15 September 2010

Student's Pet

At my school, most teachers basically shun the bad students if they can help it.  They try not to talk with them or otherwise interact with them.  I perfectly understand that and expect that to happen, because some of those kids are a real handful (not to mention their parents). 

What I didn't expect was how much effort teachers put into interacting with the good students. 

When teachers walk through the hallways at school, making their way through the sea of students, they usually have their eyes focused straight ahead, trying not to notice most of the students.  But if they happen to see some of the good students, they will stop immediately and chat, sometimes to the point of having to run to make it to their next class on time.

But there's more than that.  I've seen teachers compete against each other to get in the good students' good graces!  The students stop by the teachers' office to chat, and a teacher will come up and chat with them.  A few minutes later, another teacher will butt in, and before you know it, several teachers are around, trying to win their affection.  In addition, some teachers are lurking in the background, hoping the first teachers clear out soon so that they can move in and have the students to themselves.

I guess that shouldn't be surprising.  After all, teachers are supposed to like students, and good students make that a lot easier to do.  Still, the sheer difference in behavior towards the good students, as opposed to the not-so-good students, is quite interesting.

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