A teacher gives her students low scores for not completing their homework and is fired for not respecting school policy
After teaching for over 15 years in Florida, history teacher Diane Tirado had to learn at her own expense a harsh truth about the modern public education system.
Namely, that protecting students from disappointments seems to have become more important than giving them life lessons.
It all started when the history teacher decided to give her class a summer homework assignment which was to keep a sort of travel diary, similar to those that the pioneers and explorers kept in the 1500s.
The project was simply to create a notebook containing maps, objects, and text, all to be assembled and completed over a period of two weeks.
A few days later, the history teacher was called into the principal's office.
In the days immediately following the assignment of the homework task, students and parents had begun to complain that the project, according to the latter, was too burdensome for their children!
The teacher to her great surprise was reprimanded by the principal. But this was only the beginning.
Youtube ScreenShot/ABC13 Houston
After the allotted two weeks, some students, probably supported by their parents, showed up in class without their homework project. They did not come in with a half-filled or badly completed notebook --- no, they came to the classroom without bringing anything!
Therefore, the teacher, following the evaluation rules that are set and used at the school, evaluated them with a "zero" (0) score, because those students had not given her anything to judge or evaluate.
The history teacher was recalled again by the principal, who informed her that their "guidelines" actually meant that even when a student does not do anything at all, they are still supposed to be assigned a five (5), to avoid compromising the rest of their school year.
The teacher did not agree because according to her ethics, five (5) meant a "task done badly", while those students who had done absolutely nothing instead deserved a zero (0)!
Her dedication and ethics have cost her dearly! In fact, the principal, who definitely did not want to stand up and back her against the horde of angry parents, fired her on the spot.
Diane Tirado had to leave the school immediately and permanently on a Friday afternoon after she finished her classes, escorted off the premises by a school security guard.
Realizing that she would have no way to say goodbye to all her students, she left the following message to her students on the classroom whiteboard:
"Bye Kids. Mrs. Tirado loves you and wishes you the best in life! I have been fired for refusing to give you a 50% for not handing anything in. 💕Mrs. Tirado
The history teacher, Mrs. Tirado, took a picture of her message and decided to send it to all her students, as well as post it on her Facebook profile. She did not expect that she would touch such a sensitive nerve regarding the public school system.
In fact, in only a few hours her posted message had been shared and commented thousands of times, stimulating a debate that eventually reached the television networks.
The debate, still open today, focuses on the balance between academic rigor and judgment. There are many voices raised in support of the history teacher, claiming the right of teachers to impart not only school lessons but also life lessons.
As a matter of fact, getting a bad grade is fundamental for students! It allows them to experience the feeling of defeat, that should push students to become more responsible for their actions and the resulting consequences so that they can be stimulated to do their best.
What future generation of men and women are we raising if we continue to protect them at all costs?
