Teachers vs High Schoolers Match-up

If it was an MMA match, then you’d most likely be rooting for the youthful, rebellious, and energetic high schooler.  You’d imagine yourself as

that high schooler and that teacher as that one hideous and miserable teacher you had in

high school who you swore was on a mission to make your life impossible and humiliate you every chance they had.  (If you never had a teacher like this then consider yourself extremely fortunate.)

Are you picturing yourself and that teacher?  Ok.

LET’S GET IT ON!! (cheering and whistles in the background)

You start with a take-down shot lunging towards your teacher and positioning yourself so that you can grab their legs from behind the knees.  You quickly scoop them up and slam them down on their back hard.  Now, you’re on top and in side control.  You start pounding with your fists and knees, softening them up, and then quickly move into position for a Kimora.  You grab the left arm, interlocking your wrists and placing their left arm towards their back and pushing the shoulder upward as you attempt to get the left wrist to touch the right shoulder blade.  Ultimately the pain and pressure in their left shoulder is so extreme that they tap out and you’ve won the match!

You’re on top of the world! Exhilarated! Liberated almost!  Victory is quite a rush!

If you were like most teens, chances are you probably stood up to at least one teacher during your high school years and you know this feeling.  Perhaps you picked bad times to defy or “try” your teachers and sounded like a fool, or perhaps you were in your right and made the teacher look like a fool.  Either way, it was a risk and there were consequences.

My husband and I have taught our boys to be respectful of authority and to learn to pick their battles wisely when it comes to questioning it.  If and when they do question it they must be prepared to deal with the consequences.  And until the moment comes where they have the intellectual capacity and a grasp on the verbal rhetoric needed to have that moment with a teacher, my husband and I will come in on black stallions (hubby in army uniform, of course) padded with armor and and armed with lances and swords and shields ready to take on anyone who messes with our kid! Hooah!

Well, not really.  There’s always two sides to every story but I tell you what, sometimes the story your kid gives you can really set you off and make you want to go storming into that teachers classroom and give her/him a piece of your mind.

Here’s the situation:

14 year old is a freshman in high school.  It’s been a difficult transition with a lot of adjusting to new teachers, new rules, and most of all new responsibilities and a certain amount of independence.  My husband and I are of the mentality that by this age our son should understand his obligations and take full responsibility for them.  We are not going to be checking his agenda or his homework and making sure he’s getting everything done.  As a matter of fact, we stopped doing that in 6th grade.  At the end of the day, he knows that there are consequences if he doesn’t do what he’s gotta do.

So he’s learning.  He’s learning how to communicate with his teachers, how to anticipate problems and how to come up with solutions.  Awesome right?

Well, apparently one of his teachers could care less.

It was a Monday night and my son informed me of some concern he had with his science homework.  He had just spent the last three hours writing his science homework by hand because he couldn’t print the assignment since our printer was busted.  Mind you he also did it on his laptop and saved the word document.  He was worried because she (the teacher) does not typically accept hand written work, but he had sent her an email apologizing in advance and explaining the situation and he was going to try the printers at school in the morning.  He was hopeful that she would be understanding.

Awesome! As a mom, I was proud of him.

At 10:08 am I received a text message from him asking me to go pick him up because he was furious with his teacher.  (Yea, yeah yeah, I know, my sons text me from school AND while they’re in class. It’s horrible right?) I asked him what happened and he texted back: “She wouldn’t accept my homework! I spent 4 hours and loss sleep trying to do it for her!”

I could tell he was furious and now I was furious. I texted his counselor to see if she could pull him out of class and I texted my husband who immediately got out of work and went straight to the school.  He wanted to know where the teacher’s class was so he could go in and talk to her, but high school is a bit different form elementary.  You see, there are security guards that don’t even let you get past the main office!  Instead he ended up speaking to the assistant principal and she agreed to set up a meeting for us with his science teacher.  My husband’s not too thrilled about me going to the meeting with him because he’s afraid I’ll lose my temper with her, but agrees that we need to stand as a united front so that this teacher is aware that we do in fact care about our sons education and his performance, but that we also care about the way our sons teachers treat them.

I, personally, only had one or two of those above referenced teachers in the hypothetical MMA fight. Instead, I was fortunate enough to have had numerous amazing and profoundly impacting teachers come into my life and not just teach me a subject, but teach me about myself and about the world and the people in it.

Teachers, in my opinion, are more than teachers.

Teachers know that their qualifications well exceed the diploma or teaching certificate that they have hanging on their wall.

Teachers are mentors, they are coaches, liaisons, and sometimes even friends.  Teachers inspire, they provide encouragement, understanding, nurturing and support.  Teachers see and treat their students as human beings with emotions, who face problems, triumphs and tribulations.  Teachers don’t just see them as numbers or faceless bodies that they have to deal with in order to get paid.  Teachers don’t punch in at 7:30/8 and punch out at 3/3:30 or only check their emails during these “working hours”.  Teachers teach their students and are willing to learn from their students.  They are passionate about their ART (because it is an art) and love to do what they do.

This is what I learned from my teachers and it is because of their example that I work hard to model them and to provide my own students with the same human, caring relationship that makes the teacher/student relationship so inspiring and life changing.

In the end my husband brought our son home early from school; the situation had upset him so much that he had gotten sick to his stomach.  As he got comfortable in his room I stood at the door and asked him if he was ok, to which he replied,  “Sometimes, I don’t know why I’m such a good kid.  I should’ve bitched her out.  What would she have done? Kicked me out of the class? I didn’t want to be there anyways so she would’ve done me a favor.”

I sighed.  I understood his frustration. “You didn’t say anything because you know to respect authority.  Besides, your time will come.”

“When? When I’m a senior?” He laughed.

“Your time will come is all I can tell you.  In the meantime, mom and dad will walk beside you while you fight your battles and sometimes will step in front of you and fight them for you.”

Aghhhh!!!  Such a fine line!!!

Have I mentioned how difficult this parenting thing is???

Peace Out!

-Natasha Olivera

P.S.: For any teachers out there, here’s a list of 10 signs that you’re a great teacher:

You might also like

Who Says There’s No Such Thing As Teenage Love? For all those who say that teens are incapable of being in love because they are too young, too immature, ...

College Bound High Schoolers: Are Parents Setting Their Kids Up For Failure? Ok, so it’s been a while, and I do apologize to my readers who have been waiting patiently for a new...

Note Passing and Teacher Hating Ok, so not for nothing, but my guys rarely ever get in trouble.  It really is very rare that my boys...

Graduating, Growing up & Letting Go This week is a special week.  Both of my boys are "graduating", and while I’ve discussed the perverse...