On the Wrong Bus
Posted: Saturday, July 16, 2011
by John Waddey
firstcenturychristian
Now and again we read of a young student who mistakenly gets on the wrong school bus. Of course, the bus will not take him where he needs to go. He must get off and find the correct bus that will take him home. In adult life some people get into the wrong profession. Maybe their parents’s pushed them in that direction. Or maybe it was the only job for which they could qualify after college. Some of them ended up being teachers and for various reasons have continued in that career even though it is not where their heart is.
• Unfortunately, there are some teachers who do not do a good job of teaching their students. Young people spend a year in their class and have little to show for it. They go to the next grade, handicapped by poor instruction the previous year. Teachers in this category may be unqualified to do their job or they may be lazy or distracted. In either case their students suffer.
• Sad to say, some teachers seem not to care for their students. They may have started their teaching career with zeal and dedication, but for some reason they have grown tired of their task and weary of dealing with kids. They have reached a point where they work for a paycheck. Students are just part of the job. They are shuffled about until the end of the day. If they wish to learn that have to do so by their own efforts, not their teacher’s.
• There are some teachers who evidently cannot see nor accept the uniqueness and needs of each individual student. Schools fail when they devolve into mass production assembly lines, treating all students as identical. This is not uncommon in higher education where some academics turn their classroom over to assistants and pride themselves on culling out the weak students. That approach is painful in college, but it can be devastating to children in their formative years.
• There are some teachers who only think in terms of their career and check. They teach only until they can do better. They teach because they need a paycheck. Teachers with this kind of motivation seldom do great work with their class of children.
• We sometime encounter teachers who seem to be perfectly satisfied with the knowledge they attained in the university. They do not understand that in a rapidly changing world, a teacher must be constantly growing in her or his knowledge if they are going to challenge and inspire their students.
• Now and again we find a teacher who doesn’t like kids. I think I had one teacher like that in grammar school. They have no sympathy for children. They cannot appreciate the fact that children tend to behave as children...not as adults. They grow hard and uncaring. Some reflect anger and harshness toward the students they are employed to teach.
• There are teachers who enter their classroom with a personal social or political agenda.. As they proceed with their teaching they are hoping to convert their students to their point of view. Such teachers fail to respect the moral, spiritual, social and political standards of the students and their parents. They are taking unfair advantage of their position.
Obviously our children need something better than we have described above. Teachers described above are on the wrong bus. Let us strive to give our students, not only competent teachers, but loving, caring teachers who are dedicated to serving their young charges and preparing them for a successful life. It is sobering to pause and consider the fact that the future of our nation, to a large degree, is entrusted to those who teach.
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