I read a book a while ago called "The Smartest kids in the world: And how they got that way." by Amanda Ripley. It talked about the different education systems in the world and the factors that make them successful or not. To sum up the book, the factors that give the children the system that each one of them deserve is high quality of teachers. the social importance of education and just the joy of learning. Every child is inherently a curious being and we as a society manage to kill that inner being by the time they reach grade 3.
Parents today, find it difficult to accept their children's teachers as professionals and sometimes with good reasons. Part of this difficulty is because of the quality of the professionals entering the field. Like doctors, teachers and elementary school teachers in particular have a profound and lasting impact on a person's life. Should they not then be the most highly trained and highly paid of all professions? After all, a parent is entrusting their most precious possession to a person who will see them more than the parents themeselves.
Teaching is a vocation which wrings out all your energy and talent and leaves you digging deep inside to find that little bit more. But rigid school managements and unrealistic parental expectations dampen a good teacher's enthusiasm and ability to give their best.
However, I have also seen that teachers get unduly stressed if a parent approaches them with a suggestion , a worry or a complaint. More often than not a calm, listening ear resolves the issue. Everything is not a battle and parents do appreciate the little extra bits you put in. Part of the reason many teachers get stressed is that the parent maybe right in their worry and the teacher is not giving their best because they do not know how. The demands on a teacher have multiplied with inclusive classrooms and personalised education being the buzzwords. Teaching degrees. now should also include soft skills like how to run a parent teacher conferences, how to defuse angry parents, how to keep lines of communication open. As one really experienced teacher said to me - "As I plan my lesson, I think about how I can make every student feel successful." If teachers and parents also think about how they can make each other and the children feel successful, I think it can be a true partnership.
