PTA: Parent, Teacher, Asshole

It's My Job...

That's what I say at least once, typically several times, while I'm at work. "It's my job."

"Mr. Asshole, why do you give us homework when you know we aren't going to do it?"

"It's my job."

"Mr. Asshole, why won't you let us have CD players at school?"

"It's my job."

Sometimes, that's the only answer that will get through to them, and personally, I feel that seeing someone do his job simply because it's what is expected of him, is something my students need to see. Because, I don't always like "my job".

A couple of years ago, a student I enjoyed having in my class got a little too wired (I don't remember specifics here), and stabbed someone in the hand with a pencil. Now, it wasn't an aggressive maneuver. In his own mind, he was just playing around. It was my job to write him up for stabbing another student in the hand with a pencil, and rightfully so, his intentions and reasons were of little or no consequence. He got dismissed from the school. I regretted having to write him up...but, it's my job.

Sometimes, I like "my job"...It's my job to help my students succeed, sometimes where they've never succeeded before, and I like showing them that they can learn, they can succeed. Their "handicap", their intelligence...they aren't holding them back...It's themselves, their lack of interest...or, current teaching practices, but I'll save that missive for another post.

Anyway, yesterday...Tuesday May 9th, 2006, was a particularly ripe "It's my job" day.

We have a controversial "School Store" policy. Students who do not receive a discipline referral one day get to go to the school store the next day. The controversy? Some teachers hate the idea all together. They take my idea of a Spartan teaching environment to the extreme. I feel that we should be strict so that students do not want to come back, because if they want to come back, then we are encouraging them to misbehave, but that doesn't mean that we have to be completely deprived of privledges and pleasantries. Also, two teachers are essential to access to the school store. One teacher actually runs the school store, the other teacher, who has a planning period at that time, is supposed to monitor the students enjoying the school store privledge. If one or the other is out, then the school store is shut down. Some students have shown amazing maturity in saying that if it can't be consistent, they'd rather it not be offered at all. A third controversy is that, if, for some reason, we teachers don't get a list of who cannot go to the school store because of a discipline referral the previous day, then we are not to send the students to our students to the school store at all. After all, we don't know who should have the privledge, and who shouldn't.

Well, that last scenario was the predicament I found myself in. I had no list telling me who could not go. So when my students asked, I said I had no list, no one could go. Then the aftermath.

Weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. The spokesman of the class went on about how they were hungry and the lunch is nasty and some of them, the only food they would get would be from the school store, and they didn't want to go home hungry...

...I know several of my students come from families who are poor. I understand. BUT, I told this to the spokesman, there are people, adults and children, in the world who would love...LOVE...to have the chance to eat the food he's calling nasty. Our school district offers reduced lunch and even free lunch and every year they lose money on lunch. Beggars can't be choosers.

Anyway, I explained to the class that I was told my job was to give students who did not receive a discipline referral the previous day the opportunity to go to the school store. I was told my job was to not allow anyone to go to the school store under the 3 conditions stated above. Other teachers were sending their classes to the school store...it's happened before...I don't know if they got a list or not. I didn't ask because if they didn't get a list, and if they didn't get a list then they are not doing their jobs.

I explained to my students that it would be easier to just let them all go completely ignoring the rules, than it was to listen to them complain...it's easier to skirt the rules...but I'm anal about them. I'm not going to follow the crowd and break the rules just because it's easier.

Later, after using our exercise discipline program (we use running, mostly, as a form of discipline in an attempt to avoid discipline referrals which could lead to suspension or expulsion), a student began entering the gym. I instructed the student to stop and go on to class. He asked me why I was always on his back..."It's my job."...I also pointed out that I'm on everybody's back. The student wanted to get some water...understandable considering the running...BUT, school was out in a few minutes and high school students were in the gym. We are instructed to keep our middle school students away from the high school students unless absolutely avoidable.

What my students don't understand is that there's a difference between what I don't mind/care about, and what's my job. I didn't care if the student got water, I didn't care if my students went to the school store...but, it's my job to keep control of these things.

Another problem, especially with the the desire for water, but even spilling into being hungry...I know what it's like to be thirsty. I became sick and delirious on a student summer visit to the USSR. Some viral infection threw my blood sugar for a loop (I'm diabetic), and I was in a Russian hospital. The most frightened I've ever been. Well, the most frightened for my own safety. When your blood sugar gets high, you dehydrate because your body is trying to get rid of sugar the only way it knows how...water. At a point when I was coming out of my delirium, some nice Russian woman gave me her soda water...all that she had...a few bottles, I doubt more than 5. It was nasty...I hate soda water...I drank that shit up like there was no tomorrow. That's thirst. That's what real hunger does...you don't care if it's nasty.

Anyways, my point is that, while it may not be fun, you should do your job. My job is to explain to my students...no, not explain...show to my students that they got in trouble because they were only thinking about themselves. That's the time when anybody gets in trouble. Last time I got in trouble was a speeding ticket. I got it because I was thinking how I wanted to get to a certain place in a certain amount of time. Did someone force that time limit on me? Nope.

A lot of students don't have much parental guidance. It's not determined by race or class or anything else...it's most likely always been that way. Teachers? We're the adults in many children's lives. It's our job to show them that you can be patient. You can plan ahead. You can follow the rules. You can do all of these things and still be a child, and still have fun...it's a parent's job as well...but how many parents, and how many teachers don't do their jobs?

Most of my students have parents who have displayed a disinterest in what they do, say, and wear...They've even displayed a disinterest in following a boss at a job or legal authority.

My job? To show the opposite. We all should...

posted by Bodog @ 7:40 PM