It happens in social settings, at conferences, or when I am invited to give my military history and Remembrance Day presentations at schools. At some point, a school administrator will bring up some variation of the following question: Have you ever thought of coming back to the classroom? We sure can use someone with your experience.
Invariably, the principal will follow up with a familiar pitch: many schools today, struggling to find and keep experienced male teachers, could use the skills and experience of someone like me who has prevailed in the profession for almost 30 years. One who “has seen it all” and is qualified to teach a whole gauntlet of subjects from the primary and junior grades to high school law, history, English as a second language, guidance, and religion. Not to mention additional time spent early in my high school career, occasionally teaching subjects such as business, accounting, computers, media studies, and workplace math, despite having no formal accreditation in these areas.
Occasionally Miss Teaching
And frankly, I must admit that I do occasionally miss the times with my overall well-behaved, teachable, applied, and academic classes during my early and mid-career. Absolutely, they weren’t always ivory tower “academic,” but that didn’t mean they weren’t smart and savvy in other productive ways. If they showed respect to others and to me, and were willing to learn, I was ready to teach and adjust my style appropriately.
Of course, there were the occasional violent bullies, gang wannabes, and entitled, uncaring narcissist-types, all of whom would be collectively categorized and addressed today under the more palatable term “behavioural.” But our principals back then were usually firm and resolute, making sure the one or two bad disciplinary apples in each class did not waste my precious teaching time or spoil the learning experience of the remaining 20 to 30 other students, who each had the exact same right to a safe class and a positive learning experience. Furthermore, if any student refused to make an effort, try or hand in work, then they typically failed the course, pure and simple.
But Those Days Are Over
But those days are over, and my answer to returning to the classroom has to be a firm no! I simply cannot naively pretend to think that I can go back into today’s Kafkian, institutionally-permissive and chaotic classroom and be free to be the same strict teacher I was allowed to be 25 to 35 years ago. Can you really think you can assign me the duty of maintaining order in the classroom without giving me the autonomy and the right to maintain that same order?
The last few years of my profession, until my retirement in 2019, saw the intentional lowering (AKA modification) of standards, an aversion to assigning failing grades for poor or no work, and the elimination of strict disciplinary consequences for harassing and violent behaviour. No longer could teachers rely on today’s hip, hug-a-bully, Triple W (weak, woke, and witless) principals to stand up for them against violent students and harassing parents. If my frequent communications with colleagues still in the profession and union officers are any indication, it has all become worse since I left. Much worse!
Too Many Living Through Woke Blinders
And I simply can’t live the lie that way too many teachers and administrators are living through their woke blinders, toxic positivity, and virtue-signalling echo chambers. That is, in some absurdly abstract way, the duties of the teacher, as still defined in the Ontario Education Act as inculcating “by precept and example respect for religion and the principles of Judaeo-Christian morality and the highest regard for truth, justice, loyalty, love of country, humanity, benevolence, sobriety, industry, frugality, purity, temperance and all other virtues,” can be achieved by essentially teaching and encouraging the opposite.
But let’s make a deal, Ms. Principal: I loved being part of the teaching profession back when it was respectable by demanding respect. So, when the day comes when you can assure me, and all teachers, that you will support and stand up for us, and not shift the blame on us if a violent student threatens or attacks, I might reconsider. When the day comes that I can actually position “love of country” as an overriding theme in all my history, law and civics lessons, I might reconsider. And when out-of-control bullies (AKA oppositional defiance disorder) are not allowed by you to run amok, then I might reconsider.
No can do! Then I will continue to study and work post-retirement here in the “real world of business” where harassment and workplace violence are not tolerated, where management-mandated chaos does not occur, and where failure to perform brings consequences, not indulgences.
Robert Smol is a retired teacher and military veteran. He is currently completing a Ph.D in military history.
