I Don't Understand Grade School Teachers Who Hate Children
When I was considering becoming a credentialed teacher, in my early middle years, I asked a friend if I could meet with her older sister who was an elementary school teacher at a top private school. My friend arranged a light lunch at her apartment and invited me and her sister.
I thought I would ask her some questions about teaching. She had been a teacher for about 20 years at that point. She had won all kinds of teaching awards over the years and was having a very successful teaching career. She'd started out in public schools and won so many awards she eventually got hired at one of the elite private schools in our area.
She discouraged me from teaching saying I had the wrong personality for a teacher. (She was right about my personality. However, I did decide to go ahead with my plans and had a pretty decent 25 year teaching career in spite of it).
I then asked her to what she attributed her success in the classroom. Her answer was honest, succinct and revealing:
"I am the school witch. And I don't care who knows it."
She went on to say, with great pride, that at the end of the school year, her school handed out envelopes to students with a slip of paper inside telling the student who their teacher would be during the coming school year, "and when they see my name they inevitably burst into tears."
What more can I say here? The urge to criticize her methods and sadistic approach was strong but I refrained at the time. I was, after all, a guest of my friend and this was her older sister.
And, of course, inevitably, her teaching career was a whole heck of a lot more "successful" than mine, though I do have a few former students who have let me know I made a positive difference in their lives. I hope that counts somehow, even if not with the various school systems.
I thought I would ask her some questions about teaching. She had been a teacher for about 20 years at that point. She had won all kinds of teaching awards over the years and was having a very successful teaching career. She'd started out in public schools and won so many awards she eventually got hired at one of the elite private schools in our area.
She discouraged me from teaching saying I had the wrong personality for a teacher. (She was right about my personality. However, I did decide to go ahead with my plans and had a pretty decent 25 year teaching career in spite of it).
I then asked her to what she attributed her success in the classroom. Her answer was honest, succinct and revealing:
"I am the school witch. And I don't care who knows it."
She went on to say, with great pride, that at the end of the school year, her school handed out envelopes to students with a slip of paper inside telling the student who their teacher would be during the coming school year, "and when they see my name they inevitably burst into tears."
What more can I say here? The urge to criticize her methods and sadistic approach was strong but I refrained at the time. I was, after all, a guest of my friend and this was her older sister.
And, of course, inevitably, her teaching career was a whole heck of a lot more "successful" than mine, though I do have a few former students who have let me know I made a positive difference in their lives. I hope that counts somehow, even if not with the various school systems.
70-79, F
