Current Parenting Strategies in Relation to a Teacher's Past Experiences and Culture

As I have been working in the elementary school setting in Irvine, I have come to conclude that culture plays somewhat of a part in parenting styles, expectations and outlook on education. I have observed that majority of the students have support at home and a structured set of expectations. However, there are also a handful of students in every class who do not seem to have an established set of expectations in the home setting. As a result, I feel that the students come to school in the classroom setting without the exposure to structure, rules, and/or consequences. 

In the Korean culture, a teacher is an individual who is respected and looked up to. Having parents who immigrated from Korea, whatever my teacher said, went. If the teacher said I needed to improve in a certain area, that same day, I was enrolled in an after-school learning center or a private tutor was hired. If I had any sort of behavior issue, I had serious consequences at home and an apology letter to the teacher would be mandatory. If the homework assignment was to read for 20 minutes a day, I had to read for an hour. 

With that said, now that I am a teacher, I am recognizing that my mentality on education, teachers, and school differ from many of the students I have who are apart of a different generation.  I feel that some of the differences are attributed to the fact that I was raised in America with Korean parents with the same culture and values of Korea.  I do see similarities to how I was raised in other Korean-American students. However, there are also those students who have outrageous behaviors which I find to be mind boggling.   When I was younger, saying, "No, I don't want to" to an authority figure would have never been an option. Screaming and/or throwing a fit would have never been an option. However, now those actions can be observed in most classrooms. Not only can it be seen in the classroom, but it can be seen in how the children respond and interact with their parents at school. From my experiences, I understand that a teachers role is to educate students. However, I also feel that because some parents aren't providing their children with distinct outlines of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors, it has also become the teachers job to do so. 

It could be that I feel this way because of my culture and experiences. Other educators may not agree. However, I think that all students should be raised with respect for their teachers and parents, which should be exemplified in their actions at school and home.