Mr. Pfizer understood this and knew it was the school’s responsibility
to provide alternatives. Most students liked being in the lunchroom, if
not necessarily eating the food provided. In his school, good order was
maintained by two assigned physical education teachers, one of whom
combined a marine drill sergeant’s voice and demeanor with the under-
standing of a mother or older sister. But, Mr. Pfizer also tried to provide
places for those who wanted alternatives.
Students on the Principal’s Advisory Council gave excellent sugges-
tions and Mr. Pfizer listened. A computer room was made available to
students during their lunch periods. This worked well until budget cuts
made it impossible to pay for the supervision of the room. Students who
wanted to read or study were released from the lunchroom to go to the
library. And, the most popular alternative, students could become moni-
tors in an office. There were many offices at the school, all capable of
handling several students during each lunch period. These alternatives
provided places for students who “didn’t eat lunch” to eat lunch.
Not liking the lunchroom is a relatively minor issue. More serious ones
come out of remarks such as “I want to be transferred out of this class,”
or “My teacher doesn’t like me.” These remarks sometimes translate
into “I don’t want to do all the work assigned in this class.” In some
cases, the school leader may find that the teacher is actually asking for
too much work for the grade level of the class. In such a case, she needs
to work with the teacher to assign the appropriate amount of work for
the grade level. In other cases, “My teacher doesn’t like me” translates
into “I don’t like the teacher’s manner.” An example of this is discussed
in chapter 2.
Sometimes, the complaint means exactly what the student says: “I can’t
understand the teacher.” In the not-so-distant past, when there were severe
teaching shortages, departments of education recruited teachers from other
countries. This makes sense if you need a native speaker to teach Spanish.
It doesn’t make sense when you need a math or science teacher and you
recruit someone whose English is very poor or heavily accented.
Students who have difficulty understanding a subject like math to begin
with just cannot deal with such a teacher. Yes, we are a multicultural so-
ciety and we respect the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of all. How-
ever, students have a right to a teacher who speaks English correctly.
Speak Little; Listen a Lot 29