I would like to emphasize right away that I deeply respect all Russian school teachers. Even those who will be discussed below. Because today it is very, very difficult to work as a teacher in a school. I went through various situations myself when I worked in this position. But still, the teacher is different from the teacher. And in the school environment, there are truly amazing characters for the average person. But in order.
“Sunny-faced.” Teachers in this category consider themselves great. And they behave like great people. I’ll give you one example. One secondary school in one regional center has a math classroom. And in this office there is a stand called “Great Mathematicians”. On the stand you can see portraits of Lomonosov, Newton, Lobachevsky. And in the center of the stand is a photo of the math teacher who is in charge of this office.
I am not an expert to comment on the psychological component of this phenomenon. But the practical part is not encouraging at all. This teacher thinks that she’s the only one who knows five, and everyone else knows worse. And there are not so few such teachers. They don’t post portraits of themselves, but they regularly underestimate their marks. As a rule, these are middle-aged women who have not succeeded either in their personal lives or in their careers. They assert themselves in this original way. Of course, at the expense of the students.
“My girls and boys.” These teachers are the exact opposite of the “suns.” They compensate for the low level of professionalism by pleasing their students, their parents, and the school administration. They may not be called to the blackboard if the student does not want to. They may overestimate the mark for the test, if there is such an opportunity. Absenteeism or unfulfilled homework may not be noted. They may not notice that the student is immersed in studying his smartphone.
On the one hand, such teachers are quite convenient. They have almost no conflicts. And if a conflict does arise, they will do their best to nip it in the bud. On the other hand, the knowledge of students from such teachers leaves much to be desired. Understanding the fact that the teacher will always help out and “draw” the necessary mark does not lead to the desire to actively study. In terms of age, these are most often young and mature teachers. The young compensate for their lack of experience by being loyal to their students, while the elderly are willing to do anything to avoid a “war” with students and parents.
“Predatory artists”. This is a category of teachers that includes those who, quite possibly, earn money from grades. Sometimes directly. I know of an example where a student had an average grade of 3.8 on December 20, and on December 22 that score was already 4.6 (which is rounded up to 5). Such a mathematical miracle happened because three fives were displayed at once. And in hindsight. The technology of filling out an electronic journal seems to allow this.
Another example is the recruitment of students for tutoring right in their classrooms. The technology is simple, if not primitive.
At the beginning of the school year or quarter, the teacher gives a more difficult test. Obviously, some students write in two. Then another one. And again, a deuce. Alarmed parents run to the teacher. And the teacher graciously agrees to help. In your free time and for a fee. And a miracle happens. A two turns… a two turns… into a four. No, those two twos don’t disappear anywhere. But six “painted” fours appear. And the average score from 2.0 becomes 3.5 and is rounded to 4 in favor of the student. Such is the arithmetic.
To summarize. I’m not trying to denigrate schoolteachers at all. But I would like to note that the other ugly phenomena mentioned here will take place in schools as long as teachers are afraid of conflicts and until their salaries reach a decent level. For now, students will mock teachers with impunity, and their parents will cover for their children with the tacit consent of the directorate.…
For now, kind, honest and qualified teachers will leave schools because of the inability to compromise principles and the inability to maintain these principles in the current state of affairs.
