They Say: Teachers Can Pre-Hate Your Kid

Turns out teachers really do pre-judge your kids based on reputation alone. So your little hellion is in for a hell of a year.

You’re packing up the moving van right now, aren’t you?

The news that your kids have already screwed themselves out of a fair shake (or maybe it’s their bratty older sibling . . . or was it your school days?) comes out of Britain, where researchers say teachers have a hard time seeing children as “good” when their reputation precedes them.

The kids who will have the hardest time, they say, are those whose bad behaviour seems indicative of their home environment. Bad seed anyone?

I can’t help but wonder if teachers’ instant judgment of those kids is based on the knowledge that a “bad” home life means the teacher won’t get support from the parents during the school year. The biggest gripe I hear from teacher friends are the parents who either stick up for their kids at all costs (even when the little brat is at fault) or the parents who haven’t a clue. In those cases, it’s the parents who make the teacher’s life miserable, not the kid.

I always found the bias worked more than one way. I was the over-achieving smarty pants, which every teacher expected my younger brother to live up to (he’s smart too – but in different ways). On the other hand, the childhood pranks of elder relatives engendered no endearment from certain older teachers in my small town.

Do you feel like your child’s teacher made up their mind about your kid before classes even started?

Image:Parents Connect

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