Culture Clash

I went down to the technology team's classrooms today during their planning period. We were scheduled to have a meeting on Friday and I wanted to ask them what they might be interested in discussing. I also had some more software to install on a few computers.

Speaking candidly with Ms. R, I mentioned that, honestly, I have felt a little bit of anxiety lately because it seems like the kids are a bit off the hook. I understand that this is just the way things get in a school like this, but when you put so much work into something, you want it to turn out perfect, no matter where you implement it. It has been hard for me to remember that things won't go perfectly all the time.

We also talked about the fact that Ms. G has been having a lot of difficulties with the children. I mentioned that it is also frustrating for me to see that, it is not only Ms. G, but all of the Filipino teachers that are having problems. This year, because I am moving from classroom to classroom all the time, I have a perspective that I have not had, and I absolutely see a pattern. Perhaps it is the accent, perhaps it is that they look different, whatever the case, it is frustrating.

Yesterday I was just finishing up a meeting with two Filipino teachers who co-teach together when a parent came into the room with his son who has been acting up lately. I watched as one of the teachers explained all of the things that had been happening in the classroom and it was as if the father wasn't hearing a word of it. At one point, the teacher was describing how the student grabbed her arm in the cafeteria, and the father did not react at all.

Today during my conversation with Ms. R, she mentioned that in a team parent meeting, a parent had complained that it was Ms. G's fault that the child was acting up because she was not able to control her class.

Is that the teachers job to control a class, or more specifically this parents child? Frustrating.