by Ann Palmieri

Created on: March 19, 2008   Last Updated: October 22, 2011

As a teacher for over 38 years, I have seen the decline of discipline and expectations. Without discipline in the classroom, a student cannot learn. In addition, a student cannot learn if the expectation from the teacher as well as the parents is not set high enough. I'll explain what I mean by using a real example for each principle.

Respect for the ability and authority of the classroom teacher is at a new low. Because of this, students threaten, tease, taunt, disobey, curse, and outright slander their teachers.

This respect needs to come from the family, first of all, and secondly, the school needs to respect their teachers. If a student senses that a teacher is not supported from the administrative top, the teacher will never receive the respect he/she deserves and needs in order to make demands on students. The lead teachers and administrators are at fault for this phenomenon. I have personally seen a teacher verbally attacked by an administration in front of his class; all this creates is a distrust in the ability of the teacher and a lack of respect for the teacher. In the end, the teacher loses all authority and control. Learning cannot be achieved in an atmosphere of disrespect.

Expectations of administrators, teachers, and parents have been lowered for the past ten years. By perpetuating a student's under achievements, one sets up the student for continued failure. If, on the other hand, a teacher raises his/her expectations for his/her students, these students rise to the occasion. Administrators should never label a student for a teacher. Each time I enrolled a student, I told them they had a "clean slate," and that I wanted them to forget those past problems and focus on the present. I never read their "rap sheets" so to speak; I didn't want to know why they were in my class. I taught in an alternative school where troubled students could play "catch up." My students became better students and better people because they aimed higher.

My students always rose to my expectations. I pushed them to complete assignments. I made sure they actually did the work and would not give any "F's"; they were used to getting a low grade, and then they didn't have to do the work. My class rules demanded the work to be completed; therefore, they did. If I had not expected them to perform to completeness, they would not have done so. Parents need to change their attitudes about the abilities of their children, also. Students can do an hour of homework and still get enough sleep. Quit giving them excuses for not achieving!

In conclusion, schools are to blame for letting down their expectations and their teachers. In doing so, they allow shoddy school work and disrespect in the classroom. One of the reasons I retired two years early was the attitude that a cheating student only had to deny the charge, and the teacher(me) had to come before a disciplinary court to decide who was in the wrong. Where did my professionalism come into dispute? Did you know that your child has more clout than the teacher and gets an advocate at the court? I was apalled at the thought that a sixteen year old could lie about cheating right in front of me, and I had to be examined on my motives! You wanted to know who is to blame for these poor graduation rates? The blame is on our educational administrators at the top who haven't been in a classroom for 20 years. Go see for yourself what goes on in the classroom. You will be amazed!

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