As a former teacher, I’d like to say something on behalf of teachers: If you have an issue with your child at school please take it to the appropriate individuals on campus or, in private, to your friends, not online where people in the teacher’s community might see.
Teachers dedicate their lives to helping kids and don’t deserve to have their professional reputations become the fodder for people typing anonymous comments on cell phones.
Personally, I go even further and am cautious about posting school stress situations on my personal Facebook page. Once something is online it is there forever. Yes, you can set your Facebook posts to private, but that doesn’t prevent someone from taking screen shots or copying your words in seconds.
When parents inappropriately handle anger it can follow their child around like a cloud, especially in close-knit communities.
In spring, when teachers sort kids into classrooms for the following fall, they consider a variety of things including academic need, friendship pairs and learning style. Another consideration is parental support.
It’s not fair for one classroom to have all the families who volunteer while the room next door scrambles for help. Nor is it fair for one teacher to be burdened with all of the “problem parents” who will make life miserable. Now, there are solid reasons for being willing to be identified as a problem parent, but for me, the relief I would feel venting my anger is not one of them.
Plus, imagine how horrible a teacher feels being called into a principal’s office and told that harsh words have been said about her in some Facebook group the teacher didn’t know about. It must be horrible for that teacher to know that total strangers were discussing her work performance behind her back without having the chance to defend herself.
I consider it a privilege to write this column every week and one of the great learning experiences it has provided is the opportunity to develop a thicker skin. Sometimes I read the online comments on my column with a cup of tea and sometimes I head straight to the wine. My 10-year-old reads them too, with laughter. He especially enjoyed one commenter who accused me of being “the self-proclaimed expert on everything.” The harsher the criticism, the greater my son’s mirth. My family understands that writers have public personas and public criticism comes with the job.
But teachers are different. Yes, they are publicly employed, but that means tax dollars fund their salaries and they are governed by an elected school board. It does not mean they signed up for public ridicule. They are not politicians, celebrities or business leaders. They are private individuals working under incredibly difficult circumstances.
Teachers are human, and like all humans do, will sometimes make mistakes. When that happens, we should treat them humanely, like we ourselves would like to be treated.
Especially online.
Jennifer Bardsley is an Edmonds mom of two. Find her on Twitter @jennbardsley and at www.heraldnet.com/ibrakeformoms and teachingmybabytoread.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
