Comments on: Teachers Gone Wild

By: anon

anon — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:31:45 +0000

If I may put in my two cents here- it would be nice if administrators put half the effort into dealing with kid bullying as they do teacher bullying. It makes me mad that the kids who dissed the teachers online got suspended/expelled where I am from, but the kids who do it to other kids are not. I would love to hear from anyone who might know why this is the way it is….

By: joemac53

joemac53 — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 20:25:57 +0000

Physics teachers can be even weirder than chem or bio teachers. I hope I’m not on YouTube. On the other hand, the students like the calculus poems and songs, since they believe no one is weird enough to write and sing them.And then there is the baseball team character who does his impersonation of the head coach on the bus, while we (the coaches) all sit there and laugh until we run out of breath.

By: Pat

Pat — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 19:59:09 +0000

Sometimes it is good for students to see teachers act a little silly even if they are trying to impart knowledge. Why is it wrong to let students know you are human and can even be fun? I’m looking for your wife’s video too.

By: Mister Teacher

Mister Teacher — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:40:46 +0000

I like your interpretation video of the “freeing the frogs” scene from E.T.:)

By: jose

jose — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:17:21 +0000

Interesting post. Unfortunately, I always find myself doing something silly in front of a camera like rapping or dancing, so here’s hoping I don’t show up on YouTube. I try to search myself daily to make sure I don’t get caught up in that madness. In any case, I think in many ways, it’s a good thing to have *some* videotaping of teachers doing silly things only because it makes us multi-dimensional, and possibly a profession people might want to come back into again. Then again, with the salary scales and decreasing benefits, I understand the reluctance.Good post.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 00:45:18 +0000

Hi Ice9,I’d love to find out who’s reading my husband’s blog… Why don’t you say hello on Monday!Amanda

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 00:08:32 +0000

Ice,Nice story (I was only joking about the lounge … my daughter’s grade school had one, but that is the only one I’ve ever seen that was not on a TV show)But, we know teaching can be tough. For instance, where did Ice1 through Ice8 end up?Every day I check YouTube for Amanda’s Lysosome Dance. Every day I am disappointed.G

By: ice9

ice9 — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 23:01:35 +0000

We’d talk about it in the teacher’s lounge…if we HAD a teacher’s lounge. For most of us, teaching carries the assumption of a higher threshhold of nearly every nuance of civilized life, including the requirement that we pee only when bells ring. My experience is that students respect hard work, thoughtful teaching, mastery of subject matter, fairness, and commitment. When teachers are abused on YouTube or Facebook, they usually earned it. (Kids can be crazy and cruel too, but they are rare exceptions.) Doesn’t excuse bad behavior, of course, but it’s only the most recent version of the same treatment teacher have received for ever.I heard this one from a respected veteran teacher. One day early in her first year, she went into the girls’ room and found a pithy obscene grafitto featuring her name. Shocked and dismayed, she staggered into the lounge and told one of the veterans smoking there. The woman beamed, and said “congratulations!”It’s still true. If they take the time to abuse you, they love you, and most teachers understand that. The greatest shame is if they ignore you.Ice(I teach with your wife. They do not ignore her.)

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:38:00 +0000

Samantha,I see your point, and I do think that school-related folk, especially admins, tend to overreact, in many many ways. On the other hand, while rude comments are part of life, the rudness only has utility to the adult if s/he has learned what polite is.

By: Samantha Vimes

Samantha Vimes — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:25:43 +0000

What do they think kids talk about? A pretty large percentage of school talk is dissing on teachers, sometimes for very good reason, as in teenaged girls warning other girls which teachers are making them feel sexually harassed. Other times for very silly, stupid reasons, such as having an accent or dressing funny.Teachers are in a position of authority over students, and students *need* leeway to question authority. They can get in trouble for misbehaving in class, or for talking back to their parents– if we don’t want a generation of authoritarians ready to support fascism, we *must* allow children an outlet to express some rebellion.It’s different if there are real violations of privacy. No following the teacher home and posting her address on line; no up-skirt cell phone photos. Threats are bad, too. But comments about fat legs are a part of life.