In Here, the Parents
EDU150
Jared T. Byrd
April 13, 2010
Throughout this semester we have been hearing more and more about the demands being put on teachers in public schools. We've also heard more and more about the resources those teachers have access to being taken away. Now we cover the loss of one of the more basic things a teacher needs access to, the means by which to keep order in the classroom. The loss of in loco parentis is severly limiting when it comes to keeping order over unruly students and basically undermines the authority and prestige of the teacher. Our textbook points to the loss of trust during the Vietnam era, in regards to government agencies, as the reason that this came about. This change to the authority the school has further undermines it's image. How can teachers be respected? They are government employees providing a service, like clerks at the Department of Motor Vehicles. School is nothing special, everyone has to go! How can we trust these people to teach our children, we can't even trust them to look after them for a few hours a day. The negative cycle that started when the public lost it's faith in public schools is what may, eventually, bring about their demise.
Some schools are going past this. Private schools can establish a contract with the parents. They can set standards and procedures that parents must sign off on before the child can attend. West Meadows, a school I attended, had that listed right at the beginning of their charter; "Education at West Meadows is a Privlidge, not a Right.." School Districts could have the power to establish such standards, if they were willing to set them out clearly, in writing. Some parents would be opposed but, as too many examples have shown, many are too apathetic to take the necessary action. Still, enough of a vocality would cause some problems with such a system and there is nothing that can be done about violators. Expulsion is hardly the answer for small offenses and is an impractical solution when the law requires that the child be educated somewhere. It is a tough situation that complicates the teaching process and one of the greatest challenges public schools face. It may just be one of the major things that brings the old system down.