The GEM Debate:
Parents… Double Standard About THIS? 

Teacher’s pet.  Who didn’t covet that role in school?  You get the favor of a person you admire and who is in charge and maybe they look the other way when you don’t have your homework. Almost every teacher has a few favorites and it is a concept that has been accepted throughout time but in this article the practice is being questioned.

Here’s the problem.  A few days ago Rene went blog-a-blog (not really, but isn’t that a great word play?) with a dad who said that he had a favorite kid (and put it in writing, which was the thing Rene questioned), told us which kid it was, then got very upset that anyone could have a contrary opinion.  Boo.  Hiss.  Right?  I thought so, too, until I read the article about teachers having a favorite student.

So the thought pattern here is that at home we teach our children that they are equal and privy to equal amounts of love and favor from their parents.  No playing favorites. Yet when they get out into the “real world” we let their next biggest influencers, teachers, rank them and we accept that not only do they have a favorite, but, please-oh-please let that favorite be our kid?  Isn’t that a double standard?  I’m not saying that it’s wrong.  I’m saying that as a society we are sending mixed messages to our kids and around the blogosphere.  The world is subjective.  Of course, we all want our children to get a fair education, but I don’t think that they lack that just because one student is more favored than another.  And isn’t that really how it is with parents, too?  There’s no less love because one of your kids endears themselves to you for whatever reason and at that moment they may be your favorite.  I’m not sure if that’s what the dad who shouted from the mountaintops meant when he started telling people about his favorite kid, but I could get that.

Favoritism plays a big role in our society; our jobs, our families, even when we get traffic tickets we crave on some level we’ll be favored. And our kids have favorites…favorite television shows, favorite princesses, even favorite parents.  We don’t tell them they shouldn’t and they know that even though they love this doll today she could end up face down on the playground tomorrow.

“Some people have never taken their child’s feelings into account and social media is really just an extension of that. Putting things in print is a manifestation of what these kids probably (I said “probably”) see in their homes regularly. Ipso facto the parents see nothing wrong with posting it.”

That’s part of what I said in response to Rene’s post.  I still believe that.  I’m just going to have to think a little harder about it now that this teacher’s pet phenomenon has surfaced ans been put in print.

What do you guys think?  Do teachers get a pass in this or should they have to treat all kids equally leaving their emotions out of it?  Let me hear ya!

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