When Parents Attack Teachers: Comments and Commentary On Parent Posts On "What Teachers Really Want To Tell Parents"

The 2011 article on CNN, What Teachers Want To Tell Parents" has stimulated over 3,000 comments, many of them from parents who are disillusioned, angry, fed up with teachers, and how the educational system works. Some seem informed, polite and constructive, although these tend to be in the minority. Many however, illustrate some fundamental gaps, and misunderstandings of the task of teaching.

In this article we'll look at some of the most aggressive and unpleasant posts, because it helps us understand where "angry" parents may be coming from. Again, our point is not to vilify parents, but to look for clues about how we can work to build better understanding.

Comments Critical Of The Teaching Profession

Here are some of the comments that in effect, suggest that teaching is an easy job, and that teachers are un-dedicated, overpaid, and lazy.

Teachers on a whole get paid too much, whine too often and are a bunch of lazy schmucks who took the job so they get off weekends and summers. If anyone had those qualities at my job they would be ridiculed by management and forced out of their position. (Logan J)

Comment: One thing that's interesting about this comment is that it's devoid of fact, and is a statement of opinion, and heavy on stereotyping. If you replace teachers with an ethnic or minority term, people would be up in arms at the blatant racism and bigotry. Where does this come from? As you'll see in the next comment, these kinds of opinions are often fueled by emotional perceptions that you as an educator cannot impact. Logan J, the author of the comment isn't going to change his opinion, and NOTHING you could say, however compelling factually, will impact his attitude. In fact, the paradox is that the more you try to "prove him wrong", the more aggressive he will get.

I always hear these talking points, but of the half dozen teachers I know, the only one who makes less than 65K/yr (in MI) works in a private school - where she can actually get fired for being lousy. I work about 60 hours per week - my evenings are for 'prep' and I eat lunch while I read a few news articles. People in my profession haven't developed a set of talking points and we don't write articles complaining about our customers, we're to busy being grown-ups and being GRATEFUL for time off for training and education that could further our careers. Have you EVER worked in the private sector as an adult? (Brains)

Your first sentence is bull. Teachers in my district, where the average family income is about $40,000, make $60,000 to 70,000 per year (public record)! Also, almost everyone who has a professional license in any field must complete continuing education at their own expense. If you want to be considered a professional, stop whining about it. As for summer break, I just talked to a teacher who hired another teacher to tutor her son for the summer and paid $50 an hour for elementary math. Not only can you work in your field during the summer, you can make darn good money. BTW, my father, daughter-in-law, and sister are teachers. (ThinkerMom)

Comment: For some reason, many of the comments on the CNN article have to do with whether teachers are overpaid. But here's the interesting part. Everyone thinks they are experts in education, and what teaching is about, because all of us have attended schools as students. After all, we spend a good ten years in schools, so of course "we know" all about it. This phenomenon isn't confined to education, but it jumps out in most parent rants. Unfortunately, perceptions of students, even when they are grown up and parents themselves, are colored by a lot of negative experiences in schools. Everyone has some bad experiences with schools as kids. And they don't go away, and come up in a lot of parent criticism, and/or drive a lot of the enmity towards teachers.

When the sources of the anger lie in the far past, as is often the case, it's impossible to change the attitudes. Teachers who face these kinds of comments can realize that entering into conversation on "how easy" it is to teach, or whether teachers are overpaid, can save a lot of grief for themselves by realizing that these "attacks" aren't fact based, but energized by experiences long gone.

Jennifer - Your "facts" are not accurate. When you suggest that their "salary" is $56K, that's not an annual salary, which is what the inferred comparison would suggest. That is for 9 months of service with a contract time of 7 hour 11 minute contract time including a one hour prep. And yes, yes, yes, teachers work after work preparing lesson plans etc. Except that the vast majority don't. Factor in the abysmal test scores and you have a salary paid to teachers that IS too high. Get the job done and I'll join you on the picket line for more money. Until then, paying people by profession rather than by individual contribution will continue to lead down the road to the collapse of public education. (Richard Dean MacLean)

Be careful Meg, remember that there are lots of teachers in every town in every state. We all know teachers and we see how they spend their summers. If you're different than all of the rest, your next summer workshop should be on time management. Here's the trouble - you surround yourself in a self-righteous bubble of educators, and your "woe is me" attitude goes unchecked by your peers. Then you spout off on the internet to a mixed audience and you're shocked that we're not all waving flags in your honor. You're not special, we all bring our work home with us. but to argue that you don't get more time off is ludicrous. (Brains)

I am a father of 2 and run a drug waste disposal company ma'am. Teachers should get back to the good ole days when if a student got out of line you smacked them with a ruler and got on with the lesson. These whiny little snots could use with some discipline, that goes for the teachers as well. (Logain J)

Comment: Wow. This last quote is a doozy. And it's easy to dismiss. And perhaps it should be left undignified by any additional comment, or attempt to argue with that position.

How To Respond To These Kinds Of Parent Opinions About Teachers

While it's understandable that you might, as a teacher, want to refute these opinions and claims, because they probably seem patently unfair, remember that engaging in debate about whether the opinions are based on fact or not doesn't change opinions. One of the remarkable things about humans is that once they hold established, emotionally tinged opinions, we don't easily give up the opinion, and actually get angrier if our opinions are refuted by fact. Strange, I know.

That means that there's nothing to be gained by arguing. Agree to differ. If you encounter a parent who states these kinds of opinions, recognize that they function as bait, and if you respond directly, or argue, the conversation will get worse. (See the Twelve Essential Principles - Chapter 4, in Building Bridges...The Educator's/Teacher's Guide To Dealing With Emotional And Upset Parents)

Decide on your goal for the conversation. Is it to convince a parent making these kinds of comments that teachers are "the good guys", or is it that you want to enlist the parent's help in helping his or her child learn? It's a no brainer, and you can't do both.