Lightdemon

At the school that I've been substituting, I was having a conversation about the PTA with a couple of other teachers.

I live in an Asian/Hispanic city, a minority-majority city as it is called, where half of the students are Asian and the remaining half are Hispanic.

One teacher said something very profound and I agree with his assessment. He said that in the PTA there is a different attitude between Hispanic parents and Asian parents.

When dealing with classroom behavior, grades, or general performance in the academic setting, generally Asian parents look to thier sons and daughters for criticism. Either they are not studying hard enough, or that they are lazy, or that they are not trying.

In contrast, the Hispanic parents try look to the teacher for critism. Generally they allege that the teacher is biased toward thier son or daughter, or that the teacher is demanding too much, that the standards are too high, or that somehow thier son or daughter is being treated unfairly.

Of course, this assessment is a generalization, but growing up in this cultural enclave, this is actually pretty accurate. Speaking for myself personally, I feel that my parents had that exact same type of attitude, that it wasn't my teachers fault that I didn't do well, it was always my fault. I didn't try hard enough, or that I wasn't paying attention, or that I was goofing off.


If this is true, then this has a huge impact on the PTA as well as other Parent-School relationships. With this type of attitude, in an Asian majoritive neighborhood, the Administration and the School District in general may have more control over policy decisions and perhaps they could be more invasive and non-considerate of the student population.

Things such as punishment for tardiness, or maybe things like "zero-tolerance" and less leniency in general. Also things like dress-code and certain club activities may be much more limited.

What are your thoughts? Do you think this "blame the student" type of attitude may shape school policies? Do you think this type of attitude is significant in this regard?

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1069

I think there is a middle ground.
I do not think teachers should be blamed for students' personal failings.
I think school is as much about learning to deal with difficult or even unbalanced authority figures (because authority figures are just people, and some people are difficult or unbalanced) as it is about learning academics.

But on the other hand, I also think that it's a dangerous thing to always take the adult's side and believe the child is categorically at fault in every situation.
Sometimes teachers are unfair, biased, discriminatory, or just plain wrong; they must be. They're just people.
It is important to listen to one's children, and be ready to advocate for them if necessary.
Learning how to find recourse or justice when the system treats one with blatant unfairness is also an important lesson children need to learn. It's a lesson some parents need to learn, too.

Discrimination in the workplace is one issue; whichever side of it you're on, we can all surely agree that similar discrimination within the public school system is wholly unacceptable. Children don't have a choice but to be there. It's not like a job, where if your boss treats you unfairly, you can just leave and find another one.
If parents and/or children are alleging bias/ unfairness/ discrimination, it's very important, I would think, that these allegations be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.
It is not safe to assume that the parents are just stupid, troublesome mexicans and that it's a cultural thing, or that their children are just lazy and looking for a way to blame their failure on someone else.

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Lightdemon

That's not really what I'm trying to get at.

The thing that really concerns me is that the type of support that the parents are giving to the school district.

Depending on how they discipline thier children, and their type of attitude towards education, that determines what type of policies they are willing to support. Specifically, policies that can be swayed by a parent speaking at a board meeting or a PTA meeting.

Things like expulsion, club activities, field trip requirements, school transfers, IEPs (Individual Education Plans), etc.


What I wanted to point out is that some parents are in favor of policies that are non-considerate of the student population and instead it puts the blame on the students, while other parents blame the teachers and the administration. The first is an attitude that nothing is wrong with the system, the second is. Parent perception is influential in this regard, IMO.

I don't think this is discriminatory, since parents have a say in deciding these policies. That's why the board of education, PTA, and other Parent-Teacher or Parent-School associations exists. It's just that depending on the type of parents in these groups, it will give us different policies because of their perception. Whether they think there is something wrong with thier kids, or they think that there is something wrong with the system.

I really don't know where I stand on this actually. I'm afraid that the "blame the student" type of attitude can lead to a school district that takes advantage of the student by not providing fair services. Such as counseling, IEPs, conflict mediation, etc. But being a teacher myself, I know full well that some students as well as some parents blame the teacher because they know they can use the administrators to pressure teachers into giving more favorable assessments, especially those who are connected with the higher-ups. Coincidentallly, the parents who actually participate in the board meetings are usually the upper middle class who's got a friend on the board.

So for me, it's between taking advantage of our students, or taking advantage of our teachers.

1069

The fact that you and other teachers and possibly administrators at this school have come to an understanding that this is a hispanic ("blame the school") versus Asian ("blame the students") issue makes me suspect that there may well be some sort of conscious or subconscious bias going on.
It would take a saint to continue to behave wholly impartially when one believes that a conspiracy against one is afoot amongst another race, while one's own race supports and views one favorably.

Lightdemon

Well, race isn't really the deciding factor. It's the cultural perception of education, or actually the system of education.

And it isn't a Hispanic versus Asian issue. It's just that more Asians are prone to having the perception that the education system isn't in the wrong, and that thier children aren't trying hard enough. This is cultural.

The thing about this type of perception is that I don't know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing.

Layla_Z

First I have to say that in my experience this attitude of blaming the teacher has nothing to do with race or socio-economic background. I do see this attitude becoming much more common. It does affect school policy. For example take the decision whether or not to retain a student. Even if the teachers recommend it if the parents raise a big enough fuss the child will usually be promoted. Then we hear complaints from others of social promotion. Maybe the school leaders not back down but that is not always easy to do.

In some ways dealing with attitude improves policies. For example, last year my school began a big push to keep parents aware when their child doesn't turn in homework. As teachers we were required to notify the parent by phone whenever their child had a missing assignment. (this is high school) Part of the reason for this was so the parents wouldn't be surprised by a low grade at the end of the quarter. Do we still have parents complain that they don't understand why their child got a low grade? Sure we do, but I think this helps.

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obvious Child

Blaming the teacher is often a way to avoid a parent's responsibility in ensuring that their child is getting an education. Trying to pass off the kid's failure as well as their own failure on the teacher is pathetic. A teacher can only do so much. If the parent is unwilling to help the kid or at least make sure they are doing their homework and studying, then it is their fault. Not the teachers.

Granted there are plenty of terrible teachers. But they are also plenty of terrible parents.

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