be sure to include the grade level, geographic region (general), and subject that you teach in your comments.

Please take a moment to stop by and share your perspective.

If you could pass this along to other teachers you know who have recently left, or are thinking of it, I would truly appreciate it!

[Matthew Hamra]

Wow. AS an educator and beginner/newbie blogger the topic of abusive parents was one of the first blogs I posted. An article in The Age, a Melbourne newspaper in Australia, reported fighting and verbal abuse of teachers in schools. We really need to be able our children safe places to learn if education is going to succeed. Lets try to use words and not physical strength or might to prove the point. Great work.

[dreamduke]

Dear Friend,

The Baan Dek Montessori is hosting a discussion dedicated to the advancement of Montessori education for the success of the twenty-first century and hoping you could contribute. We have established an online community to discuss various topics that concern the importance and relevance of Montessori education today, and for the future, and would greatly appreciate and welcome your participation. Our initial discussions can be found here and if you or other members would like to recommend further topics or contribute to one of our scheduled podcasts please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to a lively and stimulating debate and hope we can once more start the radical educational movement that Montessori enacted.

Best wishes,

Bobby + June George
The Baan Dek Montessori