Bad Teacher

I picked up a book called Bad Teacher, and it is not the funny one of movie and television fame. I immediately felt the stress and defensiveness of being a teacher. What moved through my mind is that many parents would never recognize some of the worse teachers because of their political prowess.

The flash that stayed with me is the page that said how to handle stonewalling from a teacher. It's that defiance, adversarial vein that bothered me.

How about your child learns how to get along with someone who thinks different or is unfair. I know all these loving parents are thinking, why would I do that to my child?

As long as your child is mentally healthy, the teacher is not physically abusive, the kids in class are not picking on your child, the teacher is not verbally abusive. There is a much bigger lesson in life. Coping with situations beyond your control.

I have had to deal with a terrible bully who is slick, manipulative and just plain mean. One reason I could outfox him and her is that I recognized the bully of my youth in them. The first thing they do is they make you angry so you do something stupid.

Secondly, they make you feel like less than a person or an outsider. Yes, they did make me feel bad. But I know that although people may think they are wonderful and less of me because of their talk. I'm still a good person. There is a so much negativity that we all have to wade through.

I passed a woman in the grocery store parking lot who looked me up and down and as I told her hello. I recognized her vehicle and her as someone associated with my adult bully. I certainly would not have given a penny for her thoughts. My skin is thin.

You probably are saying, what if the teacher does not teach well. That is a serious problem. This is why you read in front of your children, encourage them to read fiction as well as non-fiction. Many of us are non-fiction readers (newspapers, magazines). Do educational activities like visit the zoo with your child. A game of putt putt golf is much better than the most recent Star Invader or Catch that Thief video game.

I don't recommend homeschooling. That invisible curriculum of respecting other people and learning to get along with others is so important. There are some good reasons to home school. Sheltering your children from the world is not one of them. Knowing you have a child who is outrageously popular and you want them to go to college and not reform school is a good reason.

Even though the book is sitting on my desk like an evil spiirt. I'll read it. There is something to learn from everything even though you disagree with it like a bad teacher.