what are things that a teacher can and cannot do actually?

bears_school: It is very difficult to be a teacher nowadays. Teachers cannot punish or even scold at students when they break the school regulations. And, no matter what the teachers do, they are always being complained. For instance, when a classroom is too noisy as the students are actively involving in learning process, teacher will be complained that he or she cannot control the class. However, when a classroom is too quite as the students are passive, teacher will be said as he or she is authoritative, do not give a chance to students to talk. Sigh... in dilemma!

dvustimmer: I think the one thing teachers need to do is teach. Which sounds like a lame answer probably, but it is my feeling. Teachers are in a strange type of job where no matter what, like musicians, actor, presidents, they are more high profile than most of us. There is always going to be praise, some deserved, some not so well deserved, and there is always going to be criticism some deserved, some not deserved. You have to take it for what it is.

I know when I go to my kids conferences, even though I've not really meant these people (their teachers) and in alot of cases I don't even know what they look like, I go in with sort of a bias because my only knowledge of them is what my kids tell me. And kids do tell their parents what teachers they like and which ones they don't and why in large detail. And thier view can be very one sided.

Give you an example of what you are up against, my son is quite but like to push the boundies and do things nobody else does. So the teach gives them a list of debate topics they need to choose a side on and explain their view in a paper. Now this list is literally three pages long, somthing like 300 topics from Abortion issue to should Pete Rose remaid banned from baseball. So it was pretty broad. The teacher did say they could go and do a topic that was not on the list so long as they told the teach in a day or two what they would choose as their topic. My kid picked is Paul McCartney dead and was he replaced by an imposter Paul. When he told me that, I though wow, that's a brilliant topic. But the teacher denied that topic as there is nothing substancial there of fact. He was pissed and told me all sorts of bad things on her.So I call her up to complain because I thought it was just brilliant and she was being an idiot She told me her take on me from my own kids is I know about everything there is to know about the Beatles and she wanted him to have to work alittle harder than just asking Dad everything. So ok, I stood corrected. Still it was a great topic.

bears_school: What you did is correct because at least you tried to talk with the teacher to understand the real situation. But, the case i encountered is the father of my student, he just simply made the judgment that i am not up to be a teacher by listening to what his daughter's complaint about me that i cannot improve her result. He is also a teacher should know that students' achievement cannot rely on one-sided effort. it should be two sided ; teacher and students have to cooperate to accomplish it.