What Happens When ALL the Teachers Leave?

In this blog, I will refer to teaching as a job, because that's what it is.

If you would do your job for free and think teachers should view the profession with only passion and little regard to the money that they need to survive - stop reading now.

Passion is what brought most of us to the classroom. Test-driven curriculum and politics are what have made it a job.

It has been five months since I wrote "Teaching is a Woman." - five months and I haven't missed a meal. I also haven't written a blog about education because I was afraid that I would be resented for making it to the other side. I didn’t want to insult my many colleagues and friends who have remained in an industry that I simply can’t stomach anymore.

I've been enjoying lower blood pressure, fewer anxiety attacks and the complaints by parents on social media feel a little less personal these days.

I do miss my students. I miss the laughs and the heart-to-heart conversations. I do, however, know that I made the right decision.

Opportunity has found me several times since I walked away from the classroom.

Like so many teachers, I did the job for so long that I almost forgot how marketable I am in the world outside of teaching. If my near 37 years have taught me anything, it’s not to sell myself short. As a teacher, you are skilled to do just about anything. Never forget that there is a CEO on a yacht right now who doesn’t know how to do what 90 percent of his workers are doing.

So many men and women have reached out to me over the last several months. What can I do? How do I get out?

I can't say this adamantly enough: I'm not advising any individual to walk away from his or her job. God knows I'm not able to help you pay your bills. I share my words as a single woman without the responsibility of children. Perhaps, if you don't work - you won't eat.

But if you suffer a stress related health issue that affords you a lengthy hospital stay - neither the district you work for or the state in which you are a public servant will go out of their way to help you emotionally, financially or mentally.

While you're out, the district may even employ a 19-year-old substitute with no work experience to sit at your desk and make nearly your daily pay because desperate times have helped districts find extra money for substitute incentives - extra money that never existed for decent teacher raises.

In conversations with educators from around the world – I’ve learned that many are holding on by a thread.

I’ve cried with single mothers who are struggling to pay for their apartments and homes with their teacher salary - mom’s who’ve had to use their 10 personal days when their school age children have gotten Covid. I’ve listened to a young man in his second year of teaching (second year teaching in a pandemic) who has had to postpone plans of moving from his parents home because although a first-year teacher salary is better than it once was – it’s still not much when nice apartments, (not an hour’s drive away from school) cost $1,600 and up. I’ve been on Zoom with a teacher who was forced to report to campus, while her son (who attends the same school) sat home alone with Covid.

My fear is that so many teachers will remain for too long out of a sense of obligation and responsibility to a job that will never fully appreciate them - and they will remain unhappy. They'll find themselves bitter and resentful, just like staying in an unfulfilling marriage for many years.

Maybe we need to let education fail. 

And before you ask, "what about the children?" - Allow me to remind you what is most important here in the State of Texas - Graduation Rates. The very superintendents “jumping ship” because of stress and opportunities to make a less stressful six figures elsewhere have for some time enjoyed bragging about the 90 plus percent graduation rates. It has far too often not been about what the students know. It is about them having a diploma in hand, whether they know what the real-world entails or not.

Superintendents can cry me a river.

The last convocation I sat in on - the superintendent looked out at thousands of teachers and suggested we couldn't possibly believe in God if we were afraid to teach during a pandemic.

I wouldn't advise you to ask me what I think of superintendents and their current "stress."

They make more than anyone in the district and have minimal contact

with students until massive amounts of teachers are sick and cameras are rolling.

There are some phenomenal students, who despite all the chaos around them will do any and everything educators ask of them. Many of the children coming from less than stellar homes do their very best at school. Children will be fine. They are very resilient.

Letting the Education Industry fail does not mean letting children fail, because if the truth is told - the Education Industry hasn't been about children for years. The adults within the schools, the underpaid and overworked adults in the schools have been about the children, and they are tired. 

If 70 percent of the teachers from every school district walked away tomorrow– what do you think the powers that be will do? They will replace them with adult bodies (substitutes, recent graduates, inexperienced individuals off the street with no immediate record of harming children) and don’t let them tell you otherwise. 

My trainer asked me just yesterday should I have a child; would he attend a public school. I quickly told her no, but then I had to backtrack. "I am a product of public schools," I began. And then I paused again. "I'm actually a product of my mother's home and an upbringing that included constant learning - so school was an exciting bonus for me." My child would be educated whether he sat in the very classrooms I did, learned from his computer in the living room or visited the pyramids he read about in his textbook.

For years, I’ve listened to outsiders complain about curriculum in schools – suggesting that teachers need to teach more life skills: balancing checkbooks, doing taxes, etc. Mind you, curriculum is usually mandated by a controlling power beyond the teachers. And then virtual learning rears its head and outsiders say, “students don’t learn that way and we need them back in school.” Now the teachers are sick and walking away – the outsiders say, “what about our children?”

For God’s sake – teach them yourselves and tell them to behave the eight hours they’re away from you.

This pandemic has shed so much light on all the darkness in our politicized realm of education. Yes, there are parents who would go above and beyond to thank teachers for caring about their children. And then there are parents who would leave their children with their teachers before sunrise and hours after the last bell if they could.

Eventually the teachers will all get tired.

More will walk away, and many will never look back. But the school doors will be open. There will be adult bodies standing at the doors, adult bodies in the hallways during passing periods and adult bodies to read (not teach or explain) material written inside of manilla folders. 

But the school doors will be open. 

Certifications, degrees and professional developments will become nonexistent. Mandated curriculum won't be creatively spiced up to keep the students engaged. Tutoring won't be a thing anymore. 

But the school doors will be open. 

The teachers will eventually get tired of being disrespected and they will all leave. 

Please write a lesson plan for that day. Include your objective, goals, assignment, materials needed and don’t forget your assessment.

Teaching is a Woman: Why I Closed My Classroom Door

I knew it was time for me to leave education when I began to wish all of the teachers would leave education, and I no longer cared about society’s automatic response: 

What about the children?

If you know me and engaged with me for all of five minutes during my 11-year teaching career, then you know that I cared more about my students than some of their parents. The students were the only joy I found, when the politics of the industry of education became burdensome. It was the students I celebrated when I found the curriculum at hand to be daunting and unnecessary.

After my first year, I was no longer the teacher who panicked. I didn’t need to have my lessons planned days in advance. Administrators walking into my room didn’t scare me. And no class was too big for me – not even those years with 45 plus. The students responded well to me and I truly enjoyed their conversation.

So, as you read – please don’t ask “what about the children?” I care about them, but I have to care about me more.

It wasn’t until the pandemic that I realized the true toxicity that envelopes education. Teaching is a woman. And who are women expected to be in our society?

She's supposed to always be there to serve. She feels guilty when she needs a day off and always has so much to fix when she returns. She's only celebrated for sacrificing. She isn't appreciated until she leaves.

Think about all of those “feel good” educator stories that have come across your screen during the pandemic. The teacher was either grading papers from her hospital bed; dangerously passing out sack lunches during the virtual learning period; driving 90 minutes to teach at an inner-city school or spending countless non-paid hours to communicate with students attempting to learn from home.

While experts took to CNN to explain why in-person learning was necessary, and took every opportunity to share statistical data about forthcoming learning gaps – educators had no say so whatsoever. We had no control over our day-to-day work situation during a global pandemic.

My entire career was spent teaching high school students. Some of the absolute best students I had last school year never stepped foot on campus. I presented topics. I created videos explaining assignments. I typed everything I said in my videos and I gave them due dates. They managed. Many of them managed my work, the work of seven other teachers, a job, caring for younger siblings and more.

I will scream this from a mountaintop: virtual learning should ALWAYS be an option for high school students.

Again, the “experts” who have zero daily exchange with young people pressed the idea of socialization or the lack thereof. That was their argument – students need to be in person, so that they don’t miss out on interaction with other young people.

Where did that get us?

Schools are now open all across the country. Students are interacting with one another and with the many variants of Covid-19. Some of the same parents who screamed without ceasing that they couldn’t work and manage their own children in their own home are now blaming schools because their children are testing positive for the virus. Many of those same parents have yet to stop their children from traveling house to house, attending parties and participating in activities where they interact with others while maskless.

Here in Texas, we even have suburban stay-at-home moms arguing that wearing masks in school is somehow punishment for their first graders. 

Still, no one is asking the educators what should be done.

Many of these educators are bursting at the seam. Imagine being told that if you contract Covid-19, you have to use your own personal days while out sick. Once personal days are exhausted, some educators are docked in excess of $320 per day. If you struggle to read between lines  - this means many educators will probably not report their positive status. They simply won’t be able to afford such a financial loss.

Just like everyone else, I saw the back-to-school commercials. Briefly, they made me sad. I did miss decorating my classroom. I did miss typing up my syllabus and creating a welcome video. I looked in my closet last Monday and saw all of the teacher slacks, Polo blouses, button-downs and loafers and I found myself unsettled. The first day pictures on Facebook really took me down.

Those feelings expired that same Monday.

When I need to use the restroom now, I don’t have to search for another adult to watch my class. Whenever I grow hungry for lunch, I can eat and I don’t have to have the last bite chewed within 30 minutes. At 1 p.m. – I don’t have to look at the clock and resent the reason the school day will continue on for three more hours.

Read that again.

There are only two reasons the school day is eight hours long: money and it aligns with parent work schedules. Now tell me, which of those two reasons actually promotes academic learning?

During the pandemic, that resonated with me ever so clearly. The more I sat with that truth, the more resentful I became. Teaching is the most micromanaged profession there is. Teachers are never allowed to just teach. Even when there are extraordinary administrators in place – curriculums, mandates and objectives come from people so far removed from actually working with children.

I would estimate that I’ve met a few thousand teachers over the years. I can probably count five who don’t work other jobs, hobbies, and passions for additional income. I walked away from my job and my $64,000 salary. I have no children and no mortgage, but I always found it beneficial to have two-three additional sources of income during my time as a teacher. There are teachers in neighboring states with more years of experience and advanced degrees who don’t even make $45,000.

Teaching is a Woman.

Many parents are currently learning that after a year of virtual school – their children are behind. While some parents will feel guilty and seek help, ultimately who do you think will receive the brunt of the blame?

Home is supposed to provide the foundation. School is supposed to offer enrichment. 

While, I don’t have it all figured out – I’m not afraid anymore. When I say that I hope more educators leave the profession – I mean that. I worry about the mental health of my peers. I worry about the professionals who believe themselves to be short-changing their own children because the school requires so much of their time. I worry about the men and women who are reduced to Teacher Appreciation Week and then mocked and ridiculed when a child they didn’t birth nor raise doesn’t know something. 

Leaving my job was by far one of the most difficult things I had to do, because unlike the beginning of my career – I had administrators who didn’t breathe down my neck. I had colleagues whose company I enjoyed. Notice, I’ve yet to speak on the children – that’s because in 11 years I can’t pinpoint a single issue with my students that’s worth complaining about.

I left the profession because I deserve better treatment as both a human being and as a professional. An essential worker should be on a pay scale that reflects such.

This country will not recover from massive numbers of children dying from Covid-19. That is what will happen if we continue to pretend like the virus hangs outside of the school doors until the bell rings.

There is No Way to Safely Reopen a School During a Pandemic

The “experts” keep saying that schools must reopen so that students don't miss out on the social skills dynamic. Well, let's walk through a typical day of school pre-pandemic and see if the same social dynamic is even possible. 

For most high schools the morning begins with the first gathering, typically in the front of the school, the foyer, the cafeteria, the gym or in various classrooms for morning tutoring. Since "gathering" is now discouraged, how will our students begin their day?

We're constantly being reminded of the staggering number of children who don't eat without school food, so perhaps the students will start their day with an isolated breakfast and their masks drooped under their necks. God forbid remnants of food get on the mask, making for an uncomfortable rest of the day for some of our most self-conscious students.

The hallway before class and during passing periods has proved impassable on many campuses. "Excuse you," "watch where you're going" and "you all stop that and get to class" are all sounds of a busy hallway on any school day. Upon our pandemic return, it has been suggested that there will be markings on the floor to keep students apart and to ensure a flow alongside the right of each respective hallway.

How long is the passing period again?

There are high schools right here in Dallas with an excess of 3,500 students. Should even 60 percent of them return to campus in the fall, those hallway markings will be just as irrelevant as their placement on the floor.

Those of us who adore teaching teenagers understand the importance of them being around one another, figuring out how to deal with emotions and how to cope with harder tasks and difficult peers. We even know what teenage love looks like in the hallway, from "let me carry your backpack as I walk you to class," to "let me hold your hand and give you a kiss so I can make it through 5th period."

How do we treat that adorable and respectful couple in the hallway now when they attempt a quick kiss between classes? If touching isn't allowed and the sharing of items is discouraged - we may be creating a semi-healthier environment, but most certainly one that eliminates socialization, a much-utilized dynamic of school.

Many schools now share nurses due to restrictions and budgeting. On the third Monday in the midst of allergy season, do we send that student who coughs up a lung and sneezes 13 times back-to-back to the nurse? Do we expect the nurse to administer a Covid-19 test? Or should she simply equip the student with ice, a band-aid and 30 minutes on the cot before she has to deep clean said cot for the 30th time that day?

We go through so much training on bullying, but how do we ease the insecurities of a child who gains suspicious eyes after a sneezing fit and taunts of "you've got Corona?" 

Do teachers still take up phones? Does a monitor stand guard in every restroom to ensure hands are properly washed? Are lunch trays deep cleaned after every lunch period? Are the door handles to each classroom deep cleaned after each use? Does the English teacher welcome back the pencils he loans out after each class period? Does the Math teacher have the proper spray to sanitize each calculator after each of her classes? 

For the experts, reopening schools has everything to do with making money. As they sit in their offices, making statements about the need for schools to reopen - they couldn’t be more disconnected from the realities of an actual campus. They have no true conception of what goes on hallway to hallway. The social and emotional health of our students is not atop the agenda if the immediate plan includes putting them all back together during a global pandemic. 

The many things students do enjoy about school will be far from normal. Will the band students be able to collectively learn a song or practice a field show if only so many are allowed in the band room? Will the art teacher be allowed to share her personal brushes or are we expecting students to all afford their own and tote those supplies to school each day? How do partnered labs work in science class now? How does the P.E. teacher teach "physical" education with equipment that by pandemic definition is not to be shared? Will the theater teacher now assess his students facial expressions underneath their masks? What about the room at the end of the hall where our student mothers have their babies on campus for a half the day to complete their work? Some of them return to school with three week old babies in hopes of not falling behind.

Believe it or not, children sometimes get into scuffles. Should the coach walking by in the hallway run to grab his gloves before attempting to break up two students fighting? Sure, two angry students will keep their masks on during a fight. No chance any saliva will go flying as they battle silently.

America is waiting for those education sob stories that end in triumph. This country loves to hear how teacher's self-sacrifice and financial expenditures lead to student success. Now, however, is not the time to go on a hunt for stories of overcoming. Now is the time to be safe.

There is no way to safely social distance in a school setting. Without dangerous aggression and infringement on basic personal choices, there is no way for school staffs to fully enforce pandemic safety measures in a school.

Elementary students need to see a teacher smile for reassurance. Middle school students often need to see a teacher squint her eyes and perch her lips to redirect behavior. Visual learners in high school need to see a teacher speaking to maintain emphasis and attention throughout lessons. Imagine the lingering effects of every adult in the building with a mask on. 

Quite frankly, the only reason we're even discussing schools reopening is because of what it does for the non-educational world. Yes, many parents can return to work and that is a great thing. Yes, students can return to a more structured daily routine, which also is a great thing. Yes, school districts secure funding. 

Over 130,000 people have died in the United States because of Covid-19. Don't allow your naiveté to make you think that number doesn't include young people. What happens when the population we should be most desperate to protect becomes overwhelmed by this virus? Are we okay with first graders dying in hospitals without their parents by their side? Are we really going to continue with this subconscious belief that young people don't have undetected medical conditions? 

Just because we're tired of the Coronavirus, are we truly willing to sacrifice the lives of our young people?

Oh and then there are the teachers...

Coronavirus Sheds Light on How Some Community Members View Schools

Apparently my post went viral on Friday.

Two days later, I have no regrets and offer no apologies. Reading comprehension is obviously still an issue in this country, as so many didn’t realize that I was actually speaking on behalf of children, many of whom often are made to feel like burdens by the adults in their respective homes.

Nevertheless, I choose not to argue with "adults" who strike me as the type to curse out their own children in Wal-Mart for bumping the basket. 

"Keep the schools open because parents have to work." 

"Keep the schools open so students can eat."

"Keep the schools open so that students won't fall behind."

Translation:

 We need someone to "watch" our children while we work.

We need someone to feed our children throughout the day so that they

won't bother us for food during normal school hours.

We don't always insist they do their homework; we missed the last 10 parent conferences, but now that school is out - academia is our priority.

I'm prouder than I've ever been to be an educator. Districts are making the right decision to close schools, despite the emphatic and illogical pushback from many parents around the country.

Some of you are only reading to argue, but before you prepare your defense – think about this PLEASE: there is a deadly virus running rampant throughout our communities, our states, our country and the world. Why exactly do you want your beloved children in school? Why do you want them anywhere other than by your side?

If you’re still reading, you’re one of two thinkers: (Thinker A) she’s right – school buildings need to be deep cleaned and children need not be around other children. That is all. (Thinker B) she still doesn’t get it because she doesn’t have children and she’s still getting paid.

The truth is there are many students who won't eat if not at school. There are children at home right now with emotionally abusive parents. There are children at home right now with selfish adults who use every opportunity they can to inflict their disgust with their own lives on innocent young people who did not ask to be in this world. Every single educator knows these things to all be true. We teach children with the lingering effects of such mistreatment every single day. In saying that we are glad the schools are closing, none of us are excited to see children struggle. That’s not at all why we signed up for a career that reflects about a $4,000 yearly pay difference between a 10-year educator and a 25-year educator.

Districts everywhere, despite the obvious medical risk are setting up drive-thru stations to assist with the reality that some children will go without food. Not one of us will complain about such a thing - just like you will be hard pressed to find an educator on this side of the sun that has a problem with students receiving free lunch. In fact, on a daily basis when I see maybe 8 of 10 lunch plates being wasted, I'm still grateful that the two children who desperately need the nourishment are being fed.

The misconception that is spreading faster than the Coronavirus is the true purpose of school.

What do parents really think of the place where they "drop" or "send" their children off to each day?

The conversations online haven't for the most part been about missing curriculum units and academic vocabulary. Few of the loud ones seem to be inquiring about the progress reports that went out last week. I’ve seen little to nothing about scholarships and college application deadlines – ALL of these academic dynamics that can still be influenced in the home.

The concerns are moreso about having to "deal with" children during a daily timeframe when they are typically under someone else's care.

Over the last 48 hours, I’ve had parents ask me how they’re supposed to make money if they have to “watch” their children during the day. One person went as far as to say, “you (teachers) ask for so many school supplies and then have the nerve to want school closed.”

While I can’t speak for every teacher, I can say that my syllabus over the last ten years has listed (1) journal and a good attitude as the only required supplies for my class. Sure, elementary teachers ask for more, because some of them teach multiple subjects in one classroom. In many districts, teachers have to fund everything needed. And by the way, don’t school supply lists only go out at the beginning of the school year or am I missing something? Are school supplies a monthly bill now?

Two consistent pieces of commentary that stood out the most went something like this: (1) these children will be eating up everything in sight if they’re at home all day. (2) teenagers will be out of the house getting in to all sorts of trouble.

Bear with me, as I attempt once again to not be condescending.

These sentiments are the reason why so many teachers struggle with students not comprehending the word NO. We are in the midst of a global crisis and adults are still intimidated by their children. 

If your teenager can walk out of the house and go wherever he chooses - you are the problem. If your seven year old can swing open your refrigerator 10 times per day, eating whatever she wants, in spite of you saying “no” - you are the problem.

A lot of the posts during this crisis are exposing the true issue in many homes today - young people are controlling adults.

Those are the voices and the individuals upset about school being closed. You’ve completely disregarded the fact that the virus is circulating and selfishly don’t want to parent your own children.

What if school wasn’t a thing at all?

What if one day a few years from now, there is even more of a massive shortage of educators and home school becomes your only option over sending your child to a campus where he will be packed with other children like sardines?

Be upset with the powers that be that haven’t yet revealed a plan to subsidize bills and provide emergency funding to small businesses and parents truly in a bind with childcare.

Schools are closed, as they should be. Teachers, administrators, custodians, cafeteria employees, office clerks - none are immune to a deadly virus. And in case you’ve forgotten – we have our respective families as well.

If you’re nervous about having your own children in your home for an extended Spring Break, figure out the real root of your concerns.

School should not be the only place where young people learn how to communicate, how to be resourceful, how to develop ambition. Likewise, school should never be the only exposure to food, attentive adults and structure.

But since school has become all of the aforementioned necessities of life to so many children - perhaps schools should be more respected and the adults within more revered.

School is a privilege. Teaching is an art. The hardest part of being an educator is caring more about children than their own parents.

You should only be offended if this pertains to you.

What do you tell your girls?

Today is Tuesday. Three of my typically jubilant girls are all quiet and visibly frustrated. One keeps putting her head on her desk. Another girl keeps checking her phone, as if she’s waiting on a message. The third girl is fighting back tears.

Something is definitely bothering them.

None of them are being disrespectful, so I’m not going to make a scene. The three girls are all scattered throughout one of my largest classes. My teacher senses have kicked in and my journalistic nosiness is telling me the problem. 

One girl writes me a note. Another girl shows me a text. The last girl hangs around after class to share with me her frustrations.

Anyone care to guess the problem?

Class ends. After a quick passing period – my next group of students walks in.  

The “problem” is just fine. HE speaks to me as he usually does; he smiles and then he takes his seat. He is unbothered.

You see this charismatic young man is the boyfriend of one of the girls. He dates the second girl on the side. And he flirts with the third girl each day, leading her to believe that they can one day be together. They all know about each other. They all know about the other girls too.

Does this sound familiar? Perhaps if you go on a slow scroll through Facebook at this hour you’ll see something familiar. Guys with girlfriends are entertaining other women, while inboxing even more women. Unfortunately, you’ll also discover many of the women to be enjoying the attention.

Indeed it is a shame on Facebook, but it’s an even greater feat to deal with such nonsense in a school setting. I’m tired of seeing girls heartbroken and mentally abused by manipulative boys, because the adults in their lives aren’t sharing with them the correct message.

Just the way we subconsciously teach boys to not settle for any girl and “play the field” – TEACH OUR GIRLS TO NOT OVERVALUE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS.

Relationships are great. Friendships are important. Finding and securing true confidants = NECESSARY. BUT, no teen girl should be so consumed by a teen boy that she loses her mind, loses her hope, loses sleep or loses focus on her academia.

What are you telling the teen girl in your life? Are you teaching her to value herself? Are you catering to her wishes for certain makeup, hairstyles, body contours, etc. without inquiring about her reasons for such desires?

Please don’t misinterpret my intent here. I’m not a parent and I won’t pretend to know the stresses of good parenting. But your daughters are exposed to quite a bit while you’re at work. Just as much transpires on their phones while you’re in the next room.

They’re popping pills. Threesomes are being arranged. They’re issuing out oral sex like McDonald’s serves up fries. Many are hiding pregnancies. Their conscience is killing them and they’re drowning their guilt in alcohol.

Time out for all that “he’ll learn his lesson one day” jargon. That’s not the mission anyway. In trying to correct our girl’s behavior, I’m not wanting to hurt the boys. We need to save our girls right now.

I’m willing to bet that there is a teacher in your daughter’s school with whom she shares a great deal of information on a daily basis. Some things girls just don’t feel comfortable telling their parents. I implore you, however, to dig deep. Get in her business.

There is only so much a teacher can do in 45 minutes, five days per week. I can teach and I can preach, but changing a mindset doesn’t happen in a semester. Break through her mind, before some little boy penetrates her elsewhere.

Dear Students: WE ARE NOT THE SAME

By Ari Christine

This has been an especially tough week in education. Video after video surfaced of classroom teachers being assaulted by students. Educators around the country shared their personal experiences via social media of how they’ve been both subtly and blatantly disrespected in their classrooms. One teacher in Houston even killed himself in the classroom – his reasons of course are unknown.

This has just been a really tough week for so many educators.

No, I haven't been hit. No I haven't been spat on. No, I haven't been cursed out this week. Other teachers have, and my inbox full of painful testimonials and cries for help prove that this has been a tough week. 

I've broken my own rule and vented on Facebook. I know better. Most of the complaints of a teacher go in one ear of the non-teacher and out of the other, because all they can think about is the fact that we have the summer months off.

Hopefully my venting hit loudly to my friends and followers, because I'm the fun teacher. I'm the one students tend to like. They often hurry to my class and we laugh throughout the day, while working. I typically complain about the structure of public education and not my students. Nevertheless this has been a tough week for me as an educator, because it has been a week of realization about this profession.

I was a great student. Preschool through four years of college, I was a great student. Several of my colleagues can say the same. It's very hard to be a teacher today if you were a great student just 10 to 20 years ago.

Let me explain.

The school system has never been perfect. Students have never been perfect, but there once was a clear distinction between teacher and student. We live in a culture now where students consider themselves equal to adults. They want the same respect. They want to be held to the same esteem. They don’t want to be held responsible for “student things.” They want an explanation for everything. They want to be able to pick and choose what work they do.

Hold your rebuttal please.

Students absolutely deserve to be respected and treated as human beings, but children are not equal to adults. Get this out of your head and encourage your young people to do the same. By that nonsensical logic, adults with families, with experience, with college degrees, with responsibilities and with knowledge that they are willing to share via TEACHING are equal to children who wait for a school bell, which tells them when they can walk in the hallway. WE ARE NOT THE SAME.

On many campuses, students who just refuse to attend or participate in class are allowed to simply take the course on the computer. Many will say, “They’re just bored.” Well, where exactly is the much-needed lesson on accountability when we remove students from any environment that bores them? The K-12 experience does not last forever, but learning discipline and appreciating roles that compliment one another are crucial for our future society. It’s okay for students to be bored every once in awhile. Believe it or not – teachers get bored too. People so far removed from the classroom often give us our curriculum and many mandates for instruction. We attend more meetings, workshops and trainings than we need.

Some people will confuse the student who questions adults as being an inquisitive student. Newsflash: There is a difference between asking someone a question and questioning someone. I’ll just leave that alone for you to think about over the weekend.

Learning to communicate with adults can’t be a lesson that is the sole responsibility of the teacher. If you are a parent and the “huh,” “yeah” and “whatevers” are acceptable in your home – you are part of the problem. If the same children you feed, clothe and take on vacation are allowed to gripe and moan to you about cleaning up their room; if they get to tell you not to worry about them being on their phone so much; if they are allowed to walk out of the house and down the street whenever they choose – you are creating the sense of entitlement that many of them stuff into their backpacks and pockets when they enter the schools and our classrooms.

If my mama doesn’t tell me to take out my earbuds – neither can you. If my daddy doesn’t have a problem with me texting – neither should you.

If you believe that hitting a teacher is the only way a student can be disrespectful, you are sadly mistaken. It’s a culmination of apathy, the lack of communication skills and behaviors that promote a belief that student and teacher are on the same level that drives teachers away from the profession.

There was a time when students were ticketed for cursing in school. “Fuck,” “Bitch,” “Shit,” “Damn,” “Nigga,” fills the halls of many campuses now. For some students, it doesn’t matter if the 85-year-old substitute is standing in the doorway of her classroom for the day, or the familiar teacher from last year is two feet away – when they feel like cursing, they curse. This is especially agitating for many educators, because guess what – we know how to curse too, and most of us are pretty good at it. Should we let a few words fly, the punishments (varying by district) can be brutal.

Understand this - most of us don't fear being hit by a student. We're not nervous around your children. And we aren't the least bit intimidated by the so-called "tough kids.”

Teachers used to be sacred. Teachers used to be highly revered and overly respected – the good teachers and the not-so-great teachers. It didn’t matter the skill set, the personality or the years of experience – teachers were public servants that were not to be disrespected. While we are so far removed from that culture, we can return. Setting such a tone, however, will require the help of multiple parties.

This is not a lesson to mock parenting, but hopefully it can encourage some introspection for parents. My mother is a teacher, and was actually my English teacher in the 12th grade. Ms. Talton was able to teach me without issue, because of how Beverly raised me.

All is not lost for the students without support systems. Ironically, in my experience these aren’t the students who stir the pot and cause trouble in the classroom. The bottom-line is that the community of adults must go back to correcting poor behaviors. School cannot be the only place for correction and repercussions for bad actions must come from all directions. The foundation for most problems in our schools is the battle for equal ground. Students, ALL students must realize and respect the distinction between teacher and student. We were students once. We’ve earned the title “adult/teacher.” Young people must bring honor to the title “student.”

The hope is that one day, teachers like myself won’t have to pour out our hearts about disrespect, but can instead brag about and highlight the sweet students, who are actually throughout each campus willing and ready to learn. They do exist.

Lesson Time for the Non Educators

Have you ever wondered why the people in the industry of education with the least contact with your children make the most money?

The individuals who manipulate the school calendar, influence the construction of unnecessary facilities and even decide zoning for schools make significantly more money than the teachers, the counselors, the secretaries, the attendance clerks, the librarians, the custodians and the cafeteria staff.

While teachers and staff take the blame when test scores lack, you rarely if ever will find a teacher attached to a story regarding the misspending of funds.

When scandal is reported and money is misspent, the six figure people are the individuals who resign. They make the decisions for your children and for their teachers.

Tuesday afternoon, the Dallas Morning News reported that the teachers and staff of DeSoto Independent School District would not receive their paychecks on time in November. The headline was misleading.

Let's clear something up. The teachers and staff at DeSoto ISD are not being paid late, but instead they will receive their monthly paychecks on their usual pay date, which is the 26th of the month.

The original plan, however, was an early payday going into the Thanksgiving holiday. 

"Those adults should've just made arrangements," some will say.

Please understand that a pay calendar is created before the school year begins. Some people plan accordingly. Some pay off a credit card early when they think the next payday will come early. Certain ladies are heading into maternity leave – any early monies are welcomed. . Some teachers plan to resign before Christmas- they want their money now. The difference of 10 days makes a big deal to many people.

Get your opinions out of other people's bank accounts.

Perhaps DeSoto ISD isn’t terribly mistreating its employees in the month of November. It does, however, sound like that 10 days is a way for them to buy time while moving monies around. If the monthly payroll for that district is $7 million – how is such an issue involving a lack in funds rectified in just 10 days?

Several high-ranking administrators have left DeSoto ISD in recent months. There is an active investigation into whether some funneled money to themselves and others. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is very much involved in the investigation.

DeSoto does not stand alone in the mess that is mismanagement of funds in school districts around the country.

Have you ever studied the scheme of unethical practices?

Education is a business. States fund businesses. The government funds industries. Grants are awarded. Sure, students often benefit through classroom technology and exploratory career ventures.  The final say on how money is spent, however, comes from those you don’t see at parent conference.

The spotlight in education is on teachers. The performance or lack thereof from educators is under a constant microscope, so much so that the public often fails to realize just how puppet-like the teachers and staff members are in school districts around the country.  

The bigger issue at hand rests on the fact that school districts are constantly under fire for the mismanagement of millions. How exactly is there so much money to misspend when the average teacher sees about a $75 per month increase in pay each school year?

If there are millions to lose, abuse and play around with – why are teachers in certain districts still financing the supplies for their classrooms? Why are field trips still the fundraising responsibility of teachers and staff?

Visit the administration building for the larger school districts in your state. There you will find individuals with degrees on top of degrees – some earned, some simply paid for certifications and passed exams. Many of these persons make six figure salaries and will never have any direct contact with students. Others are in positions to instruct and critique teachers although they’re 15 years removed from an ever-changing classroom.

A first year teacher with a Bachelor’s Degree makes $51,000 in DeSoto ISD. A 30-year veteran in the district with a Doctorate Degree makes $66,825.

When your child fails the state exam for the third time, will you question his teacher or the people who hold the teacher’s livelihood in hand a few miles away?

Will you show up to the next school-board meeting when there is a misappropriation of funds in your child’s school district? Or will you simply sit in the $20 million football stadiums on Friday nights?