Mommy, Can You Handle The Truth?
I don’t think many of you can. We all rave about our children every chance we get, but do you really think those ears you are casting that funny story upon thinks your kid is as great as you do?
In recent news, a teacher in Bucks county was suspended from her job (with pay) because she complained about the kids in her classroom-on her personal blog. I see absolutely nothing wrong with what she did and I think it’s tragic that she may lose her job over it. Freedom of speech is a joke, but that isn’t even my issue. What’s up with these kids nowadays anyway? Why is it that YOU can’t handle that your child may only be awesome to you? These days, kids act like they are entitled to something-there’s absolutely no respect for teachers. I’m not a teacher-could never be-I would be in jail. You ever watched that Tony Danza show where he is actually teaching right here in Philadelphia at Northeast High School? I was so disgusted after watching it. One black male was featured on an episode and it was disheartening to watch. No effort, not a care in the world. Tony called home and there wasn’t much concern there either! If you barely deal with it at home, what makes you think a teacher wants to deal with it? Our kids spend more time during the day with their teachers than they do at home. Sure it’s the teachers job to motivate but as my father used to say, “you could lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.” Could she have found another way to voice her concerns? Perhaps. But is it worth losing her job over? No. I love the fact that she is making no apologies for it either. I can’t speak for other races, but it is a known fact that most of our children are being raised in single parent households. Moms work full-time to support the household and still have to come home and be both mother and father to their kids. Things like homework time could definitely get neglected if it’s left to be handled by one person. I have a few friends that are teachers and they complain all the time about the parents they never see. The ones that never show up to a parent-teacher conference. Who wants to deal with that? I’ve actually heard parents say that their children are the teacher’s problem during the day so they should learn to deal with it. Well this teacher did. She did her job and came home and complained about her day just like we do at times. Where’s the harm?
And then there’s the devil-Facebook. If your child isn’t using Facebook to communicate with colleges, shut the account down. Just the other day Amy Chua was the hot topic on the news because of her “harsh” parenting tactics. When did demanding excellence from our children become harsh? Why is it ok to just make it? My 15 year old came in here the other day with C’s and said to me “well at least I passed”. BULLSHIT!!! And that’s exactly what I told him before I took away his gadgets and his privileges once again. You see, I’m raising extraordinary in this house and all the mediocre and average kids could exit stage left. I almost took away all television from everyone in favor of musical instruments. Chinese children are running circles around our kids and I want to know the secret. Look at this observation in a recent article in Time Magazine:
“in December, when the latest test results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) were released. American students were mired in the middle: 17th in reading, 23rd in science and 31st in math — 17th overall. For the first time since PISA began its rankings in 2000, students in Shanghai took the test — and they blew everyone else away, achieving a decisive first place in all three categories. When asked to account for the results, education experts produced a starkly simple explanation: Chinese students work harder, with more focus, for longer hours than American students do. It’s true that students in boomtown Shanghai aren’t representative of those in all of China, but when it comes to metrics like test scores, symbolism matters.”
Why is that? What is it about their education practices that yields such high results? Why aren’t our kids succeeding at these alarming rates? These are the conversations we should be having. I’m not trying to be my children’s friend nor am I going to sleep hoping they “like” me. It’s a tough world out there and I want to prepare them as best as I can. I came from a strict household where my father made “knowledge is power” part of our daily mantra. I remember arguing with him once in an effort to rebel against his strict rules, and I blurted out that I couldn’t be him. He told me he didn’t want me to be him, he wanted me to be better than him. Now that I’m a parent, I know what that feels like and if Chua’s method is the path to excellence, then sign me up.
I initially went to Flickr to look for a picture of a child studying. I had to pick this one. Flickr Credit.
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