Educators please remember how you can affect a child’s future

I am fiercely protective of my children; I am that dad that you do not want on campus when my kids do not feel safe, when they feel threatened, belittled or demeaned as a student. This not to say I am violent because I am not, this is not to say that I start shouting at teachers because I do not, especially since I am an educator myself.

What it does mean is I believe the school and the profession of teaching owes my kids (all our kids) the right to succeed. They owe my kids the right to feel safe, appreciated, and encouraged.

As educators, we have to watch our words, are methods, and the message we are sending to kids. If you send them home because you do not like their haircut what does that tell them except how they look is more important than their education (not to mention it is 100% subjective). It can be worse for young ladies because they are being judged it seems on so many things.

If you tell a child that they will never be good at math, guess what is going to happen? If you tell a child they are disruptive simply because you do not like them, guess what is going to happen? If you put a kid in handcuffs at school for being defiant guess what is going to happen? What we do can affect how they feel and perform in school; and this can be a lifelong affect.

My kids are fortunate because my wife and I advocate fiercely for our kids, we were brought up in educated families and we never settle for mediocre if we know you can do better. We know how to navigate the sometimes murky waters. But what happens if you are a parent that does not? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-aves-challenger/when-elementary-school-cr_b_8507610.html?utm_hp_ref=education&ir=Education

Educators remember the power you possess, remember the responsibility you have been bestowed with, and remember that it is all about the kids not us.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam