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Opinion

Teachers are people too

 

CaitlinWe have all had teachers that we think are over-the-top obnoxious, unfair, and unreasonable. Class, however, is not the time to express your feelings. As much as students would like to believe that teachers are out to get us with excessive homework, they really are just trying to do their job. Teachers do not deserve to be talked back to, insulted, and/or snapped at. I know that we have the freedom of speech, but words can hurt, and even though we see teachers as indestructible, they are people just like us.

I’m not saying we don’t have the right to speak our minds, and believe me, I am not trying to be a teacher’s pet, but everything has a time and a place. If you are frustrated with a teacher, vent to your friends about it (it really helps, believe me), because it is a very awkward thing to experience someone talking back to a teacher during class. Sometimes a teacher says a snarky comment, and a student feels a need to retaliate, and then the class gets silent. The teacher and the student just kind of blink at each other in a stalemate until the teacher decides whether to either punish the student, or pretend like nothing happened. Meanwhile phones are flying as classmates spread the news, while others awkwardly pretend to be reading or doing work.

I totally understand that people get emotional. We are all human (or at least I hope so), but management is key. Try to think about what teachers go through. They have up to six classes full of 25-30 students, which require grading work, creating curriculum, dealing with student drama, and preparing everyone for the next class. That sounds really exhausting.

On the other hand, it’s not easy to be a student. We have to do a ton of homework, work, study, prepare for our future, and keep a healthy social life. When you break it down, it’s not easy to be a teacher or a student.

So students, let’s give our teachers a break during the day. When you feel really upset or offended by a teacher, it’s better for everyone if you save your rant for a more sympathetic audience: friends, parents, even other teachers. Teachers, try to understand that students have a rough life as well. Students and teachers should respect each other at CVHS, which would foster a better learning  environment for everyone.