Dr. Howell Wright

There used to be a basic understanding that teachers deserved a baseline level of respect. Schools operated under the principle of in loco parentis, meaning “in the place of the parent.” When children were at school, teachers were trusted to set boundaries, correct behavior, and keep order. Respect for adults was assumed. It was not something teachers had to negotiate for every day. Most of us remember getting in trouble at school and worrying a whole lot more about what was going to happen when we got home. Because home and school were usually on the same side. Your parents may have asked what happened. They may have disagreed with a consequence once in a while. But you knew better than to walk through the door acting like the teacher was the problem. You were going to be asked one question first. “What did you do?” That did not mean teachers were always right. It meant adults believed in correcting children without turning every consequence into a courtroom. Too often now, some parents approach schools more like lawyers than partners. Instead of asking, “How do we help my child learn from this?” the first response becomes, “Why did you do this to my child?” Students watch all of it. They learn that expectations can be debated. Consequences can be negotiated. And if they push hard enough, an adult may be the one who has to defend themselves. That is a very different classroom. Yes, classroom management matters. Teachers should continue learning how to build relationships, prevent problems, respond calmly, and create a room where students can learn. But we cannot pretend skill is the whole issue. A teacher can have strong relationships, clear expectations, consistent routines, and still be cursed at for taking up a phone. They can be threatened for enforcing a rule. They can be publicly attacked for holding a boundary. They can even be assaulted for doing the job they were hired to do. That is not a classroom-management problem. That is a cultural problem. Teachers did not create a culture where enforcing expectations is treated as aggression. They did not create a culture where accountability is optional or where a parent’s first instinct is to protect a child from every consequence. But teachers are expected to manage the fallout from it. So when we blame burnout, turnover, and silence on teachers needing “better classroom management,” we miss what is really happening. This is not just about skill. It is about risk. Teachers should not have to worry about personal safety, retaliation, or public backlash for enforcing the expectations their school has put in place. Classroom management did not fail. The social contract did

100 years of Gallup research says this is true of adults and its even more true of children.

If you have served in public education for 20 years or more, this post is for you. You are part of the roughly 28% who entered public-school teaching and were still in the profession two decades later. So for the veteran teachers and staff who have served for 20 years, 25 years, 30 years, and beyond, this is to celebrate you! You have endured some of the most difficult changes education has ever faced. You witnessed standardized testing grow into an overwhelming system of high-stakes pressure, excessive data collection, and constant documentation. You adapted to new standards, new technology, new programs, and an endless cycle of initiatives. You carried students and families through COVID, even while facing your own fears, losses, and uncertainty. You have watched respect for educators decline while expectations continued to rise. You have been asked to do more with less, solve problems you did not create, and meet needs that extend far beyond the classroom. And yet, you continued to show up. You taught the lesson again. You encouraged the struggling student. You supported the overwhelmed colleague. You welcomed the nervous parent. You kept schools functioning during some of the toughest years education has ever experienced. Most people will never fully understand what it takes to dedicate decades of your life to serving students, families, and communities. They will never know how many evenings, weekends, personal dollars, and pieces of your heart you have invested. There are adults walking through the world today who are stronger, wiser, and more confident because you once believed in them. To every teacher and staff member who has served for 20 years or more: Thank you for your dedication. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your wisdom. Thank you for caring for our children. Thank you!