Good Teacher/ Bad Teacher

Excerpt from Journal 

Paley talks about rejection and how it is universal and I wonder about my school experiences in Mexico. I was probably in the second grade and there was a girl that was talking loud at me. I turned around and said that she needed to be quiet, but I said it very loudly. The teacher called my name and told me to come to the front of the class. I was so scared I was motionless and just looked as the teacher came closer. The teacher grabbed me by the ear in front of the class and put donkey ears on my head in front of everyone and told me to stay there without recess.  I do not really remember if what I did was extremely terrible to be punished the way I was. I was so embarrassed and scared that I would get scolded at home for it, that I did not mention it at all to my mother until many years later. I am guessing that no matter how terrible a student is, you do not humiliate them or let alone touch them. I think about this and the experiences that other students have in other countries and that come to our classroom with. For example I really learned to fear my teachers and obey what was told. After listening to Godin and the teacher who had children hammering nails, I wondered if that is what he meant. After coming to the United States I also learned that not only were they authority but that they were much better than me and my parents. Well at least that is what I thought. I think that I still feel the need to call people sir and miss and professor out of fear.

Yet I do not think it was that alone, my dad also added to that fear we would get scolded so badly for having bad grades. Parents that do not know the language just go with what the teachers are telling them. After our readings for Middle School class, I also wondered about the involvement of the students in the class. I wondered if more Latino parents knew about the child’s education would they get more involved, but then what is too much involvement. As a parent, when do you learn to trust if what a teacher is doing is right or not? How do you tell the difference from good teaching and bad teaching and what teachers do you listen to?