RESPONSE TO THE TV TEACHERS

I completely agree with the assessment that Professor Alsup made on the portrayal of what a teacher "should" be according to the media. I think that we all are pressured to be very touchy and emotional with our students. I am not buying it. This may be the nature v. nurture argument all over again, but I am going to go ahead and hash it out.

I don't want the students to be my friends. I have friends. If I want more they will be adults. I want to be the kids students' teacher, coach, and mentor. I want students to learn, but I also want them to meet me part of the way. I am not going to invite a trouble teen into my personal life so that I may reach them. Not happening. I may look into his or her personal life, but when it comes down to it, the parent is responsible for the bulk of raising this child. I will educate, they can love. For those students who do not get the love at home...sorry, I have my own child to love. I don't mean to be callous, but I cannot get that involved in a student's life. Sure, I will call CPS and I will alert the guidance counselor, but when it comes down to it I AM NOT QUALIFIED TO RAISE THE CHILD! I am more than happy to teach him or her though :)

On parenting: I do not want my child to be my friend. I want my child to see me as her father. I am not "one of the girls" (pardon the stereotyping), I am her dad. She needs to know that I am going to be a disciplinarian, a role-model, and most importantly the person that she can depend on. I don't want the teacher of her class trying to be her mother, she already has one. I don't want the male teacher to be her father, she already has one. I really don't want the teacher to be her friend. She needs friends her own age. I want her teacher to teach her. I will take care of the rest.

Ok, Leo. You are ranting. You may say these things, but you surely need to be aware of what the TV is telling the parents of your students.

You are right. It disheartens me that we are going to allow the idiot box (because it is seldom used for good) to tell us how to teach. Stop watching the thing. If you feel pressured by Hollywood then kick Hollywood out of your house. It may take a while for people to catch onto what you are doing, but the model that you set will eventually get attention. Who knows, we may break the TV's magical spell.