Angry Email to the Media

Because I don't have the courage to email this to the today show as is - I am posting this email here. I am angry because the segment I saw (which I am the process of finding the clip and posting the link for you to see) excused the lack of parenting and said that it is expected of the schools to both parent and educate children - and that is horse manure!!

To the people of the Today Show:

I am on spring break so I was able to watch your segment on bullying today (3/23) and as an educator I have to disagree with some of the things that were said.

I teach in a school of high poverty, and one where a lot of my young men are being selected for gang membership. With this gang mentality being taught at home as well as their time outside of school there is precious little we can do to convince them that violence is not the answer. For many of my students their parents are virtually nonexistent - for one reason or another - and these children are searching for "family". The violent life of gangs seems to be able to offer this to the students.

My disagreements start with the School has more ability to stop bullying than parents do. Schools do work very diligently to set the norm that violence is not okay within the school. The parents are the ones who set the norms for students. If the parents set the norm that violence is okay - then nothing the schools can do will be able to stop that. Or the violence will happen off school property since the norm is that it is not okay at school. I have also discovered in my time as an educator that if what teachers and administrators are trying to teach their students is not backed up in the home the message that we are trying to get through will not stick.

Secondly that schools are supposed to teach relationship skills - I have to ask you in what time?? We are expected to teach our students to master all of the information that they are going to need in order to pass their exams. Even if we were to teach these skills we will need the support of parents and care givers in order for such changes to make an impact.

I do realize that home life for a lot of children has fallen apart. I see it everyday in the lives of my students - with what precious little they share with me. But to expect the schools to both educate and parent the children of today is expecting too much. Parents HAVE to be involved in the solution for the violence and that segment sadly let the parents off the hook.

A teacher from Omaha, NE