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Friday, April 14, 2006
Teachers are People, Too
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My teacher friend likes to unwind with a beer and watch a ballgame at a neighborhood bar. Though he says this bar has the worst food imaginable, the pub has inexplicably become a dinner destination for a couple of his middle school students and their parents. So he’s off to find another bar. “No way can I have a beer with my with my students just a few yards away,” he said. “Bad message. Not good.”
My sixth-grade teacher was also a friend of the family. My mother told me years later Mrs. Dale was a secret smoker. I was dismayed by this news. But, really, why should it matter?
Are teachers held to an unrealistic expectation for off-campus behavior? Is it okay to have a beer or a glass of wine in a public venue? To tell your students about a trip to Vegas? What if you get divorced or have been divorced? Or - gasp - mow the lawn on Easter Sunday instead of going to church? Must teachers give the illusion of sainthood?
A few programming notes: Lots of education stories in the paper. At a Coweta County school, even the cafeteria manager is helping kids prep for the CRCT. Gwinnett Supe Alvin Wilbanks is ticked off about Perdue’s education legislation. And the state adopted new cut scores on the language arts CRCT that require third graders to get 55 percent correct instead of 47.5 to advance fourth grade. Oh, and it looks like Gwinnett bought a couple of land parcels for schools…
Have a safe and happy weekend, everyone!
