Wouldn't it be great if we could all work in different school environments so we could appreciate what we have and strive for what we don't? My background is a bad inner-city school and a high functioning inner-city school. I've never worked in the suburbs. But today I talked to a teacher from the suburbs. She lamented how she missed working in tha hood. She was tired of the disrespect. I thought you have a problem with disrespect? As it turns out some of her students are somewhat wealthy so they look down on teachers. It probably didn't help that she was African American.
My definition of disrespect is much different! At my old school, I'd get cussed out every day. I'd get physically threatened on a regular basis. Just so you know, my students didn't do it that much; it was usually students in the hallway. But still, that type of disrespect is a completely different monster. In order to consider working at such a school, you must understand this: African American kids are the most forgiving kids you'll ever meet. They'll blow up at you one day and you'll blow up at them. Then it's over. That's it. No anti-depressant medication necessary for the student, no parent conference (usually), no resulting school shooting (Sorry suburban schools! I couldn't resist.) In my 6 years, I've never noticed a student look down on me because I'm just a teacher. I've heard of teachers in rich districts complain about that.
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