Reminds me of some people I work with. I have one coworker in particular that I think is jealous that her students like me more, even though I’ve never worked with them. She’s become very snippy to me, and when her kids are excited to talk to me I can see by the look on her face that she isn’t pleased.
She snaps at her kids for doing innocent things, has little patience when she gives commands (note: 100% of our students are on the autism spectrum, sometimes they just don’t hear her), and never seems to do anything to try to bond with them. Meanwhile, I talk to my kids like we’re equals, share their curiosity about the world, and praise their growths and efforts regularly.
So yes, I can absolutely imagine a teacher who makes class so boring and insufferable that a simple drawing on a banana can make the kids giddy. I can also easily imagine that the teacher’s first instinct isn’t to up their teaching game, but to put a stop to the little spot of joy their class found. Because God forbid we make school an engaging place that kids want to go to, amirite?
I went a different direction: what teacher is so inept that a little excitement over a banana at lunchtime throws the class into disarray?
Reminds me of some people I work with. I have one coworker in particular that I think is jealous that her students like me more, even though I’ve never worked with them. She’s become very snippy to me, and when her kids are excited to talk to me I can see by the look on her face that she isn’t pleased.
She snaps at her kids for doing innocent things, has little patience when she gives commands (note: 100% of our students are on the autism spectrum, sometimes they just don’t hear her), and never seems to do anything to try to bond with them. Meanwhile, I talk to my kids like we’re equals, share their curiosity about the world, and praise their growths and efforts regularly.
So yes, I can absolutely imagine a teacher who makes class so boring and insufferable that a simple drawing on a banana can make the kids giddy. I can also easily imagine that the teacher’s first instinct isn’t to up their teaching game, but to put a stop to the little spot of joy their class found. Because God forbid we make school an engaging place that kids want to go to, amirite?