I had this stressful dream Monday night that I was supposed to escort a classroom of surly, spitting teenagers to an auditorium to vote in a mock presidential election. They refused to budge, and paid me little attention. I raised my voice to no avail, eventually resorting to frantic cursing under my breath. The aggravation was so real.
Then I was sitting in a room with an older woman, presumably a students’ parent. She was rationalizing her son’s behavior - he was one of the students who refused to follow directions. “What you don’t understand,” she condescended, “is that he was scarred by a recent voting incident. Also, he’s uncomfortable that the school isn’t more multicultural.”
In the dream, I knew the voting incident the woman referred to occurred when her son was very young. It was doubtful that he knew much about it. Why such a far-fetched excuse? I also knew the parent was essentially throwing out the line that so many teachers I worked with faced - “You’re not black, so you don’t understand my kid. You can’t get it.”
Usually I disagreed, but other times I wondered. I still don’t know what I think about all that, but without a doubt, I’m glad I’m no longer a teacher.
as are the students
There’s a reason most teachers leave after only a few years… Just be glad you had other skills and could get out. And forget the haters.