Teachers must Accept Responsibility for Student Failure

Teachers must accept partial responsibility for the failure of any of their students.
Describe a specific situation in which a teacher might justifiably not accept some responsibility for the failure of a student. Discuss what you think determines whether or not teachers should accept some responsibility for the failure of one of their students.
___


For the past decade or so, the quality of American schools has increasingly drawn scrutiny. Student scores in math and reading in most states have dropped relative to other countries in the world. Americans fear that the abilities of students in rising economic powers, such as China and India, have surpassed those of the United States. In effect, the legislature has passed several laws in attempt to raise standards in American schools. For example, the "No Child Left Behind" act has focused on teachers and the need to make them more accountable to student performance. In a sense, the reforms force schools and teachers to accept partial responsibility for the failure of any of their students.

To an extent, teachers should accept some responsibility when the students fail. The concept of "failure," of course, can be subjective. Each class has different structures of grading---for instance, what qualifies as a B in one class may be an F in another class. Federal reforms have attempted to level the playing field by holding schools and students to the same standards. Namely, national standardized testing helps judge whether schools and teachers are doing an adequate job. The failure of students on the test has resulted in schools not receiving funding and teachers being fired. In a sense, it is important for teachers to know whether their students are meeting standards. By taking responsibility for student failure, a teacher can start to modify his teaching style and reach out to at-risk students in order to improve future results. By not accepting responsibility, a teacher become complacent and feel that there is absolutely nothing she can do to positively affect a student's future.

Granted, there are some cases where a teacher might not justifiably accept some responsibility for a student's failure. It can be argued that the failure of some urban schools to meet national standards is a systemic problem. Teachers cannot be blamed in these cases where a number of obstacles stand in the way of student academic success. Some of these factors include poor family environment, endemic drug use in the community, lack of respect for education in a cultural setting, etc. All these obstacles converge and essentially ensure that children will not become productive members of society. Undoubtedly, there is not a lot that teachers can do to intervene in this downward spiral.

While there may exist "hopeless" cases, teachers would better serve their students if they take responsibility for their student's failure. Teachers may not have the ability to motivate an at-risk kid to attend college and receive a degree. However, they can nurture practical life skills that might just prevent them from joining a gang or selling drugs. Just the simple act of showing that they care may make even a slight difference in the future of children who have been neglected their whole lives. Indeed, a system that allows teachers to just sit back and accept failure in their students further contributes to America's downfall and inability to compete in the world economy.