LETTERS: PARENTS SHARE RESPONSIBILITIES WITH TEACHERS

To the editor:

This is in response to the people who seem to think that just because their kids are at school, the teachers are responsible for the way they act or talk.

I am not a teacher. I am a parent. While I do know that teachers are responsible for helping our children learn, ensuring that they have a nurturing learning environment and setting a good moral example for them, there are a lot more children than there are teachers. Even if they skipped their planning periods or if they skipped eating lunch, there still would not be enough teachers to monitor each and every child.

Furthermore, these children would not be using their filthy gutter-mouthed language if they weren't hearing it somewhere else. While I realize that not all children hear it at home, it does start in someone's home somewhere. A teacher is not responsible for what the child learns at home or away from school. They are not responsible for the morals instilled in our children. They only try to teach them to live their life to the best of their functioning abilities.

If a teacher observes a child speaking or acting inappropriately toward another student, they will see that the parent is aware of it as well as handling the discipline at school.

Please let up on our educators; they're becoming a rare breed because of parents who don't want to accept responsibility for their own children's actions. I say hats off to our teachers. They are doing the best job they can with the children we send to them.

SHERRY L. HOERNIG

Benton, Mo.