Why do teachers talk down to their students, similar to how whites used to treat blacks?

Question

Why do teachers talk down to their students, similar to how whites used to treat blacks?

Answer 1

I think your question is not limited to teachers...you should have asked why ADULTS talk down to kids.

This is probably because most adults underestimate kids.

And, let's face it, at 15, you don't know as much as you will at 30.

Answer 2

Ummm, first of all. Your question is inflammatory from the get go.

But, to answer it nicely. We are in charge and have 20-40 students who we must teach or lose our job. So, we have to begin to instill the idea of chain of command. Teachers and students are not buddies. And, we must maintain the role of having superior knowledge and skills or else why bother coming to our class?

Would you get all twisted up if your boss "talked down to you" because I think that is what you are referring to, is the feeling of not being the one in charge, and sometimes feeling like your voice is meaningless. Your voice is not meaningless. BUT, reality doesn't mean you get your way or opinion validated every time.

However, your question is so ludicrous in itself, I doubt if you really want an answer. You just want to whine because your first period teacher hurt your tender little feelings.

Answer 3

Because, in a lot of the situations, the kids are pricks.

Especially little kids.

This is coming from a 16 year old too.

Answer 4

First of all, there is no comparison in most cases (I'm sure there are some teachers who are bigoted against students, but that is not the norm, and it is insulting to suggest that there is any similarity).  My guess is that you weren't around in the pre-civil rights days, and you have no idea of how Whites talked to Blacks then.  

Secondly, when Whites spoke down to Blacks, it was with the erroneous assumption that somehow Black people were inferior to White people in general, so the problem was not that White adults spoke down to Black children, or that high-ranking White people spoke down to low-ranking Black people, but that the assumptions cut across the board.   When you are talking about teachers and students, there are a lot of factors which make the differences very real..  For one thing, teachers are adults, and in many cases, students are not.  Most teachers don't speak down to students any more than parents speak down to their children or the cashier in the grocery store would speak down to a child in the store.  Also,  it is the role of a teacher to be more knowledgeable than the student so that s/he can help the student learn.  That may lead to their taking a different role and tone with the student than they might take if they were in casual conversation with the same student.  Teaching itself may be seen as "talking down to" someone by a sensitive individual, or someone who doesn't want to learn, when it is intended to help the student learn.

Answer 5

even if that was a good analogy, I still don't talk down to my students

Answer 6

I see no correlation in the two scenarios actually, but in my case, I have found only a few teachers that just felt like they were better than anyone else, especially students, and decided to belittle students or look down on them.  Treat people with respect, that is what you should get in return.  Let the teacher know you care and they too will show a side maybe you are not familiar with.

Answer 7

that last answer was a little condescending. "Ima's"

Answer 8

Knowledge is power.  If the teacher is a teacher, they have more knowledge.  Ergo, they have more power.

Answer 9

i guess because of the fact that they have the power to tell people to do things that is gets to their heads and they tend to misuse it ir use it in a way that is demeaning to others.

Answer 10

Im a teacher and I do not talk down 2 my students at all.  I guess I went to a great school and I have a lot of patience with kids.

Answer 11

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Answer 12

maybe teachers are stressed im not sure. well im white myself, and i had this science teacher who was also white. i was sooooo scared of her. when she came close to me i started to sweat omgg. she would glare at me and picks on me on porpse during lessons to embarass me. one day i got 0/20 on a test and she was yelling at me. and i was so scared, i knew i couldn't run away or she'll get more mad. so i pretended to faint. she stopped yelling at me and was more scared. after that, she was nice to me. but im still super afraid of her.

Answer 13

I "talk down" to my students because they are sitting while I generally stand.

Answer 14

Well, students are supposedly more stupid than their teacher - or at least that's how it worked years ago.  

Maybe students got really smart here lately, but I somehow doubt it.

Answer 15

Teachers dont even come close to treating students like whites used to treat blacks. don't  equate your write to a

'Free' education with slavery.

Blacks had to fight to get in good public schools because they so much wanted to be there.  jeeesh do your homework and maybe you will get treated with some respect.

Answer 16

because they prob feel in control and better than you

n they also know that students cant do anything about it

thats why teachers r such kiss ups to the parents, because the parents can do sumthin bout it

Answer 17

I agree that teachers shouldn't talk down to their students, as it doesn't make the best learning environment (and that's what most important). Sometimes teachers do it unintentionally, and sometimes students may misinterpret a teacher as being patronizing. Other times a teacher may have personal issues, which while they ought to leave out of the classroom, may affect their general behaviour to people and their students. If you have a serious concern with a teacher, don't be afraid to address the problem with another adult.

One more thing: I wouldn't compare teachers talking down to students to the hate and racism experienced by many individuals still to this day. There's a huge difference between the two.