Many teachers are unmoveable in their negative attitudes towards bathroom privileges for students, and toward just about any other privilege for students. In fact, these teachers are unmoveable in their opposition to the idea that education is the main goal of teaching.
The main goal, they believe, is to teach kids who's in charge.
If Student A does his homework, but gets failing grades on tests, while Student B fails to do his homework, but scores 100% on tests, what will these teachers do?
In many cases, they will give Student A a higher grade than Student B. Student B is likely to drop out. Student A will get a worthless diploma. Is it any wonder our schools are failing?
But these rigid teachers don't just cause problems within their classrooms. They also cause many problems in their schools. One reason is that the teachers union consists largely of just this type of teacher. In some districts, there are innovative teachers who challenge this control, but these districts are rare. My union president boasted to me that her students at Castle Park Elementary in Chula Vista were fond of the saying AVOID BOYD. She thought it was something to be proud of. Needless to say, Gina Boyd supported abusive teachers. During her presidency, four above-average teachers were forced out of Castle Park Elementary in a period of six years.
One thing you can count on the California Teachers Association to do is to back up an abusive teacher, no matter how cruel or incompetent that teacher might be, when a parent or child complains about the teacher.
I hope Michael Patterson's mom (see next post) will be able to start a discussion and an investigation into bathroom rules at her son's middle school. It's something that should be done at every school. And then the discussion needs to be expanded. Schools shouldn't be havens for Little Ceasars. They should be places where children and education come first.
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