As a teacher in Penticton, who teaches 70 elementary students from grades 2-5 in a variety of subjects, I must inform you that you presented numerous pieces of misinformation in your editorial in the Jan. 6 edition of the Penticton Western News.
You stated that teachers “are not meeting with parents, or doing anything other than informal reports on student progress”. You could not be more wrong. Teachers are definitely still meeting with parents and are doing more with children in regards to both learning and reporting.
Teachers are in constant contact with parents. To give an example, my colleague waited until 6 p.m. for some parents to arrive at the school so that she could talk to them about the progress of their child. She did this because she cares about this child and her progress. This teacher gave up time that she could have spent with her husband and three children so that these parents would not have to miss work or their wages. This is just one example of a teacher in this district that has gone out of her way to meet with parents.
On a regular basis, I see my colleagues with parents in their rooms whether it is before school or after. Also, I see the notes that have been written in planners from both parents and teachers. Not only do we still meet with parents but we still communicate with them too. What we do is no secret and it is not intended to be.
We, teachers, still communicate home via phone calls, emails and written notes in planners. Never do we ignore the parents’ concern or wanting to know about the progress of their child, nor do we ignore the needs of the student. We communicate home in a variety of ways to let parents know not only how the child is doing academically but socially as well. We currently inform parents that this is what your child is doing well, this is what they are struggling with and this is what we can do to support them from both ends. So when you say that teachers “are not meeting with parents, or doing anything other than informal reports on student progress”, you are extremely wrong.
Secondly, teachers do more than just teach. We give up time that we could be spending with our families, friends and loved ones to coach sports like volleyball, basketball, rugby, field hockey, badminton and track and field. We give up time to organize events such as drama plays, 10,000 Tonight and band performances. We give time to give extra help to those who want or need that extra little bit of learning help or an ear to talk to. We do not get paid extra for putting in numerous hours of time outside of the daily schedule to ensure that these events get done. We do not receive bonuses for coaching or putting on concerts. We do it because we care and we want to provide students, the kids in our community, with every opportunity to experience success in some manner.
To summarize, I need to paraphrase teacher and slam poet Taylor Mali: I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I can make a C+ feel like a medal of honour and an A feel depressing. I expect the best from my students. I make kids read for 30 minutes in absolute silence. I make parents tremble in fear when I call home: I say, I hope I haven’t called at a bad time, I just wanted to tell you something Billy said today. Billy said, “Leave the kid alone.” And it was the noblest act of courage I have ever seen.
I make parents see their children for who they are and what they can be. I make kids wonder, I make them question. I make them criticize. I make them apologize and mean it. I make them write, write, write. And then I make them read some more. I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful over and over and over again until they will never misspell either one of those words again. I make them show all their work in math and hide it on their final drafts in English. I make them understand that if you got brains and you follow your heart the world belongs to you and nothing is impossible.
So, if I can do all of this in a class of 27, think of what we teachers could accomplish with a smaller number of students, and when you say “there needs to be far more focus on students”, what is it exactly that you think teachers do?
George Marques
Penticton
