The Vicious Teachers

Some people are meant to be teachers, and others are not. I recently read this online article posted by a friend of mine titled: "What teachers really want parents to know." In the article, several points were made by the author/teacher. Here are just a few. #1 Teachers are not babysitters. #2 Quit with excuses for your child. #3 Don't turn to your child and asked "Is that true?"  After the teacher just told the parent about something their child recently did. Some of the points listed I agree with, others I do not. But I understand that teachers are sick of not being able to do their job due to disrespectful children and parents. Now here are some things I think SOME (most definetely not ALL) teachers should hear from parents.

#1 What you say in class, gets repeated. You may not understand this, but what you say isn't private. Especially if it's pretty horrible. You see....I have three kids, and I cannot count how many times my kids have gotten in the car just to tell me about some horrid thing their teacher said to them, or someone else. Today, my son let me know that the P.E. teacher pointed out a few kids in the class and labeled them "obese." Yep. In front of the whole class. Now let me insert some common sense here. You DO NOT GIVE KIDS AMMUNITION!! Not only did you just destroy a child's self-esteem, but you gave the other kids in the class fire-power. Good job. These incidents are not uncommon, and although I'm sure most teachers do not like confrontations with parents, you asked for it. Now deal with it.

#2   You are not always right. My son started Algebra this year. He's doing very well, and he is working very hard. However, his teacher made it very clear about his feelings regarding 7th graders in his predominantly 8th grade class. Let me quote. "I don't want 7th graders in my class. They slow me down." Later, I received an email letting me know that he wanted to send my son to Pre-Algebra. I asked him, "Is he misbehaving in class?" And his answer was "No. He's a great kid. It's not because of test scores either. It's because of maturity, and 7th graders should not be allowed into Algebra 1 no matter what their placement tests say. " SOOOO..basically you are saying that he's not a problem at all, but for you personally, you don't care what happens to the student as long as you get to do exactly what YOU want. Nice. Well guess what? Life doesn't work that way. And you aren't always correct. Grow up.

#3 If you tell me something regarding my child, I am going to ask: "Is this true?" Because guess what. I'm one of those CONCERNED parents that likes to hear it from the horse's mouth, and put my child on the spot. This serves two purposes. One. It gives the child the chance to cop to whatever he/she has done. Then, face the consequences. Two. Sometimes teachers lie. (gasp) Yes. I said it. They lie. I've had a teacher lie about me, and I want to give my child the chance to stand up for him/herself if it's needed. So don't get angry or frustrated with me, because I want to hear it from my child. You see, you may think I don't know my child, and I'm sure I don't know half. But what I do know, is when I'm being lied to. And when that is the case, I run the show because I'm a heck of a lot scarier than you are. He sees you once a day. He has to SLEEP in my house.

#4 Finally. The last thing I want to tell teachers is this: Some of you shouldn't be teaching. Now that's not to say that you aren't intelligent, creative, etc. But you are cranky, rude, and you simply don't like children. Every school has this teacher. All the teachers know about him/her, and so do the children. I'm sure good intentions paved the way for you to become an educator, but you detoured somewhere and I suggest you find your pathway back. Yelling, name-calling, being unwilling to help your students..you're not a teacher anymore. You've become a self-created prison warden that no child will be able to learn from. SO don't get mad when they come up with some nicknames of their own for you.

I love teachers. You might read this and think I don't, but you're wrong. I'm simply talking about that one teacher that exists in every school. SO here are a few last things I'd like to mention: 1. My kids don't need a friend, they need a good, solid teacher. 2. Stop playing blackjack on your laptop. The kids can see you doing this and it sets a poor example. 3. We know you're not perfect, we don't expect it. But being organized actually helps. 

To sum it all up: If you respect me, I'll respect you. If you choose to not do your job properly, don't become irate with me when I show up at your classroom door. I'm nice, but I do what I must. Moms, care to add anything I've missed?

Tips from an awful driver

Alright, let me start by saying I'm a bad driver. It's true; I'm pretty horrible. I do a whole lot of interesting things while I drive, that if I may say so, scare the crap out of my children. I tailgate, am slow to apply my brakes, and apply makeup while I head off to my daily activities. Whatever, That's not the problem. The issues I have are with other drivers. Even I, a self-confessed "bad driver" know that certain things aren't okay to do.

Staring into other people's cars is horrible. I have been at a stop light and have felt the stares of people. What in the world do people want to see? Are they hoping I'll pick my nose? My husband does this, and I want to smack him. Not beat him, persay, but a quick shot to the head would suffice. I don't stare into other's cars, because I simply don't care. Do you want to watch me put on my makeup? Shake my finger at the kids? Or drink water? Go ahead, but when I DO pick my nose, don't look shocked. You are just getting what you asked for.

My next issue I have is people flipping me off. Seriously people? Is it really that serious that flipping the bird is called for? Did I cut you off in my slow Prius? Probably. Did I go a little too far out into the turning lane? Sure. But am I offended when you show me the middle finger? Nope. Don't even care. In fact, my common response is to blow a kiss in your direction. So the next time you feel the urge to show me your opinion regarding the way I drive, please understand I couldn't care less, and you now look like a dingaling.

Third, texting at a stop light. Hey, I don't care if you text and drive. I really don't. BUT, I do if I'm waiting behind you at a stop light, and you are so caught up in your LOLing and OMGoodnessing that you don't see the light turn green. Not only will I honk my horn a million times, but I will get in front of you and drive 5 miles per hour. Hey, you wasted my time; it's only fair I waste yours.

Now I'm not saying I follow my own rules, I just wish everyone else would. That way, my driving experiences would be more enjoyable.