Bruce Lear lives in Sioux City and has been connected to Iowa’s public schools for 38 years. He taught for eleven years and represented educators as an Iowa State Education Association regional director for 27 years until retiring. He can be reached at BruceLear2419@gmail.com
Everyone at one time or another has been driven crazy by a backseat driver, sometimes sitting in the front. “There’s a stop sign.” “You’re too close to the curb.” “That car is turning.” “Slow down.”
There are three general reactions, and none are productive. The driver may nod and ignore, begin to second-guess themselves, or explode, making the remainder of the ride resemble a “red wedding” from “Game of Thrones.”
Second-guessers like to make sure other people are doing things the same way they would do it. When that happens, everyone wants to shout, “If you’re so good at it, why didn’t you do it yourself?”
Now, imagine a profession that is second-guessed non-stop—often by people who once attended third grade and believe they now know how to teach it. They don’t. Even the best teacher sometimes second-guesses themselves; they don’t need parents, principals, or legislators assisting.
I’m not talking about legitimate, honest criticism, or asking questions when there’s a concern. That’s essential and helpful. I’m talking about parents, principals and legislators who substitute their second-guessing for the teachers’ professional judgement.
And I’m well aware that not everyone should be teaching. During my 27 years representing educators, I had a few of those hard discussions.
Many parents support the education of their students, and they uplift the entire school. They question and challenge when needed but also provide quality support. They’re true partners. When there’s conflict, they listen to their kids, but check with the teacher to get their version as well.
Good teachers are the most patient people on the planet. If that were not true, they wouldn’t survive an unairconditioned room crammed with 30 seventh-graders immediately after PE. That’s true patience and utter bravery.
Before parents second-guess teachers, they should remember the months of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, when their own children reenacted video game battles when they were supposed to learn reading, writing and arithmetic. Teaching is hard.
Parents and teachers need to listen to one another. That’s different from second-guessing. I’ve been in parent, principal, and teacher meetings where the principal gave instructions while the teacher was told not to talk. The parents were treated like customers, which killed any potential partnership.
Parents as customers means the parent is always right. They aren’t. It’s the wrong message to send to both parents and teachers. Those meetings raised second-guessing and aggravation to new levels.
There are some outstanding principals. They provided backup and support. But the ones who thought that teaching was too hard, and that being a boss would be easy, should find other work.
I also spent many hours in meetings with second-guessing principals. Teachers were forced to defend a lesson to a principal who refused to listen, then told them how they would have done it better. I could always tell when the critique wasn’t legitimate. I’d ask the principal to schedule a time when they could model the technique they wanted in front of a real class. Often, they’d assure us they had high-level administrative work pending and couldn’t find the time.
Public schools and teachers have become a wedge issue for some Republican politicians. They sow doubt and fear of what’s happening in the classroom to gain votes from their base. They act like wannabe teachers and professors. They pontificate about supporting public schools and then pass laws regulating a profession before talking to real teachers and administrators. They meddle in curriculum and provide one-size-fits-all solutions to problems that don’t exist. They celebrate the private schools over the public.
Classrooms are four walls with dreams inside. We need to protect those dreams from being second-guessed to death.
Top photo is by PeopleImages, available via Shutterstock.