Are Teachers mean, Nice
The role of a teacher is stressful, and teachers sometimes out of frustration can lash out at their students. Some have even gone so far as to say to a student that they wouldn’t amount to anything in life.
While teachers may have their challenges in their personal and professional lives, taking it out on students is unacceptable and most teachers have been trained to control their temper in the presence of their students.
It’s worth remembering that teachers serve as role models to their students and any disrespect towards students by their teacher would in most likelihood tarnish the image of teachers in general from the perspective of the student.
In an attempt to ensure that students stick to regulations, some teachers can also be inflexible irrespective of the student’s personal reasons for breaching a policy. A typical example is a student wearing a head covering out of fear of other students laughing at them over their hair.
We’ve all been students before and we all remember a teacher we loved for one reason or the other and another teacher we hated because they were mean to us. But the question remains, “are teachers mean” or “are teachers nice”?
This article will try to answer this question by taking a look at the popular reasons why a teacher might be mean or nice to students.
Why Teachers Are Mean
While this topic is debated, there’re various reasons why students would think teachers are mean.
Rude Students
Dealing with rude students can be frustrating, especially in cases where no severe consequences follow their actions. Teachers have to deal with classes full of students with varying personalities which includes rude students daily.
While most professional teachers are trained to handle rude students, it can be frustrating sometimes and a teacher in a bad mood might react to a student’s provocation. Some students choose to hold conversations while the teacher is teaching in the class.
While taking some form of physical action may be tempting in extreme cases, it’s unprofessional behavior and can come with dire consequences for the teacher. Keep in mind that most policies in institutions are instituted to protect students and it’s easier to condemn the actions of the teacher than the student.
Lower Salary/Compensation
While teachers may be moderately compensated in some districts and parts of the world, the situation is quite different in most parts of the world where teachers find it difficult to make ends meet. Unfortunately, some teachers can resort to taking out their frustration on students.
Inattentive Students
Teachers expect their students to listen attentively during classes so they can better understand concepts and ask questions. Unfortunately, some students can get distracted by phones, activities outside, and their classmates during classes.
Imagine putting together a lesson to help your students better understand a concept only to find out your students aren’t paying attention. This feels like disrespect for the teacher’s effort and the lesson and a teacher might take out their frustration on the students.
Poor Performance
While teachers hope that students would easily understand their lessons, the reality is that each student has their absorption rate. Some may understand lessons quicker while others may take longer to understand or remember a concept.
Some students, although might be putting in the effort may not be able to easily absorb and remember concepts they’ve been taught.
Teachers who are oblivious to this may be rude to students as they might have the impression that the students aren’t putting in the necessary effort to understand their lessons.
Disliking or being rude to students as a result of their poor performance is a sign of a bad teacher. Good teachers strive to understand the unique needs of their students, and how they can get them to improve academically.
Disrespecting The Profession
While in times past the teaching profession was perceived with respect as teachers were some of the brightest thinkers in society, the perception is different in recent years as most members in our societies already have a high school or higher education qualification which puts them on par academically with teachers.
Most, therefore, go into the teaching career as a fallback when their original career doesn’t pan out. As the saying goes, “those who can’t do, teach”. There’s also the belief that teachers have too many holidays and don’t work as hard as other professions as they close earlier than a typical 9-5 work hour job.
This disrespect to the profession especially in the presence of a teacher can lead to them taking out their frustration on a student or parent or a third party.
Personal Issues
Learning to keep your personal life separate from your professional life is key, especially in the case of professional teachers. Students have their own challenges at home and the last thing they need is a teacher lashing out at them over something minor.
This can lead to a negative impression of teachers and a dislike of a course or schooling in general. Irrespective of issues they face in their lives, it’s essential for teachers to remain professional in their dealings with students.
Why Are Teachers So Rude To Parents
Teachers are professionals, trained to respect both parents and their children. However, there have been cases where a has been reported as being rude to a parent.
Treating Teachers Like Babysitters
While teachers are not babysitters, some parents treat them as such. While a teacher’s job may entail some level of babysitting especially in the case of students at the lower education level, their role remains different from that of babysitters.
Unfortunately, some parents treat teachers like babysitters and sometimes even bring their sick children to school, in an attempt to avoid missing work. The teacher is expected to take care of the child and any attempt by the teacher to call the parent back leads to annoyance on the part of the parent.
Obviously, teachers who face such situations, knowing full well what the parents are doing would end up annoyed and some might even shout at the parent for this intentional act.
Inconsiderate Parent
There’s this mentality parents sometimes have concerning their children’s performance in school. When a student performs well, this performance is attributed to the student’s hard work. However, when the student performs poorly, it is attributed to the teacher being bad at their job.
Some teachers confronted with such situations and unable to hold themselves back may end up saying something rude or inappropriate to the parent. This leads others to the conclusion that the teacher is rude as they’re expected to hold in their temper irrespective of the situation.
Busy Parents
Parents need to understand their role in the education of their children. Children come to school to learn but learning shouldn’t stop when they go back home. Parents are expected to help guide their children at home with their assignments when necessary and assign adequate time for their studies.
Unfortunately, some parents who are too busy for the tasks expect the teachers to do all the work. This unfortunately leads to students with very bad grades and teachers end up with the blame. A teacher who might be aware of the situation needs to approach this situation with care as their good intentions could be misinterpreted as being rude.
Busy Student
Some students do not have enough time at home to themselves to be able to learn. They spend their time after on various chores and are unable to work on their assignments. This leads to lateness in class as they sometimes try to solve their assignments in the morning.
Teachers, privy to this situation need to approach it with care as their actions could easily be misinterpreted as being rude.
Cultural Difference
Cultural differences can become a major problem, especially in an institution with students from varying backgrounds and nationalities. I once taught in a school where apparently it was rude to greet with the left hand or refuse to eat when someone invited you.
In cases where the teacher’s culture varies from the parent’s, an innocent action on the part of the teacher could be misinterpreted negatively. Teachers who are unaware of this may unknowingly be tagged as rude by a parent without knowledge of their offense.
Are Teachers Mean Or Nice
Like everyone else, teachers are not mean by nature or profession. Most teachers are very nice but an unprofessional teacher, unable to better handle a situation, might act rudely to a student, parent, or colleague.
