Teachers can't be alone in the learning process

<p>I read with interest a Santa Rosa mother's recent commentary, “When teachers show they care,” that compliments a particular public school teacher who is having a major impact on her son's success in school.</p><p>It was good that the public was again reminded about the valuable job teachers perform, albeit increasingly under more difficult and challenging conditions. And we in the profession should always remember what power we have to affect our students' lives. </p><p>But it's the title that concerns me. Is it necessary for teachers to work harder and spend more of their own personal time in order to “prove” they truly care about their students? I wonder if this is an unspoken assumption by the public. Would this teacher be an “uncaring” teacher if he had not necessarily been able or willing to meet each and every week outside of class to help this child, but simply did his very professional best in class to meet the needs of his students? I think not. </p><p>There seems to be an assumption that the No. 1 person who needs to “care” in the education process is the teacher. I believe that most teachers do care about what they do, the students they teach and how they provide instruction in their classes. The teacher, however, isn't the most important person who needs to care.</p><p>Ultimately, the primary person who needs to care is the student — care enough to get a good night's sleep prior to a school day, care enough to come every day to school, care enough that he/she values an education for what it will do for his/her future, care enough to behave respectfully and responsibly in class, care enough to pay careful attention to instruction, and care enough to actually do the schoolwork assigned (because education is an active process requiring the actual involvement of each student).</p><p>Unfortunately, teachers today find too many students who don't care enough about school and getting a quality education. Many are easily distracted. Some come to class tired from lack of sleep. Many students are lazy and unmotivated. Many make bad choices by refusing to do their class work, much less homework, no matter how much their teacher warns them of the resulting consequences or tries to motivate them.</p><p>There is the incredible desire of many students to continually socialize rather than be on task. And it is also unfortunate that not all students have parents who adequately support or are involved in their child's education.</p><p>The next most important person (one could argue the most important in practical terms) is the parent. To be a parent is to be a teacher. While parenting is also a challenging job, it is the parent who is charged with the task of raising a child properly. It is the parent who really has the power of motivation, not the teacher. Parents have the “carrot” to reward and the “stick” to punish their child in order to motivate them to do the right thing. Classroom teachers really are limited in their power to provide motivation, yet I continually hear from many, even in the education establishment, that it is teachers who need to find a way to motivate students. </p><p>Like all students, it is inevitable that at some point the boy who was struggling in class, who could do the work but was not motivated, is going to come upon some new tasks in his class that he can't easily do.</p><p>He will need to pay attention, practice, ask questions, and get feedback from his teacher. He is going to have to make an effort to do the work and have the fortitude to struggle and keep at it even if it is difficult. Whatever his issues in school, he will need to focus on his improvement and overcome his propensity to become distracted. He may have to work harder at this than other children. Of course, children being who they are, this is more easily said than done. But this attitude and work ethic needs to be promoted not only by teachers but by each child's parents from day one. </p><p>Ultimately, the road to success for our children will be made easier if they themselves are taught to value and care about their education and if parents realize the instrumental role they play in making this happen n concert with the effort by the teacher in the classroom.</p><p>-- This article was written in response to a blog by writer Cristen Dillon at santarosamom.com. You can find it at winecountrymom. blogs.santarosamom.com.</p>