World domination, superiority complex, “I am better than you because I’m wiser and older and you’re just a child.” Elements previously seen surrounding the minds of teachers and educators. If you’re an adult or a senior citizen you probably don’t pay much attention to it or even understand it, but if you’re someone my age I think that you too can think of moments where you’ve seen this happen, either to others or yourself.
Most adults think very highly of themselves. They often put younger generations down for no reason at all, the excuses for that is that they have lived longer, they work, they have been through tough times. I understand where they come from, things aren’t easy the older you get, life is very difficult to manage but that is not at all any excuse or validation that they are better. With teachers, the pattern that I’ve seen is that they went to school and got an education, they are certified to teach therefore they are smarter. I have felt as if they are looking down on me, like I’m really nothing else than some kid. A kid is all I am to them. I have felt degraded and disrespected which is certainly not something that a person trying to learn should feel. It really puts me down, disintegrates my confidence and blows my self-esteem off the table. It can lead to building resentment for the teacher and the class itself, performance goes down, grades go down, and many other things can happen following that. One little thing, one action from a teacher can change the whole result of my academic success, and all because of their superiority complex.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that they don’t care much about our lives outside of that class. They don’t sympathize with our stress, our worries. It’s almost as if we didn’t have a life outside of school. Many of us have jobs, do sports, or simply find ourselves not being able to complete with all academic needs because there’s so much to them. I am aware that the amount of work that they give is not up to them because they are doing their job after all and there’s a curriculum to follow but what I am complaining about is their lack of sympathy. When asked if they could get give an extension I’ve heard of teachers responding like “you’ve had time to do it or “your classmates were able to complete it just fine” and what they mean by having time is that you had maybe a week or so to complete it but no class time to do it, so it was all on your own. I don’t understand that, people have different lives and go through so many things. There have been times where I have found myself in a position where I am struggling with a topic, there’s multiple assignments from all of my classes, my personal life is really complicated at the moment and the overwhelming feelings consume me.
I’ve felt so lost and so vulnerable, trying to function and do things like everyone else is one of the most exhausting things during those moments and when I voiced my distress about not being able to complete an assignment on time and my struggles with the topic being so foreign to me that it feels like I’m learning a new language all over again and everyone just looks at me like I’m an exotic creature from another place. They said “you’re an AP student.” My most hated term, it feels like getting called the name of the kid across the room, it doesn’t belong to me. Why is it that when you’re taking certain classes you get treated differently? Why are students taking advanced and AP classes treated as if they didn’t need any help, as if they can just deal with their issues or they don’t have issues? You’re held to such a high standard that when you don’t meet the “AP” expectations you’re considered a disappointment or the odd one out. Students taking regular classes go through the same thing, in a way they are looked down upon because they are simply taking a slightly different course. Teachers don’t expect much out of them since they “can’t handle a challenge,” but those students could make up some of the best athletes, best artists, best musicians, and many more.
Students should not be treated differently based on the course in life that they decided to take, everyone deserves the same respect and the same help, but this concept has started to die down. Teenagers are perceived as emotional and rebellious people, often ignored because whatever issue they have, like declining mental health, parents getting divorced, continuous questioning about what the future holds and how you’ll be able to survive, worries about the declining economy, global warming. It’s not really important, right? Well, to adults and others, since apparently we have not suffered anything and there are worse issues out there. What people fail to grasp is the fact that what we are experiencing is the most and the worst we’ve gone through. We are in transition to the “real world,” our emotions and struggles are real regardless if we’ll experience worse in the future, something that does not matter a single bit right now.
Teachers please remember that you went through this too. Take into consideration that the world is also rapidly advancing and things aren’t the same anymore, not the issues, the emotions, our society, nothing. Empathize with the people under you and teach them in the right way, don’t discourage us, show us how to do things, help us manage the workload and provide help when needed. It is up to you to guide us and mentor us, this will dictate our future.
