Do the students really like their teachers?

“Okay class, time to take out you essays.”
“Aww man. Ms. Davis, I couldn’t print out my page. Can I do it tomorrow?”
“I’m sorry Tommy, but you had two days to get this paper to me. I’ll have to give you a zero.”
“But Ms. Davis…”
“It’s too late and I have to give you a zero and now your grade will drop.”
“Man, I can’t stand her and I can’t stand these teachers, they never give you a second chance. I hate this school.”
This is a typical conversation that most students have with their teachers. Most of these conversations happen almost every week with different teachers, especially when there are important projects that need to be turned in. At Constitution High School, these conversations happen on a daily basis.But, why are these converstaions happening so much?

Even though most students don’t like the teachers at their school, they have to remember that as much as they don’t like them, they still have to give the teachers respect because they have to deal with these teachers because they are the ones that are going to help them get into a good college. If the students don’t get along with their teachers, then there is going to be a conflict in the classroom, which will shorten the student’s learning time. In order for work to get done, the student and the teachers need to be on one accord. They both have to get along in order to have a productive class.

But are there actually students that like to have conversations with their teachers and are there actually teachers out there that like to talk to have conversations with their students? Well, I went out to ask the students and a teacher form Constitution High School if this statement could be true.

I first went to 10th grade student, Chyann. I first asked her if she felt comfortable talking one-on-one with her teachers. She said some, but not all. I then asked her if she is treating her teachers with respect and she said yea, but she also stated she’s back talked some because she was upset but she apologized for it. She said that she likes her teachers and when asked if she has problems with any of them she stated “not really, but some get on my nerves once in a while”. She also mentioned that one thing she doesn’t like about a teacher is when they try to be helpful one minute and then the next minute, they’ll get mad at you for something you didn’t even do.

Next, I asked another 10th grade student, Jasmine. When I asked her if she felt comfortable about talking one-on-one with teachers, she said no because “I don’t believe they need to know about my personal life”. The second question I asked her was if she believed teachers needed to have a positive attitude in order for a student to be engaged in the class. She responded by saying “Yea, because if the teacher is rude, the student will be rude and there would be arguing and nothing will get done”. I also asked Jasmine if there was a perfect teacher, how he/she would be and she said that they would understand about your grades, would make sure everyone gets the lesson, cares about the student’s grades, and gives no homework.

I also interviewed 11th student Portia to see her views. I asked her if she gives the teacher respect and yes, if they’re giving me respect. Next, I asked her if teachers don’t give her respect and she said yes, by ignoring questions I ask him.

Then, I chose to get a teacher’s point of view on this, so I asked the art teacher, Ms Klose. I asked her if its hard teaching a class and she said yes because “some kids like to play around”. I also asked her are there any students that actually want to learn, and she said, “There are a lot of really smart students here. The ones that play around make it seem like there’s a lot of kids that play around. (They) make school seem like a joke. (They) take away from students who want to learn in our school.



So, we can see that in order for a class to run smoothly, there needs to be a lot of cooperation with students and teachers. If there is tension between students and teachers, then it makes teaching the class an even harder job than I already is. So, teachers, give your student respect. Just because you’re an adult, doesn’t mean that you can talk to them or treat them a certain way. And students, give your teachers respect. I mean, they already get enough crap from different students in each class, don’t make their job harder. Think about it like this:
You’re going to have a teacher in high school
A teacher in college
And, a boss for the rest of your career
So, if you think about it, there’s always going to be a teacher or a teacher-like person in your life. Trust me, if you cooperate with them and don’t act like an ignorant idiot, than I’m sure you’re going to have a way more productive day than you ever imagined.