Why do teachers always underestimate students? 2 Qs...?

Question

Ok so this year i had a really crazy language arts/science teacher. She always treated us like we were really stupid and everytime she would get mad at one of us(she did this a lot) she would tell us that all we are going to be when we grow up is migrant workers( which is funny because none of us came from a different country)

Also why do teachers always do nothing for students so the students can be responsible ( i know this sounds a little weird but its hard to explain) example: on one of the last days of school I asked my teacher if there was like a sheet of paper that listed everything we will need for the next grade. The teachers response was No, you kids have to be responsible we cant do everything for you.

Answer 1

1. They think they're smarter than you just because they're older.

2. They don't want to seem like a teacher that overly helps out students. (i guess?)

I know what you mean, though.

Answer 2

I am going to play the devil's advocate here.  As to the treating you like you're stupid, I will get to that.  But firstly, (and I'm assuming this person may be a good teacher with maybe a bad attitude) by making you find out on your own what you need for the next grade may be an exercise in teaching you resourcefulness.  "What lengths will you go to in order to find out and get for yourself what you need to successfully graduate to the next level?"  That was an easy one.  Even if that's not her intention, that's how you should take it, it will only serve to help you later.

I don't like her threatening you with what she would consider a bleak future by saying something to the affect of "If you don't listen to me, you'll only be worthy of being a migrant worker."  First, this denegrates migrant workers (who we depend on) and is also teaching through fear.  My best advice would be:  Listen to the lesson, but perhaps not her interjected personality.

I think she's trying to help you, but may have issues of her own.  Students are only human, but so are teachers.

Answer 3

I completely agree with you.  I think kids of all ages want to be responsible and have expectations set.  I have always been a firm believer that you have to give respect to get it.  It cannot be any truer than in teaching high school students.  I teach 1st grade so most of the love me no matter what still, but I still have a basic level of respect for them.  While we set expectations we also have to make those expectations achievable...guidance helps a lot.

While most high schools do not provide school supply lists her response was disrespectful.  It sounds like she is burnt out.

Answer 4

1) You don't have to be from a foreign country to be a migrant worker. It seems that you may not pay much attention in class.

2) You should have had the information you had asked for. What it sounds like is that you are an ignorant and arrogant little girl.

The world doesn't revolve around you. Teachers are there to help you. But, you learn far, far more when you are forced to help yourself. If you had asked the second teacher to help you get some information after you had gotten what you needed for 2 or your classes, then that teacher would have likely been more willing to help you out with the rest. You would have shown you had done some work; you would have shown your effort. Instead, what you showed was a person that expected other people to do her work.

You need to look at things from a teacher's perspective. Kids try to get away with anything they can. They will push a teacher just to get the teacher mad. When a kid asks for help, but they have made no effort to help themselves. Then, a teacher is more likely not to make the extra effort to help that kid. But, when a kid is really trying, it is obvious. And, most teachers will go out of their way to help those kids.

If you haven't figured it out yet. I have been a teacher in the past. And, the most irritating thing is when a kid doesn't try, then the kid blames the teacher instead of themselves.

Answer 5

i had the same thing happen to me! there was this spanish teacher at my school that kept on saying to us every week," you guys dont listen enough! ugh what's the point. ur all going to end up at wal-mart saying 'paper or plastic' for the rest of ur lives." we were all like WTF? she later told us it was for motivation.... very motivational right?

the next one is just," i'm too lazy to tell u kids so i'll tell u instead to be responsible for ur own lives."

Answer 6

well my friend had a teacher that was exactly like that, and the teacher treated her children like that so the children would push themselves to become smarter, so the teacher would not treat them like that anymore, and that is all the teacher wanted, and for some it actually worked.

Answer 7

was her name ms. holliman? LOL

Answer 8

Well tell her off. Not all teachers do that.

Answer 9

Migrant workers can be citizens born here: they simply 'migrate' from place to place looking for work.

The teacher was TRYING to instill responsibility in you. In all likelihood, she had no clue, or was busy thinking of her own prep for next year. Did you think to check in the guidance office?

Please get out of the habit of lumping (stereotyping) all teachers into one category. You don't like it when that happens to you. Teachers are human too, and as such, they have shortcomings. You expect them to give you some slack for your shortcomings, so cut them some too.

Answer 10

It's more like we overestimate our teachers.

Answer 11

Some teachers are jerks and you named two of them. The migrant worker comment is inappropriate as this is hard work that ALL ethnic groups have done. I'm Irish/American and my ancestors busted their buns in mines and making train tracks.

As for the teacher who wouldn't give you a list for next school year. Shame on him/her!! To have a student like you so excited by school  that you'd request that list is in itself exciting too. What the heck is wrong him/her? They should be thrilled to have a student like you in their class.

If it makes you feel better I'll tell you this tale--years ago, I asked my history teacher about spies in the confederate army in the civil war. All he said was, "they must not have been too good because they lost the war." This guy was a teacher who did not value intellectual curiosity. Some teacher.

Keep your interest in school and stay excited about learning. There are great teachers around you as there were for me. I had one English teacher who excited me about a book called "Travels with Charlie" by John Steinbeck and to this day it inspired me to be a big fan of reading books.

Answer 12

Your teacher is definitely not doing a good job because you can't write a coherent sentence.

Answer 13

Because it's terribly frustrating to teachers when they have kids who want everything handed to them.

Part of the secret to becoming smart (and independently successful) is to figure things out for yourself and be willing to do the work to do that.

You could just ask someone who's a grade higher than you, for example.

The really smart kids don't rely on the teachers.  There are so many books and internet resources now that no one really needs to go to school any more... IF they would only pursue that knowledge themselves.  Most kids won't.  They have better things to do.

I can tell you from experience that it is incredibly rewarding when you take the time to figure things out yourself and end up knowing more than your teacher, or be able to challenge the things they tell you with facts to back it up.

I was able to convince a teacher to let me skip classes for the rest of the semester because I knew the material inside and out and told her I was bored in class.  She agreed and said (privately) "Yes I know, but for the sake of everyone else, we have to go over the same material over and over."  She let me cut until we started a new section, then I'd come in, prove again that I read the material and knew it cold, and she let me continue cutting again.

If you just take a little extra time to be curious on your own, it's incredible how quickly you can get into the habit of figuring out what will be on the tests and being able to take only minutes to study, and still get top scores.

Prove your teachers wrong and you'll earn their respect.  That's what being a "student" is really all about.

Answer 14

You're right, you had some crazy teachers.  That migrant worker comment was terribly offensive, as was the additional comment about the list of things you'd need for next year when a simple "no" would have sufficed.

Not all of us are that insensitive!  

Answer 15

It sounds like this teacher is not as dedicated to her job as a great teacher should be. Don't let her childish way of dealing with frustration  form your opinion on all teachers.

"No, you kids have to be responsible" can be a stock response from a lazy teacher, but it could also be a hint to you that you are not asking things correctly. Instead of asking for a sheet with everything you need, ask if they could tell you how to prepare. Just asking for a paper with everything written down can kind of sound like you expect everything to be handed to you.

Their responses probably have to do with class behavior as well. If you just sit there and stare in to space, I would get mad and yell at you too. You get what you give in Education.

Answer 16

To your first question, I'm just going to say that those teacher forgotten their intelligences in grade school. They have some wisdom of knowledge but then they have to lower what they're teaching for kids to understand, I guess they've lowered it too much?

Second question: Don't worry, they're just preparing you for the future I guess. Though the way that teacher has answered it didn't really make sense to the questions. Ahh teachers these days, too confuzzling!

Answer 17

Hmm, sounds like you had 2 bad experiences.  The migrant comment was completely out of line.  Not all teachers underestimate students, in fact most know their students can do more than they think they can.  As a teacher of high school and college for 18 years, I have seen the student population lose their motivation and desire to work hard.  I get lots of excuses why homework isn't done, from parents to.  Your teachers have homework, too, and are completed overloaded with the job requirements.  Yes, they work in the summertime, too.  Trust me, by 9th period, I really don't want to hear another student tell me they don't have a pen.  Try to look at it from the teachers' perspectives, and hopefully they will do the same.  Most will, but as in any profession, sometimes you get a few that probably weren't meant for the job.