Why did you go into teaching?
Posted by PLB Registrar · 4 Comments
The U.S. Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague Letter: Harassment and Bullying” to public schools October 26, 2010 (Click here to view the letter) informing K-12 schools and post-secondary institutions of their responsibilities to create, in our words, safe learning environments for all students. The anti-bullying letter details all of the federal Title laws that schools are required to enforce and notifies schools that failure to do so will put the school at legal risk. What are the legal implications for teachers and schools who are found to be out of compliance? The letter does not say.
It seems that with this letter, schools have been put on a sort of notice that they must now police all student actions, behaviors and interactions or be held liable for any potential violations of federal Title statutes: specifically, “A school is responsible for addressing harassment incidents about which it knows or reasonably should have known.”
We’re all for creating safe learning environments. We even have online courses to help teachers, administrators, coaches, etc. to identify child abuse, address bullying and keep students safe on the internet. Our commitment to safe learning environments is clear.
Where I get concerned is when the language leads teachers and school officials away from their primary goal of education. A phrase as simple as “reasonably should have known” combined with other text such as “which may include use of cell phones or the Internet;” could indicate that private communications on cell phones and the Internet, regardless of whether or not they even take place during school time, can create grand confusion and challenges for teachers and their fellow education professionals. Here are some possible implications and corresponding questions:
- Are teachers and schools to be responsible for children during their personal, non-school time?
- Are teachers required to monitor students’ Facebook pages?
- What is a healthy and acceptable boundary between a teacher and students?
As I have written about in our newsletters, blog and online courses, children deserve a safe learning environment and schools need to provide it. It’s just that I went into teaching because I wanted to teach children by focusing on and sharing my subject matter expertise.
This week’s questions for you:
- Why did you go into teaching?
- How would you define “reasonably should have known”?
- Is a teacher ever off-duty?
I am a paraeducator working toward a double Master’s in Elementary and Secondary Education/Special Education and Education Technology. I love working with kids and my goal is to educate them academically and socially. My feelings are strong about providing a safe environment at school and bullying in any form. If, however, legal requirements for providing safe environments becomes too involved, teaching academics will go by the wayside.
In my mind, “Reasonably should have known” means that I make an effort to be aware of my surroundings and listen carefully when needed. I can’t always be out in the halls or with large groups of kids (which is when a lot of bullying happens) so I simply do the best I can. My district is making massive efforts to teach and enforce anti-bullying policy. I am concerned, however, that the U.S. Department of Education is bullying public schools into being too focused on the “right words to use” when teaching and talking to students and not enough about providing enduring and meaningful lessons.
As far as monitoring Facebook pages outside of school time — NO! A teacher is not a police officer, nor is it necessary to find out what everyone is doing. To monitor infinite numbers of social networking pages is monumental and illogical. What we can do is be aware of subtleties in student interactions, keep all students’ best interests in mind, speak privately with students if there is a concern, and, possibly have hall monitoring during passing times where teachers, aides, and other staff are circulating with the students as much as reasonably possible.
The only time monitoring social sites is relevant, I feel, is when a teacher has created one for specific curricular projects and strict rules are set and enforced. Teacher networking sites that are personal in nature should only be monitored if there is significant cause for concern.
Educator behavior is as vital to maintaining a safe learning environment; patience, decorum, respect and positive attitudes all help when working with students. I know I haven’t even touched the surface of this subject and maybe I seem naieve but I sincerely hope that anyone reading this will provide insight where mine is lacking. Thank you!
Andrea,
Your comments appear well thought out and exude a sense of strength. Thanks for the contribution!
I went into teaching 40 years ago when teaching was only one of about 4 choices: secretary, nurse, teacher, or homemaker. Teaching was much less scrutinized. The fact that my mom was a teacher and that I loved school were two other factors in my career choice.
Carl Glickman in his book, Developmental Supervision, claims that teachers go through a 3-year period in which they evolve from being mainly concerned with their own survival in the classroom to becoming concerned with the whole field of education. It took me much longer. I was not a natural teacher. I had to find myself in the profession, and I did. I am primarily concerned with Early Childhood and within that level, with language arts, mainly writing.
“Reasonably should have known” to me means that the teacher either witnessed anti-social behavior or bullying at school, or that she had been informed by other students, e.g. an incident on a school bus. In my state, I am responsible for students during the school hours. Once they are back in the hands of parents, the parents are responsible. One of our problems is that too much is expected of schools in terms of student behavior. I don’t believe students should use cell phones at school. They may bring them, but the phones should be turned off before they enter the school building. If parents need to reach their children during the school day, they can call the school office.
I agree with Andrea that it would be impossible for teachers to monitor Facebook pages. Facebook is a social networking app, not an instructional app.
When students are conducting research on the Internet, they should be limited to an approved list of sites given to them by the teacher. I’m not sure if other sites can be blocked, but if so, that should be done. Teachers can even stipulate that all research at home or at school is limited to the list of sites. The teacher sets the parameters for assignments, and they should be used. However, the teacher is not responsible for students browsing porn sites when that student is off school property. She is teaching her students, for crying out loud, not parenting them!
I have taught at all levels, kindergarten through the doctoral program at a major university. I have never had anyone question my requirements.
Like Andrea, I have always cared deeply for my students and put in long hours preparing so that my teaching at whatever level involved projects and assignments in which students are interested and have choices. I modeled kindness and respect toward my students. I have never had a student show any unruly misbehavior in my classroom. I did retire in 2002, and I am aware that classroom and school behavior have taken a dive. I see inappropriate behavior also in stores, restaurants and even in a house of worship. We appear to think that children can raise themselves, and since they really cannot, that responsibility has been placed on teachers and schools. We seem to be self-absorbed regardless of our economic or educational level. It is truly disheartening!
Thanks for your contribution Mary!
Several years ago already (my how time flies!) Christy Tucker proposed the idea of using Facebook as a Learning Management System (LMS). We haven’t seen or heard of anyone actually doing it but she definitely started a buzz for Facebook as an instructional app.