Conclusions and Recommendations for Practice

As we come to the end of our chapter studies “Start were you are, But Don’t Stay There” I reflect on the fact that we have come so far, but yet we still have a long way to go. Our children are at Stake, our Future, and their Future. As educators, we make decisions everyday based on what is best for our students, yet as we know, those good intentions can have negative repercussions. This week I saw a colleague reprimanded for making a decision which she thought was best for the student, but administration saw the action as crossing the line. On another hand, as a parent my daughter, came home and told me that her teacher gets upset and when she is upset she belittles the class through name calling, e.g. “You are all acting like a bunch of animals”, “punks”, and “idiots”. Now I ask my self, is she doing what is best for her students, is she trying to deter them from a negative action by calling them names? Now as a Parent, I want to call the school and speak to the administrator about my concerns but as a fellow educator, I hesitate to do this and instead wonder what would make a teacher act this way towards her students. In my opinion, I am sure this teacher knows best practices and know about building positive relationships, but because of the frustration maybe with FCAT, maybe she feels overwhelmed. Unfortunately, this is what some of our students face in urban school settings, teachers that feel overwhelmed and frustrated. It is imperative that administrators are aware of these issues and provide strong support for their teachers.