Dealing with Demanding and Entitled Parents is the Worst Part of Their Job, Teachers Say

Parents Taking Advantage of Teachers Teachers Complaining about Students' Parents Worst Part of a Teacher's Job Demanding and Entitled Parents Educators vs. Parents Verbal Abuse in Teachers

By Jo Anne Hubert , Parent Herald Oct 31, 11:15 am

Teachers are under a lot of pressure. The shortage of teachers means a growing workload for those who are on the job, added with the demands of their complex job, many teachers are burnt out.

And, unfortunately, the parents of their students are not helping at all. In fact, they might just be the cause why the situation is getting worse.

Kirsten Lambert, Senior Lecturer in English and Graduate Research in Murdoch University, revealed in her research, which she also wrote in The Conversation, that there is an alarming increase of abuse of teachers from parents and it is weakening their desire to stay in the profession.

What are the teachers saying?

Over the past ten years. Lambert has interviewed more than 80 teachers across 4 different studies - teachers from government and independent schools, from primary and secondary schools, from remote and rural communities, and those from their early careers.

Her research found 3 consistent themes. First, teachers are passionate about teaching. Second, their job is incredibly stressful, and yet it does not come with enough support. Lastly, teaching is a profession that is increasingly gets disrespected by the community based on media reports about school, comments from political leaders, and parent's behavior towards teachers,

Chloe, an independent primary school teacher, when asked about the best and worst thing about teaching, answered that the kids are the best thing, while the worst are the parents.

As to why parents are the worst, Chloe's fellow teachers can testify.

While teachers are caring and protective to their students, their parent-like characters and intentions can lead to some parents taking advantage. Teachers become their outsource of parenting, discipline, and child minding.

A teacher in private school, Ross, stated that parents want to get their money's worth. Thus, parents want teachers to be accountable and would want to parent them as well.

Teachers also spoke of their time not being respected or valued by parents. Krystal narrated how she had to wait until 1 in the morning for parents to pick up their kids after an evening activity, excursion or rehearsal.

Teachers also express verbal abuse from parents. A teacher highlighted how kids have traumas and issues, but 9 times out of 10, it is the parents that have more issues.

Max recalled how parents would phone up during lunch and yell that the teacher is useless, that their children should have gotten an A and that the teacher does not know anything about the job. Max expressed how stressful it was.

In a big, new COVID-19-era survey from an American Psychological Association task force, it was reported that school administrators were the ones most often caught in the crossfire with 42 percent who experienced verbal aggression from parents, and 29 percent of teachers experiencing the same.

Teachers are achingly taking blows from all sides, and unfortunately, most of the time, they feel like no one is hearing and seeing them.

Teaching is a 'vital job'

An ex-secondary school teacher, Shona Hendley stated that she can attest to Lambert's findings.

She taught in a government senior secondary school in Melbourne's west for 4 years, and had varied experience with parents.

She shared how while most parents were supportive and affirmed her value as an educator, many simply did not and could not. Experiencing lack of respect and parents looking down at her experiences, training, and judgments, were not only devaluing but also time-consuming and stressful.

"Regardless of how many hours you think teachers work, the fact is they are doing the vital job of educating our future adults, so treating them like second-rate citizens isn't going to benefit anyone, it's just going to make a bad problem worse," Hendley bravely declared in an article she wrote for News.Com.