This was excellent!

Funny thing, I've never compared teachers and CEOs before, but I've always respected teachers, both individually and as a group. I can't say I've ever had much respect for CEOs as a group, and only for a very few individual CEOs.

Funny but those CEOs are the ones who get fired when the company doesn't make enough profit. Those CEOS are held accountable for things within a company even when they had no control. Those CEOs spend more hours on the job then anyone knows. Those CEOs get paid a salary when averaged out for the number of hours and jobs they do is less then the hourly employee often. Those CEOs are on call 24/7 unless they turn their phone off- then they still can be found. Those CEOs are left with sleepless nights over what cuts they have to do and who will loose their job because stockholders demand results and if they don't someone else will make harder cuts. Those CEOs carry more weight on their shoulders then most wish torealize- just like any position there are good and bad. And being that teachers are for the most part public employees their salaries are public record. Why speak up for the CEO because they too are people with families who often don't get the luxury of spending time with their family as they like.

As a former teacher, I say BRAVO! Well said!

My youngest daughter is a Freshman at Truman State
Univ. her goals are to double major in Biology & Chemistry
and to become a High School Science teacher.

I WILL be sending this story to her so she can read it often and remember WHY she wants to become a teacher.

Thank you for the story.

This is a serious question to those of you who have been or are teachers- what is with the denying kids going to the bathroom when they need to- This continues to be a constant battle we have to address everyyear with incredulous responses of it being an interuption. Since when is a child's need to use the restroom an issue that anyone has the right to deny. Second we are finding in the regular class rooms that a child asking questions is considered rude or that they are not listening- Why is this- is this not the place for learning?

I never deny the children the right to go to the bathroom. You gotta go, you gotta go. That said, our school policy (I'm in a senior high school) the bathrooms are locked 5 minutes before the bell rings until 5 minutes after the next class starts. My classroom is right next door to the bathroom, so it's not a big disruption for me. All I ask of my kids is that they get up, take the boys/girls lav pass with my name on it and go, don't make tons of noise to disrupt. The way I figure it, they're in High School, almost college. They're capable of knowing when they need to use the lav and how not to disrupt everyone. A simple "excuse me please" works fine. If it is the same kid, at the same time (say the class is during a lunch hour) I'll get a bit suspicious, but I'll always talk it over with the kid, then a phone call home, then if need be an administrator.

I want my kids to ask questions - that's how they learn. Sometimes I'll deliberately make a mistake and see if they catch it. Then I say something to the effect of, "oops, my mistake - good listening!" or "see, everyone makes mistakes."

As with Jennifer ...
Of course I'm a Primary teacher so the expectstions for self-control are not as high!
But with Primary children and older children I will encourage them to use the toilets at break times, have a quiet word with the child who needs to go 5 mins after the beginning of every class (in other words, once they've sat still for long enough for the need to register) ... but I would never ever deny a child from going at all ... I don't want a mess to clear up!

I encourage questions ... there may be times when you ask them to let you finish a presentation or explanation first, or discuss things with their partners/table groups first, but in most cases hearing their comments and questions is the main way that you understand how they are thinking and what their understanding actually is .....

You sound to have had some awful experiences with teachers, WriterWoman, I do hope that you meet some good ones soon!

Helen

Wow - brilliant - I love it !!!
Your not near Keller are you ??