Tell me what you really think.
THANK YOU.
I think I agree with just about every word, clause, and piece of punctuation that you used. I have started to tell people that I love teaching, but that teaching unfortunately is only about 30% of my job.
Thanks for a great post.
I love it when you talk teaching.
This is a must read- parents, educators and students.
Naturally, we will have more to say on the subject.
As a parent who has definite issues with the education system AND many complaints about a small group of "teachers"...I totally just gave you a standing ovation.
I mean it.
I always wonder HOW, in this day and age, parents can act and react the way that they do with their snotty/bratty/asshat kids. My kids ain't perfect, but they damn well know how to behave decently.
No one wants to take responsibility for ANYTHING anymore...and they don't teach their kids how to take it either.
I'm almost to the point where I think it should be mandatory military school for everyone.
xoxoxox
You rock.
Your post reminded me of a comment one of my students made last year when she was moping around because her mother wouldn't give her money to buy a yearbook. "We have money to buy her beer and cigarettes, but she won't give me any money to buy a yearbook." I wanted to that mother and shake her until her head rattled.
I am one of those teachers who was accused of racism because I had high expectations of each one of my students and didn't let someone get away with being a "jerk" because of the colour of his skin. Thanks for telling it like it is sometimes.
A-FREAKING-MEN.
I wish I had something articulate to say or add, but you hit every damn nail right on their demanding little heads. 
By the way, I just started my fourth year teaching in NYC and now I've started my fourth year of fantasizing about cushier jobs in the burbs and the charter schools. I WILL be doing one of those next year.
I've been in a public school classroom for 28 years, and I've seen and felt all of this. I teach in an upscale school where I mainly still get to teach, when I'm not doing those tedious, non-educational tasks. But it is still so discouraging. We are trying to institute a very strict, NO EXCEPTIONS cell phone turned off during class time ban. For most of us, electronics have turned our classrooms into circuses, so it's long overdue. However, we are extremely likely to get VERY irate phone calls from parents. They'll be furious that they can't call their child during 3rd period to remind him or her of a dental appointment, tell him to pick up a loaf of bread, etc...I keep thinking that I must be the crazy one, and they are normal--so thanks for this post, on many levels.
Last year, I spent doing classroom management in a low-SES public high school... and at the end of the year, even though there were MANY bright spots, I was wondering if I was truely cut out for teaching.
This year, I'm teaching in an equally low-SES public charter middle school - and I know I've found my home. The students are adorable, attentive, *prepared* and well behaved! I don't need to worry about classroom management, and my administration won't make me get a sub to do new-teacher training until the end of the month - instead of the 3rd day! It's a whole 'nother world, and it's fabulous...
So Amen to what you've said. Students who expect, and have the rules enforced upon them are a joy and a delight - and those who are allowed to avoid consequences for their decisions are truly the causes of teacher burnout.
I've never commented before, (we seem to have met at blogHer, althought the whole weekend is a blur to me - too many people) but I felt that I needed to comment on this one. It's a simple comment, but heartfelt.
Bravo!
I've been in the classroom for 28 years, and after reading this, I want to...weep out of sheer frustration and exhaustion and exhileration that I am not alone.
Bravo!
AMEN!
That is all I can say -- you said it all already!
May I print this to put in our staff room? The teachers I work with could use a reminder that we do not have to tolerate all the crap.
Well said!
Well said, Mamacita!
And people asked me why I, a single mom, scrimped,sacrificed and saved in order to send my daughter to Lutheran schools (K through High School)
Every year I had to sign 'the rules.' No exceptions. Every parent was required to volunteer 20 hours per year with the kids. Everyone was accountable for their child's behavior.
Yes, I could have sent her to public school and bought more 'things' but in my mind there was no choice.
Yes, it was worth it when she started her first year of college and had better writing skills than most second-year college students.
I wish the system supported teachers like you!
I SO love that this is how you roll!! There are lot of people out there who should NOT be increasing their own gene pool. Seriously, where do some of these people come from and HOW in the HELL can they think that some of this behavior is OK and should be excused?
I commend any teacher that can put up with the idiots and their offspring and somehow muddle through and teach the kids that are actually paying attention and are required by their parents to put in a good effort and learn.
I'm happy you've found a place where you can practice the profession you so dearly love. Your students are lucky...VERY lucky to have you.
After 32 years teaching I can agree with you 100%
Good Job
Wow. You have hit the nail on the head as to why I am no longer interested in teaching. Bang! Dead on.
I hate that our schools have become places that cater to the "least," by which I mean the ones who aren't willing to do anything but complain and NOT those with less of anything. I had a friend who had an IEP for a student that said he had unlimited time to turn work in. At the end of the year, he had turned very little in (if anything of substance, which I highly doubt) and she was told that he could not be given an F because he has a problem concentrating on homework. It took him six months' time to concentrate on the first worksheet?! Where are his parents? He has a problem all right: A problem with lack of parental supervision and support, so he slacks off and refuses to work.
ACT scores are declining while grades given are increasing, which begs the question of what is being called "grade inflation" by many educators. I wonder how much of this is because too many teachers now just teach to the "least" and forget that they have students who are there to learn. And want to learn.
Equality has gone by the wayside. Now we do the least possible to get the kids out the door with that piece of paper. My husband teaches at a local university and he has a lot of freshman, most of whom expect to do nothing all semester (not even show up to class) and then contest their grade at the end because they didn't get the grade they "wanted."
Not all teachers are like this and not all school districts cater to it, but it seems to be more and more prevalent. When will the US become wiser and more honest about its educational system and actually start to educate?
*sighs* (Sorry. You hit a sore spot. I had to petition in high school to plan my own classes and do independent studies of my own design because I wasn't learning anything. When a student has to take the initiative to be taught anything of substance, it paints a sad picture of our educational system.)
I think it's sad that there's so much frustration among teachers, students and parents out there.
I agreed with many of your points, but not all by a long shot.
I attribute much of what our ADHD son was able to accomplish in school to a partnership between the teachers and us, as well as a commitment to holding him accountable for his performance. I wasn't the exception to that. We never needed an IEP.
Yet I hear stories every day about parents having to fight schools for the same creative solutions that we were able to negotiate, particularly in elementary school.
What concerns me the most about what you say and the chorus of comments agreeing is how frustrated and angry teachers and former teachers are.
At the end of the day, we need to figure this stuff out together. It's like health care reform...there needs to be a clean slate at the beginning and creative solutions.
YOU ROCK.
This ties in with a recent Time magazine cover story on "the genius problem," the problem of how our schools reward the crap and penalize the good and smart kids.
I hope this issue will continue to receive national attention, even if it has to happen one blog post and one comment at a time.
I came dangerously close to being a high school teacher 20 years ago, and since then I have been keeping an eye on the education system in my state. I am amazed at what I see, and some of it is worse than I could imagine possible.
Please everyone! We need to stand up for the good kids and good parents, and get the rest in line or out the door.
Thank you for your post - I agree with every word of it!
You're cute when you're mad.
As part of my education classes in college, I took one called "Exceptional Persons." This class was to cover all students with exceptional needs, including gifted. We spent a total of five minutes on gifted students and the basis was "Yes, they exist. Moving on..."
We then spent a greater part of the course talking about "accommodating" those students with other special needs. One film that always has disturbed me was of a student with autism who would hit, kick, and attempt to injure the other students in the class. He would pick up games and other classroom items and throw them at the students. These kids were in third grade, nine years old! As we in the class watched, we were flabbergasted when the teacher kept telling the camera that she never interfered with these issues because the kids needed to learn how to deal with those with special needs on their own. We watched in horror as this child was given the freedom in PE, while the other children were seated in a circle, to stand up and KICK the head of the child next to him. No adult in the area did a thing, simply watched as the other children said things in that patiently exasperated voice, such as "No, no. We don't kick." The other child writhed on the ground in pain as the teachers WATCHED how the CHILDREN would respond.
I'm sorry, but that has soured my perspective. My professor told us that this was a perfect example of how we need to work with integrated and mainstreamed children. I said I would NOT stand by and watch other children be injured and maimed in the name of "equal education."
Anyone who is upset or worried about how teachers and former teachers (the issue here anyway is why we ARE former teachers) are responding needs to spend time in an classroom or talk with several teachers about their current experiences. Not all schools are like this, I know, and I've taught in both kinds, but I still say that all children need an education and if ANYTHING continually interrupts this educational process to the point of causing an inferior education (stopping class entirely to deal with a child who has special needs or teaching a class to the child with the least ability is an atrocity to the rest of the children in the class, as they are then receiving an inferior education) is ridiculous and needs to be re-evaluated.
There is no such thing as an equal education. Not all children are equally intelligent and not all children learn all subjects equally well.
If you think it can be so, please do a little homework I'll give here: Read "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut. (I'll even give you an online link for it: http://instruct.westvalley.edu/l.../lafave/
hb.html ) There will never be such a thing as true equality. We'd have to dumb down everything and there would be very little beauty or grace in this world. I don't begrudge those who can sing beautifully and ask them to stop so I can sound better (which will never happen anyway). Why do we ask the kids to have an inferior education because someone else may not "get it"?
I'm not begrudging kids an education, any child. I do feel that each child should receive education equal to their greatest level of ability. But this includes EVERY child. When we have to take time out to deal with so many children who act out or don't have to do anything, it takes time away from quality education for the other children.
(Mamacita: I'm sorry I keep blogging your comments. I think I'll stop now, but this has long been an issue with me and the educational system. I've blogged about it myself quite a while back, and I still am upset with the lack of education some children now receive in the name of educational equality.)
Hence the reason I call you when there is a problem with a teacher. You keep it real. I want to understand from a teacher's perspective and not insult nor show disrespect. (jogging the memory...Yellow Pencil,"Come to Jesus meeting" red hot Mama Hula.)
Anyway even though I am not a teacher in the classroom I can stand up and yell a loud "Amen". Also another reason we have chosen private school. It still has it's issues...BUT there are a few that we can control
YES! Thank you, thank you , thank you!
Thank you. I was just saying much of the same to my department chair. He wasn't disagreeing.
Administrations, teachers, parents, and students certainly need to work together better than they do now. Any student cannot be allowed to slip through the cracks, as we need everyone to be as well-educated as they can be. But nor can we allow students to get away with too much in trying to accomplish that goal.
I really understand all the angst in this post as there is a lot to be frustrated with. And all too often, there isn't enough done about this frustration: we need to do more now, and before it's too late.
I ran into this problem some as a substitute teacher, and as a current college instructor, I don't miss it a bit. I like being able to confront students one on one about their behavior and not have things get mucked up by parents. Students still try to get out of things and be silly, but because they're in college and I have a good administration backing me up, we don't let things slide (I understand that sometimes administrations won't help out much at some universities and community colleges, however, so post-secondary has its problems with this as well).
Good post, and don't let the stupidity get you down too much! Fight back!
Over the years I've worked in schools I've come to see how no-failure policies dealt a crushing blow to the education system. Without the potential for failure there is no justification for the time spent in the classroom. No reason to do the work. No purpose for the teacher. Respect and diligence wither on the vine.
I haven't got much more teaching left in me.
I can't say anything that hasn't been said by other commenters.....but I will add that you made a wonderful, truthful post about the pathetic reality that has become our public schools.....and sadly, our nation. I don't know when the rebound will begin, but damn, how much lower will it go before it can start to rebound ?
And, lets not forget the plague of testing and its intellectual killing scripted curriculum that are academically killing our brightest young people stuck in classes with the "others".......and the "teachers" who have to either present it or quit.
I have thought your thoughts for a few years now, but you have articulated them like I never could: It is all about the disruptive students and our propensity to tolerate them.
At my school, the admin keeps doing this "CARE" program where each staff member "adopts" a problem student and gives him/her that one-on-one time they apparently are not getting at home. The CARE staff even get a $25 stipend to spend on a "Jamba Juice or lunch" (the words of our principal) while visiting with their student. I continually voice my objections every time the CARE program is discussed at staff meetings. I say something to the effect of, "So let me get this straight: we are picking out the most disruptive students on this campus, and then we are lavishing them with treats and extra attention? What about the good kids who do the RIGHT THING EVERY DAY?"
We still have the CARE program at my school.
I never taught regular system but I agree it's the peripherals that are the killjoy, not the teaching, no the kids who want to learn. It's not the grind of making a difference but the freeriders in the system that wear one down and lead the teachers out of the system to other work.
You are so right on it's scary. As an education student and now substitute teacher, my biggest worry is how to deal with the chuckleheads in the class room. Personally I have a low tolerance for BS so I have a feeling that lots of RPCs are in the future for kids in my classroom. I also hope that my education classes will deal more with problem students that I have seen so far. The class rooms that I have been in that seem to do the best are when the teacher has a few simple rules that never get bent or broken. The three that stand out in my mind were these.
No chewing gum
No sleeping
No disrespect
She was willing to let other little things slide, but was a Drill Sargent on these and it worked. Her classes for the most part were in good shape.
And yet knowing all the challenges ahead of me I still cannot wait to get into the class room. I've had 20 years in the private sector and I want something new.
Oh, and I'm adding you to my education blogroll.
What's a person to do? Print this piece and send it to the Super? I hope people smarter than me are doing something....
Both my daughters go to private school now because of all the things you say, Mamacita. They are gifted and we spend all our time in education trying to make sure that no child is left behind. Doesn't it also make some sense to invest in those children who are bright? Who do we think is going to find the cure to cancer and fly the space shuttle and create new art? Maybe the kids who failed the state test last year, but, why, in the name of everything that is holy, do we ignore the bright children? Do you know how many times I have been told, "They're bright, they'll get it somewhere." Hell to the no. My girls are going somewhere where smart, well-behaved, hard-working, and creative are celebrated and encouraged.
You can't know how many times I have shaken my head at the parents who come to me with every excuse in the book. You know what? Just freakin' do it. Be the parent and raise your child.
You are so dead on right, Mamacita. Sorry to vent on your comments. You're the best.
And you know what? Because public colleges/universities are SO desperate to get even one semester's worth of tuition dollars, they admit these students who haven't the slightest idea how to behave (or read or write, but that's for another post) and even the college instructors have had it and are leaving in droves. Sad commentary on education in the U.S. Thank you for being brave enough to post this.
My dad taught for 34 years and my mom for 30. If you think it's bad where we live, try it in some isolated small town in Northern Indiana where there isn't a major university within a half hour. Although we have our share of goofballs in the area, there's nothing like people who don't see the value of an education after high school.
I was one of six students from my high school class who attended I.U.; three of us graduated. I would estimate that perhaps 20% of my class went on to college directly after high school and perhaps 15% graduated. Ironically, it wasn't "the best and the brightest". It was the ones who had the gumption to get out of Dodge!
Back to my folks: My mom was one of the first Special Ed teachers in our town and those services began 40 years ago when I was in Kindergarten. For this she was paid $200 "extra" per year! She had very little trouble with those kids and parents. Her problem was a principal who wouldn't back her up and stressed her out so much she developed health problems. She switched back to regular elementary school with a different principal and her stress level dropped tremendously. By that time, though, the kids became the problem!
Teaching is not for wimps, that's for sure!
The rest of the world is just as real, you can't escape those wlefare-ghetto-mentality people anywhere.
And we had those pushy parents in my kid's classes, even my kids rolled their eyes.
But we also have had our share of stupid teachers.
Personally, I'd be in prison if I had gone into teaching like everyone told me to do - for murder.
I salute you. Bummer to lose one more intelligent, caring professional.
So let's say that your child is in class one day. She has a crush on a boy (everyone has that special someone in their class that they would like to know better) and he gave her a pencil. She loves that pencil but this mean kid comes over who is jealous and steals it. Instead of telling on her she wants to handle it herself so no one knows. So she tries to take it back and they get into a fight. They are kicked out and sent home. But because you are at a meeting you are not able to get the call. So you want you child to be escorted out by the police for fighting because of a small mistake? For some reason I doubt you want that to happen to her. She is a normally good girl and doesn't deserve that, right?
What you say is all good for everyone else but once it happens to you it is a problem.
There is a problem in the schools but your idea is not the solution. I know that I was not a huge trouble maker but I did get into trouble at times.
How my school handled it was that it wasn't the teachers problem. They would kick the person out. But like public school the kid would be back the next day. But the teacher didn't care. Just kick him out again. Now he would disrupt class. But the teacher would still have high expectations. It was the students responsibility if they couldn't learn it in class to come for help. If not they failed. How about we make students take control of their learning and put effort into it instead of relying on the teachers to stuff it into them? Once they hit college the professor won't care if they learned it or not. That is their problem. Let's use that instead.
This is the first time that I am leaving a comment on your blog, and I want to say that I agree with you 100% on this issue.
I went to school (as a student) with people who for "fun" disrupted classes, stole teachers' pens and pencils, insulted and argued with teacher over a 10-question pop quiz accusing him of being a Communist and a Fascist without knowing the meaing of the word, and when it was time for each of the students to read a paragraph, I, who came to the country when I was 12, was able to read better than the students who were born here.
Way to go Mamacita!
Keep up the good work. Hopefully, when my child will go to school, he'll get a teacher like you!
Please, no more name-calling comments!!! I'll delete you.
More like no more criticizing posts. -_-
Wow. I'm sorry I didn't drink the same water as all of the other commenters. It must be potent stuff.
I'm sorry that you are able to call students any name imaginable but as soon as your idea is criticized you delete the comment and block the commenter. To each their own I guess. If you do not want criticism do not put your ideas on the Internet.
Here's the thing that I found most interesting about your post:
"I taught public school for 26 years and my salary peaked out at 49,300. After 26 years. It became sooo not worth it. The constant disruptions, the constant expectations that certain kids would not be held accountable, the constant accusations of favoritism and wrongdoing and the 23-minute lunch at 10:30 a.m. and the study hall with 48 non-participatory boys, many of whom had to sit on the floor because the room was too small for that many desks, the indignant parents who demanded. . . actually, demanded ANYTHING. Nice people do not DEMAND. And if someone is DEMANDING an exception, he/she is not a nice person."
There's clearly a LOT of very real frustration here. In fact, I agree with many of the problems identified in this one paragraph. Teachers *are* underpaid. Many teachers *are not* supported by their administrators. School schedules dehumanize both students and teachers. Our classrooms are overcrowded and undersupplied. Teachers are overworked and don't have enough time to develop curriculum, deliver instruction, assess learning, provide individualized students who need it, and develop meaningful relationships with families. The interesting thing is that all those problems are not actually problems with students or families. They're systemic. And you are taking all of your frustrations with these huge political and programmatic issues and blaming them on students and families.
I'm not going to say I blame you. I've only been teaching 4 years and I'm already a little tired. I don't know how I'll feel after 26. But it seems to me that you're really pointing fingers at the wrong people. If you had classes of 20 or fewer students; adequate, compensated prep time to complete your work inside the classroom AND to build meaningful relationships with your students' families; respect from society (both in terms of your work as a professional and in the concrete terms of your salary); and support from your administrators, a lot of your problems would disappear. The problem is that, lacking those things, you blame individual kids and families, rather than a system that sets you - and your students - up for failure.
That's sad. I have to say, I do not have the many years of experience that you have. But so far, I've never met a kid who "doesn't want to learn." I've met kids who act out, kids who are miserable, kids who have very real problems in their lives and need professional counseling, kids who have learning disabilities, kids whose families don't have the financial or emotional resources they need to support them. But so far, once I've dug deep enough with them, all of those students have wanted to learn. Unfortunately, our schools are not set up to help them learn. Wouldn't your energy be better spent demanding (and I know "nice people don't demand," but in the words of Frederick Douglass, "power concedes nothing without a demand")the resources and support you and your students need, rather than complaining that you don't want them in your classroom?
Teacher, I want you to know that I had Mamacita for all three years of middle school and I adored every minute of it. Yeah, there were jokers and idiots in there and she dealt with them with humor and compassion combined. I used to sit there and watch her work magic on kids most of us were scared of. It took away from what she wanted to help us learn but it also taught us that life isn't fair and sometimes other people drain valuable things away from the rest of us with their behavior. She laughed at stuff other teachers went ballistic over. That made kids not want to do it in her room. What you are saying about her is so untrue, and I was there to see how she works and nobody was ever better. I also saw some of the deleted comments and all I can say to those guys is, PORN. It wasn't very smart, losers. Teacher, you sound nice but you are very wrong about my teacher. Actually, when I think of her, it should be spelled with caps. You are very wrong about my Teacher. She changed my life. Also: Contact information? Coward.
Thank you, Steph. I still have the Greek shields you made for me when we did the mythology unit.
I appreciate your email, too. Please don't worry about me; there will always be people who can't conceive of a student being responsible for his/her own actions. Some people believe it's always the fault of an adult when a kid makes poor choices. That, of course, is an insult to young people everywhere.
Tell Barbie and Kaitlyn hello for me. Yes, I remember them, too. I hope your sophomore year in college is going well. Be sure you do your homework; you'll get no sympathy from me if you don't! Are we surprised?
I remember you all very fondly. Thank you for jumping to my defense. That you would care that much makes me realize all the more that teaching is what I was born to do. It's just a shame that behavior problems make actual teaching almost impossible at times.
Demexii, as a college instructor myself, I can say that I very much care if a student learns the material or not. And if any college instructor doesn't care if a student learns? That's a bad teacher right there: no ifs, ands, or buts about.
Sure, I have to find a middle ground. I'm not going to be able to reach every student (though I'm going to do my best to do so anyways) and I do tell my students that their learning is their responsibility. Otherwise they would just slack off.
But despite all this, it hurts whenever I give a student a low grade (be it on homework, a paper, or a class). Because I know they just didn't learn it: either because they couldn't (very few), or because they wouldn't (most). And it hurts every time. A lot. Despite that, I wouldn't want to be as callous as the "college instructor" you describe at all.
If your child goes to a college or university where "the professor won't care if they learned it or not" then you need to find a new college.
I have been an admissions counselor, as well as a teacher, and I can say that MOST parents and students look for a college where the student will receive attention, where the professors DO care if the student comes to class and participates, and where they know the student will be able to ask for help if necessary--and receive it! If a teacher in a public school "didn't care," there'd be more hell to pay AND the child would probably never know that anyone even cared about whether what they were doing was right or wrong. Any parent who advocates that teachers stop caring and stop helping students learn, grow, and become better...
Well, I can't complete that sentence or I'll probably have my comment deleted. I wouldn't want to attend your schools or colleges, and I definitely wouldn't let my children attend.
They shouldn't and are bad professors if they do. They should teach to the best of their abilities but if someone doesn't learn that is their responsibility to fix. They should seek help themselves. Of course if they come to the professor that professor should guide them to resources that might help them learn better (such as tutors or something). But should not baby them.
You think a boss will care about you? No. You don't do it then you are fired. They don't care about you. Let's start teaching these kids right now that life isn't easy and you have to work for yourself. There isn't any mom or teacher reminding you about work that needs to be done.
A teacher is helping the students more by being hands off and letting them learn, grow, and become better on their own with only giving out help when it is needed (as in giving it out in a lecture or telling them how to learn for themselves).
I have to say that I've often said students need to step up and take responsibility for themselves, including realizing that there is very little "special treatment" in the real world. You are correct that bosses don't always encourage and support (although I disagree that all bosses "don't care" about employees) their employees, and if the employee cannot do the work, they aren't kept around. I do not disagree that students who bully and act out should be held responsible, but I do disagree that teachers have ever or should in the future "not care" about their students.
My biggest pet peeve in education is how students tend to be mollycoddled instead of treated as they will be in the "real world" (forgotten homework is the same as not doing work, in the real world, and needs to be disciplined, etc.); however, I still highly disagree that teachers shouldn't care about their students or what happens to them. Mamacita's comment above shows what happens when you care about students and show it: They, in turn, care about you. I don't believe in the whole "self-esteem" education we have going on wherein it's the school's responsibility to make kids feel good about themselves, but neither can I advocate just treating them consistently like a burden that can be unloaded at any time.
There is a fine balance. Keep reading Mamacita's blog and I'll think you'll find someone who's found that balance quite completely.
Two years ago, I was asked to attend a 'talk' at my children's school. My eldest were 9 and 10, and they were having 2 counselors make the rounds of all the 4th and 5th grade classes to discuss sexual orientation. I was the only parent asked to attend, because my 10 year old son was the butt of every single gay joke in the school.
I attended the talk in my daughter's class first. The kids were respectful, spoke intelligently, and everything went smooth. After the talk, I berated my own daughter for lying her head down on the table (they don't have desks any more) while there were people speaking in front of the class. I explained to her that it was very disrespectful, and went on to my son's class.
I was confronted with the most disorganized class I have ever seen. There were two extremely disrespectful children in the class, and children being what they are, the others fed off of the chaos. There were good kids in the class, but the few were so disruptive that it was difficult even recognizing the others.
One sat/lay on the floor kicking the tables, got up and walked around the room whenever she got bored, tried to leave the classroom on several occasions, but was not allowed to go. I wished on more than one occasion they'd get her out of the classroom, but throughout the hour long talk, they just let her do whatever she wanted.
The other acted very interested in the conversation, but when she raised her hand, she was talking about beastiality, telling stories of animals she'd seen "doing the nasty," she'd tell several minute long stories about her male cousins playing with dolls, and if anyone dared to interrupt her, she'd throw a fit. "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FEEL COMFORTABLE TALKING WITH ANYBODY IF EVERYONE KEEPS INTERRUPTING ME?"
I was horrified. I believe your stories, as I have seen the same myself. It usually is the fault of the individual student and the family, and if a student really is so disabled that they cannot act properly in a classroom, then they shouldn't be there.
Don't good kids have rights, too? I'm sick and tired of disruptive kids having the most rights. SICK AND TIRED of it. It's long past time to give the majority of attention and all things positive to kids who choose to behave properly and kids who want to learn.
AMEN!! I'm parent to 2 of the good ones, stuck in a school where bell schedules are manipulated to avoid gangfights, bathrooms are locked to prevent grafitti, voc ed is required because the bad kids can't get into college, health is required because a substantial portion of the student body is stoned and/or infected with STD's . . . . and there is a surfeit of AP classes and no library this year!
BINGO!
(and THANK YOU)
Wow. It is pretty horrible to see how much many of the teachers commenting here really don't understand, and on top of that, really dislike, special education students. You all just seem to think "they" would be better off in some classroom where you couldn't see them or have to deal with them. But guess what: IDEA says students with disabilities have a right to be in a regular classroom.
If we can't get more Mamacitas into the public school systems, I'd settle for more Severus Snapes. The way some "leadership" sides against the interests of serious students is an outrage. And if someday I have kids of my own, I will seriously consider home-schooling or private schooling, or at least take a very careful look at the local public school. If they let kids get away with kicking other kids in the head rather than promptly giving the offender ten strokes of the cane, the school is NOT getting my kids. The school can also forget about my business if they practice the "couscous-eating yuppie jerk" self-esteem junk over real education. As one who enjoys humorous music, I have also heard an oh-so-appropriate song about child-raising insanities such as these (http://www.soundclick.com/bands/Lyrics.cfm?
BandID=127681&songid=4966877 has the story and lyrics for those interested). I'm sure it'll be an equally loud warning to my future self as it is for the guy who wrote it.
A friend shared a link to this post, for which I am grateful. Thank you for writing this.
I'm one of them, one who left. It took me six years to get over it (it being my desire to be a teacher since 2nd grade) and leave the classroom. Today, seven years later, I got all teary-eyed when I finally sat down to start clearing out the teaching stuff.
Thank you for the kick in the ass. I really needed a reminder of what got me here in the first place.
(linked from mrtl)
AMEN! So well said! Reminds me of my education - blegh!
What's really sad to me is that mrtl is such a wonderful, intelligent, patient person and without having ever seen her in a classroom I would hand her my children anyday and she says she's not interested in teaching. Makes my blood boil!
Spedmom, I don't think anyone is refering to all disabled students. I know that IDEA says that they have the right to be in the least restrictive environment possible, but if they are not able to be in a regular classroom without being a danger and a disruption then maybe a self-contained class would be a better option for them. They are certainly not getting any help with dealing with their diability in this situation. They will be expected to deal with it as adults so why not start teaching them strategies now about how to control themselves. I have seen behaviors from children that were chocked up to a disability that would get an adult arrested (disabled or not). It is not fair to the other kids to have this sort of thing going on in their classroom. It is not fair to the disabled students to be allowed to grow up without the tools necessary to be a succesful adult. No one is suggesting that we take all "those" students and put them in a closet somewhere, but they do need to learn some self-control.
Jessica
You are there,working with the teachers, and holding your child accountable. She is talking about the parents who aren't. And there are more of them than most folks would expect...
Great. They can come to my classroom, do the work, and not disrupt the other kids. Many sped students are able to pass 'regular' classes, happens every year. Some of my sped kids are the hardest working students in the class and do very well. However, there are others who DO NOT BELONG in a regular ed classroom either due to behavior (most times) or inability to perform at the level required (these kids should be in resource classes). It isn't as if no teachers on the planet want sped kids in their classes. Give me a break.
Thank you Mamacita. I've been struggling with this issue for the last year or so- the school I work for is changing demographically and socio-economically, and suddenly all manner of behavior problems are exploding in our classrooms. In the classes with the disruptive types (thankfully, and we give thanks everyday, some of our classes are still good kids who want to learn)it is nearly impossible to instruct the children who are there for the right reasons. I feel sorry for them. I want to have them all moved into the classes where I am able to teach without interruption so they can keep up with the other kids. Teacher morale at our school is at an all time low, and many are already talking of transferring next year because of all the idiocy.
I have honestly considered approaching administration and asking them to corral all the thugs in the stadium. Get them out of our classrooms so we can do our jobs! I know some of the whiny parents are going to take issue with this, but I don't care. At the high school level there is no reason on earth why I should have to manage your behavior or your child's behavior. NONE. Some students actually want to learn analytical and critical thinking skills so that they can go to a good college and get a good job. I REFUSE to take instruction time away from those kids for undisciplined attention seeking brats who are coming to school so mom can get her welfare check or so they can recruit gang members or sell drugs. They have no business mingling with children who come to school to be educated!
Why should I have to dumb it down and teach basic skills for a test that all other students working at grade level could pass in their sleep? Because the middle school had to pass them on at 16? Because mom can't be found at any of her 27 disconnected numbers and dad is still in jail? Because mom thinks something is owed to her child and her child shouldn't have to work for anything because that requires too much parenting? This is not my problem. This is not the problem of the other 29 kids sitting in my classroom trying to learn. Develop a social program for parents who don't parent and leave it out of the classroom. The standardized tests for no child left behind are useless- the kids have to be drooling idiots to fail them, the minimum compentencies are so minimum that it is impossible to believe a school could spend a year educating kids who can't pass them. But the school isn't the problem here. The material is being taught to these little criminals in training, and they aren't learning it because they don't care to, and because they don't have to. They are never held accountable.
Eventually something will have to be done because there will be no one left to teach the kids, the prisons will be too full to house the ones who were 'left behind' by all us slacker teachers, and most of us will have left the country because we can see where this coddling will eventually lead.
Wow...you really got them going with this one, huh? As on the of the lucky ones who actually has the pleasure of knowing you, I can state that I'd give my left pinkie toe to have you as my child's teacher - and I wear a lot of flip flops. You're a gem.
you are awesome! On behalf of all of us teachers who give a damn, thank you, thank you, thank you!
Quite a rant, mamacita. I am a veteran of 35 years teaching in JHS and HS, the last 20 of them in a school the New York Daily News labeled as one of the twelve worst schools in the city. I hope you won't mind me sharing my perspective.
First of all, it's our job in public education to teach the students who come before us--all of the students who come before us. That means that we must learn to create an environment in which expectations are high and structures are in place to protect all of the students and to help them achieve those expectations. We don't do that by blaming parents, or "disrubptive" students or society or ourselves for problems that can erupt when a bunch of humans are brought together in a confined space. We do it by making respect the central theme of our classroom from the first second we meet the students. We push ourselves to understand that every person who walks in the door has something valuable to contribute to the classroom. We work with the students to set up clear guidelines for behavior, clear boundaries, clear limits. We help them and their parents see the benefits of these reasonable limits, which we enforce consistently, but thoughtfully (making the actual situation more important than the abstract rule).
As an experienced teacher, you are certainly well aware that actual students aren't walking stereotypes, yet you write as though you are ignorant of that fact. Certainly, you've had "angelic students: do bad things and "disruptive students" do good things. If you haven't seen that, you haven't been paying attention.
Second of all, young teachers are just as diverse in their reasons for leaving the profession as they are for going into it. Some don't have what it takes and once they realize that, they leave. The demands on teachers are high, pitting your will against the hormonally driven wills of up to 34 students at a sitting is exhausting. You are challenged at least once every five minutes, and realizing that you haven't developed an answer to many of those challenges can wear you out quickly. When you look around for help and it's not there, it's quite human to start blaming--first those who are doing the challenging (those who you expected would be enthralled by you) then everyone and everything around you. It's human to do so, but it doesn't make you a better teacher, and it doesn't help the kids in front of you (around you, on either side of you) to learn.
Finally, it can feel downright good to vent as you have here, but once you've gotten it out, you should tell the truth--that the reason your students (at least the ones who have responded here) appreciate you is because once you walk into the classroom you stop blaming and get on with teaching.
Here's the point:
Education in our country ISN'T EQUAL. To paraphrase Orwell, "Some ... are more equal than others."
Some kids get to hit others or teachers with no consequences.
Some kids get to wear headphones with loud, violent music pounding out of them during classtime even though there is a policy against electronics, and even though there has not been a study yet that says that this kind of crap helps kids focus. It DOES certainly distract the other kids and the teacher, though.
Some kids get to turn in work if and when they feel like it, and then we wonder why their disaggregated test scores just don't measure up.
Some kids get to come to class whenever they feel like and leave whenever they feel stressed and any information they miss must be personally retaught by the teacher.
Some kids get to call others faggots and homos and even M---F----s because they "can't help themselves."
As the parent of a couple of the good kids, I do not want these kids disrupting my daughter's education. But they get to do it with impunity. Until some parent of a "regular kid" sues a school district for its refusal to provide an adequate education for THEIR child, it will continue.
Love ya lots, Janie.
Wow - your lack of empathy is underwhelming. Your writing skills and grumpy attempt at voicing an opinion lacking so much in intellectual reasoning makes me wonder how you actually made it through an undergrad degree, let alone a teaching degree.
I understand your frustration, no matter how misguided it may be. However, these "brats" as you so eloquently call them need help and if they are not getting it from home and they are obviously not getting ANY support from their teachers, then where are they supposed to get proper guidance? I guess they don't teach early child development, or the effects of abuse/neglect at home on children under the age of 3 in University?? Let me guess, you're American too. That explains a lot. Yeah! More school shootings to look forward to on the news - due, in part, to kids being labeled and disliked by their teacher on top of tenuous and unstable circumstances at home. Perhaps they only prepared you for the unrealistic world of Stepford students - cookie cutter children who all act the same, get the same grades and who will grow up to be perfect, model citizens. Your own children are these kinds of kids, right? God forbid you had an ADHD child or an autistic child, or a child with Tourette Syndrome. Would you agree with their teachers labelling them "brats" and assuming you were a cigarette smoking, beer guzzling, trailer trash parent? You, my friend, with all your elitism and bravado about poor "boo hoo" teachers chose the wrong profession. With your lack of empathy and understanding about young lives, a slaughterhouse would have clearly been a much more suitable employment situation for you.
Sharon:
I'm sad to say that you lack complete comprehension of Mamacita's intentions on this blog post. If you have truly done what a humane person would do (as you purport to be such a person), you would get to know Mamacita through her other blog posts. You can't overhear one snippet of an entire conversation and suppose you understand what is going on with the person as a whole. Coming into this with one conversation and claiming to know anything about this person you are speaking of so callously? Shows that YOU, ma'am, are the one who is making snap and erroneous judgments on another.
If you would like to truly get to know this person you contend lacks "empathy and understanding about young lives," I suggest you start here:
http://weeklyscheiss.blogspot.co...d-bread-
oh.html
And if you pass up this chance to truly learn something more about someone you've just met, then I pity you for being close minded, intolerant, and unreceptive to truly learning about your fellow human.
I wish you the best of luck, Sharon, and hope that you aren't normally as quick to judge as you are when no one knows who you truly are.
Just a few things to say.
I'm going to emulate My Fair Lady for a second and say that I would like a bit of kindness. I'm seeing a bit too much negative attitude all over from these blog posts and comments.
Just a few things here for Sharon. Where did the Stepford student comments come from? The idea that these students should be getting no support from school at all (saying home life should be better or that not all students should be included in a mainstream or whatever classroom does not mean a student should not receive support from a school)? Because it doesn't reflect the expectations I have seen in the few blog posts of Mamacita's that I have read. This is just one of many straw man arguments I have seen bandied about with these blogs, and it's simply ridiculous that so many are holding to them.
I'm also curious if you've ever read The Jungle. I very much am glad when those who work in a slaughterhouse have empathy and understanding. I would be worried about what kind of food is coming out of there otherwise. Given that, I think I would be happy if Mamacita worked at one, since she has shown empathy and understanding: though I think she is of better use as a teacher, personally. This whole paragraph may be lost on you, however, as I did perceive a rather vegetarians-only worldview in your comment.
Moving on, I don't believe that Joe Ballacero is guilty of a straw man argument (I could be wrong), but certainly a misapprehension of Mamacita. From what I have read here and from other blog posts of hers, I don't think she would argue with you at all. Teach the students before you to the best of your ability. Appreciate them, etc. What she is debating though, is the set up for where students go: what decides what each teacher does get for students. Things as they are aren't so good, and that is all she is saying.
And I would agree with your calling that post a rant, because that is what it is. It isn't a plan for what to do about this current situation: it is a forceful cry against a situation that has stood for far too long. It would be good to remember that all evil needs (or mediocrity, bad education, what have you) to succeed is for good men and women not to get up and speak out against it.
I just wanted to say hi and thank you for speaking some real truths that unfortunately many are too afraid to speak. I have been teaching for 17 years, and I have poured my whole heart and soul into my work with my students, and it seems the second you make demands on them in what you expect, they can't handle it and the parents think you're picking on them. Thank you so much for being real......
Marylou
I think you need to be creative to teach these days and a lot less negativity. Sure kids are difficult this is a very different world. Sure some of the parents are not the best parents. It does not mean that these kids are trash to just give up on. You must not have a true desire to teach or you would find a way to do just that. Copping out and blaming sounds like childess waste of time.
Oh I just saw a very good movie maybe you should watch. Dangerous minds. Good teachers find a way to teach all children in their class without giving up or quiting
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