Parents Want Teachers To Change The Way They Discipline Students At School Because They Let Kids ‘Run All Over Them’ At Home
Teachers aren't supposed to be re-parenting a child in the classroom.
BalanceFormCreative / Shutterstock A public school educator is urging parents to stop leaving the discipline of their children in the hands of their teachers.
In a TikTok video, Teresa Kaye Newman, a music teacher and content creator responded to a comment from a viewer who claimed that there needs to be a "shift" in the way teachers handle students because the traditional methods in the classroom aren't working anymore.
Parents are urging teachers to change the way they discipline students because they let kids 'run all over them' at home.
"People want schools to shift the way that we discipline kids because parents refuse to tell their kids no at home," Newman began.
She insisted that the need to change how teachers discipline isn't a result of how much children have changed but rather how much parenting has changed.
Newman brought up the viral videos that have been circulating of tween girls bulldozing their way into stores like Sephora and Ulta and running over all adults, including their parents. She claimed that parents are letting their kids "run the show" at home, and therefore, they use that same behavior out in public, especially at schools.
"You let them bully you into buying whatever they want without giving them any boundaries. Then you expect everyone else to toe the line in the same way," she continued. "What we are desperately trying to do is point out the fact that the people in charge of raising these kids are not doing their job."
A frustrated Newman acknowledged the irony of how some parents are expecting schools to shift their entire framework and how they manage classroom behaviors just because they can't tell their child no and teach them the proper way to act in public. She likened it to parents being unable to tell their 9-year-old child that they can't have that $50 bottle of Retinol cream and instead getting it for them because they can't say no.
She maintained that parents need to stop expecting schools and teachers to reparent their children because they can't do it at home. The traditional methods of disciplining children in the classroom aren't working anymore and it's because teachers no longer have the backing of the child's support system at home.
"The parent has issues with the traditional method, and when we talk about traditional methods of handling students, we're not talking about something traumatic or abusive," she insisted. "We're talking about simply setting boundaries and holding boundaries at the adult in the room."
Newman criticized parents who don't know how to put their foot down and properly discipline their children.
She explained that she shouldn't have to see videos of parents taking their children into stores like Ulta and running over other adults just to get what they want. She claimed that children shouldn't be throwing tantrums, or calling adults, especially their parents, rude or disrespectful names just because they aren't promised something that they want.
"You know what trust is? Trust is taking my kid into a store because I told them I was gonna do something nice for them, like buy them a lip gloss, and trusting that they're not gonna act like a complete fool and call me names because they're not getting what they want," Newman said.
It's not about children being unable to understand because they're young. It's about children not understanding how to behave in public or how to treat people with kindness and respect because their parents have not taught them how to respect themselves and other adults.
Newman insisted that disciplining your children and not getting them that product you promised earlier because they were misbehaving isn't "abusive" or "bad parenting." If anyone thinks that, then they may need to reevaluate their parenting style.
"I should not have a parent coming up to school and arguing with me about the behavior of your child," Newman remarked. "I will never conceive of the idea that we have to let these children run the show. We are constantly and daily failing our kids and guiding them on how to behave in public and in spaces where they need to learn and grow."
Teachers are often expected to go above and beyond to provide the best education and classroom environment for all of their students. They are underappreciated and underpaid, and teachers shouldn't have to worry about disciplining unruly children whose parents are turning a blind eye to their bad behaviors.
Teachers aren't supposed to be parents, and parents are not supposed to be public school educators. The roles have long ago been assigned and it's time for parents to realize that their children's behaviors and attitudes fall on their shoulders, not anyone else's.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.