By Kara Adkins
Staff Writer
It is the look of pure frustration on their face when asked a question about an assignment, the harsh red ink splashed across an entire class’ project rubrics and the overwhelming relief on their faces when the bell finally rings.
I am referring to the unmotivated teacher.
Every student has encountered this kind of educator. They make snide remarks to students and refuse to help the class succeed on any assignment.
According to The New York Daily News “over the past three years (2007-2010) just 88 out of some 80,000 city school teachers have lost their jobs for poor performance.”
With all this ‘the kids are our future’ hype, I feel as if teachers should be the first ones to stand behind this statement. If a teacher truly believes that the 25 students sitting in their science class are the future of America, maybe they should treat us as such.
One must realize the majority of teachers at CHS are dedicated to their jobs, and it shows in the relationships they hold with their students. But there is no denying that some educators cut corners and dread showing up at the first bell every day.
If you are a police officer and make a mistake, you lose your job. If you are a hairstylist and mess up, you lose your clientele. If you are a teacher and mess up every day, you go without punishment.
It seems as if no matter how many complaints a teacher gets, the school turns a blind eye to the matter, doing anything in order to avoid firing them. However, it is no wonder that schools are so hesitant to address such a serious problem as bad teachers. A spokesman for Idaho school administrators told local press that districts have been known to spend “$100,000 or $200,000” in litigation costs just to get rid of a bad teacher.
A classroom can have a SMART board, mac books, and iTouches, but without a high quality teacher all of those tools go to waste. I have had multiple teachers throughout my high school career make excuses for their behavior, but at the end of the day it is their job. We show up to learn, and they show up to teach.
A child’s future is at stake; yet people commit to being a teacher then perform as if the job is not of any importance. Schools need to start focusing less on spending and more on quality educators. Too many teachers rely on technology to be their crutch in the classroom, but that does not work. According to ABC News, National graduation rates and achievement scores are flat, while spending on education has increased more than 100 percent since 1971.
There is a reason the United States is falling behind other countries when it comes to our education system. I will admit there are plenty of lazy students out there, but for the most part students want to learn, especially at such a competitive school like Coppell where students are constantly striving for the best colleges and scholarship opportunities.
It has been proven that teachers have a large impact on student success. According to Kati Haycook coauthor of Teaching Inequality, “The research shows that kids who have two, three, four strong teachers in a row will eventually excel, no matter what their background, while kids who have even two weak teachers in a row will never recover.”
Mike Jasso might be new to the principal position at CHS but he has already set out to make sure every teacher is performing at the highest standard. Opposed to past years, this year every teacher will go through the appraisal process. This way Jasso will have a clear understanding of what is going on in each classroom.
Students will always be the future of America, but it is this generation of teachers that needs to help raise us.
