As an educator, I feel that teachers are held in a high regard so much that we are expected to be miracle workers. Our job is an important one, but we only have our students eight hours a day and can only do but so much. We need more parents to assist with homework, studying and making sure their children are accountable and responsible. If our students only look at our lessons during the school day and it is never reinforced at home, then our children will remain behind the ball. They will not retain what we are teaching and will only know it for the moment it is taught. This is making our job as educators that much harder. It is the parent’s responsibility to teach their children how to be responsible for their own learning. We can't make students do homework or study at home, only the parents can! If a child is not successful in school, it needs to start with the actual child (what are they NOT doing), and then with the parents before the finger is pointed at the teacher!
Joy Stewart is a veteran writer and works as a middle school English teacher. I have worked in this field for thirteen years and am an alumni of Florida A&M University.