(This may be a little all over the place, but I have a lot to say. I am not addressing any one specific response, but speaking broadly)
As a teacher, I am psyched to be in front of all my little cherubs!
However, it is discouraging when folks bash school as if every school is the same.
I spent 10 years working in educational outreach all over the country-literally-46 of the 48 contiguous states. After settling down, I am now entering my third year as a full time classroom teacher ( I teach theater arts with an emphasis in dramatic literature in a public school which was ranked #2 in the state)
I have worked in every academic context imaginable. From elite private schools with blazers and BMWās to the roughest of inner cityās with metal detectors and bullet holes. There are a lot of crappy schools and teachers. This is true. BUT, there are thousands of dedicated and loving educators who want nothing more than their kids to do well and be happy.
We are not all working simply to create socially programed conformist drones. The implication that we are is unfounded and insulting.
There are so many things that influence a schools culture that the students are never aware of, that it is painful to hear such generalizations.
Crappy national policy, poverty, community involvement, power plays by board of ed members, parents who are uninvolved, parents who are too involved (and have no clue)ā¦ I could go on and onā¦
Unfortunately, what actually happens in the classroom has be become only half of what āschoolā consists of.
For example, my state started a new teacher evaluation process which is so convoluted we were required to spend three days prepping our ādataā, our āproofā that we were teachingā¦ Instead of actually prepping for our classes! More time is spent justifying ourselves opposed to actually preparing to teach.
We have over 12 early dismissal days so that we can attend workshops to meet the requirements of this same program. How does removing kids from the classroom to sate the politicians who have never taught, benefit the students?
Granted, teachers need to be assessed and evaluated- there are bad teachers who still rely on fascist management styles and rote learning which has been proven ineffective. They need to be weeded out.
But, there are far more who teach with love and passion and the public never hears about them because we arenāt lobbying or whining- we are teaching, researching, refining and adjusting based on the needs of each kid.
Kids, here is my advice:
Donāt confuse the peer to peer social aspect of the lunch room with the school work itself or school as a whole. I understand the interpersonal relationships of school can sometimes be brutal. The kids who give you a hard time will disappear from your life to you before you know it.
Ignore the fools the best you can and focus on the goals of academics. To that end, a little effort goes a long way. It sounds insanely simple I know, but just do the work. In the long run, putting in the effort the course work requires is less work than dealing with the consequences of not doing it. (Counter intuitive, I know)
If you do have one of the uninspired teachers, do what you gotta do to get through it and move on.
I say this not only as an educator, but a former terrible student. Peer harassment, poverty, family issues and developmental shortcomings kept me from putting forth effort resulting from fear that I know regret on a daily basis. It was the caring teachers who never gave up on me which kept me sane and frankly, alive. It is in honor of them that I now do what I do.
BTW- itās not ābullyingā, itās āabuse and harassmentā- we need to call it what is truly is.
They want me to get straight Aās in all my classes, 3 of which are honors, expect me to participate in a club or two this year, make singles on the tennis team, and get a scholarshipā¦
Yeah, I didnāt even get started on the bogus medication of so many children. Youāre right on the over medication of kids. Another horror of our school system. The last documentary I saw on the ADD/ADHD issue said they found 8 out of 10 children didnāt need any medication! Just diet adjustments and exercise. Katt Williams added putting his son on Ritalin in one of his routines. Worth a look and funny too but profanity filled.
When you have 311 million people take 4 billion to 6 billion prescriptions a year, itās obvious they are a heavily drugged society. Thatās 16+ prescriptions for every man, woman, and child. But hey, the drug companies make 300 billion a year and you canāt get in the way of that āprogressā.
Didnāt even bring up the school debt bubble about to pop, if it hasnāt already. In the US over a trillion dollars of debt has been blown up in a bubble like the now infamous housing bubble. Bubble meaning non-sustainable and designed to pop in the future. Difference with this bubble is that Bush, following the bankers agenda, passed legislation changing the bankruptcy laws so you could not file bankruptcy on school loans. Guess the banks know whatās coming, duh.
"That erroneous assumption is to the effect that the aim of public education is to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence, and so make them fit to discharge the duties of citizenship in an enlightened and independent manner. Nothing could be further from the truth.
āThe aim of public education is not to spread enlightenment at all, it is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States, whatever the pretensions of politicians, pedagogues and other such mountebanks, and that is its aim everywhere else.ā
-H L. Mencken
Of course I imagine most teachers donāt like ole Menckenā¦
āThose who can ā do. Those who canāt ā teach.ā - HL Mencken
Or Woody Allenā¦
āThose who can ā do. Those who canāt ā teach. Those who canāt teach ā teach gym.ā
I always get a chuckle out of folks who play the victim card. Especially since no one ever said what you claim has insulted you, except you. So you are really only insulted by what you said. See how thatās funny? No one else said ALL schools are horrible, nor did anyone else say ALL teachers are just creating student drones, but you of course. I donāt say this in condemnation, or this flaming stuff, but in jest, as I said before, Iām like Shaw, the Truth is the funniest joke I know. But maybe instead of laughing I should be more concerned a teacher tried playing the victim card without paying attention to or comprehending what was actually said? It would be completely foolish and useless to say ALL teachers are this or ALL schools are that and no one did. Only the foolish would say such a thing and it would be easily discounted. But shouldnāt such a foolish statement not cause any indignation or insult on the sheer fact it is obviously utter foolishness and unworthy of response or emotion from an educated person? But again, no one said such a thing but you. I imagine you said it yourself so you could add you were insulted?
None of the studies Iāve read or posted about, or the data within them, mention such a useless blanket statement as āAll teachers make conformist drones and All schools are failingā. In fact the studies broke down the schools from upper performing schools to lower performing schools and much more. So in no way do the facts mentioned make the blanket statements you were insulted by? The facts of several studies and reports done over decades show our school system āas a wholeā have been failing students by lowering standards and still producing less and less educated students. That is what was said and āas a wholeā does not mean every single teacher and school is to blame. It just means what it says, when averaged out, that average falls year after year. The system as a whole is failing and producing dumber and dumber children, which is a measurable fact according to multiple studies. The system āon a wholeā was also set up to condition students as told by the people who set it up that way and those who have witnessed it. You can feel hurt and insulted when a messenger tells the truth but it doesnāt change that truth or those facts. It really just means youāre playing a victim, but plenty play that card all the time so at least youāll never be alone.
āNo one can hurt me without my permission.ā āGandhi
Or if you donāt like philosophers, hereās what a shrink saysā¦
ā Nobody ā no matter how hard they try ā can ever make someone else feel something that they donāt want to feelā¦ Because you are the only one able to choose your feelings and your responses to what is happening right now. We have all heard people say, āYou make me mad.ā Or, āDonāt make me feel guilty.ā But the truth is that no one can make us feel something ā good or bad ā unless we allow them to. Now Iām not saying that there arenāt people out there who are genuine victims of crimes or injustices; I am saying that our response to each momentās occurrences, circumstances, situations, events, scenarios, or people is what defines us. Every moment we have the choice to be a victim or Victor. Choose well.ā - Dr. T. Nevitt Ph.d
Do you think I like the facts about the school system as a whole or am happy about them? Iām not. I think it is terrible, but to say those facts are wrong because you donāt like them is meaningless. To say those facts donāt exist because you and others are trying hard is irrelevant. You and those like you arenāt winning the fight to educate children to a higher level to any measurable degree according to all the studies and their data reported, for several years. The educational level keeps dropping and has continued to drop for decades as all these studies prove and I am only repeating, but Iām not saying it or making it true!
Again, I donāt like it, and I know there are plenty of teachers trying to overcome the abysmal failure of our educational system, but you are still the minority. Sorry. Does that mean you should give up or give in. Never! It just means you need to understand the mountain you have to climb, else you are deluding yourself to the true task at hand and cannot develop a proper plan of attack for success. If you donāt face facts then how can you develop a relevant strategy? This is what the retired tennis player Andre Agassi did, he faced the facts of a failing educational system, then he developed a high performing school with great teachers and students! So it is possible, it is happening, but itās happening by facing the problems head on, not being upset over the truth when itās mentioned. But the system needs thousands more schools like his to change the statistics of whatās happened in this country for decades.
The system itself is making it harder and more complicated and is whatās bringing the good teachers down too as you mentioned. As Chomsky said, teachers are singled out and removed if they stray from the āprogramā set forth by administrators and politicians. Many of whom may not have a clue about teaching in todayās world, as you said. The good teachers are up against it and have been since I was in school decades ago. That is why they are 1 out of 100 good teachers or less in my experience. I didnāt like it then or now, but the truth is the truth. You act as if Iām supposed to keep quiet about the factual data reported or forget whatās really going on, but why? The truth may hurt, but only truth can heal. In fact, you should use these studies and reports as your bullhorn instead of telling people your insulted and in pain imho. You should shout this information at the top of your lungs and tell everyone and anyone you can that the ship is sinking according to all these studies and you need help and you need active concerned people, every last one you can get! From parents, politicians, community leaders, organizers, anyone who will help without just making it worse and more complicated or promoting their own hidden agendas. But thatās just my opinion. I see it like weāre all on a sinking ship and the messenger is saying look at this big hole and all the water coming in, while others say, donāt look at that, itās depressing, look at this part of the ship where itās perfectly fine! Thatās not how you keep the ship from sinking. You donāt have to like the fact the ship is sinking, but if you canāt admit it is leaking then youāll never fix it and it will sink.
Iām an actual supporter of concerned non-programmed type teachers. But, I want them to see all this failure and all the children in pain and not being educated but marginalized and bring that truth in to their hearts. To let it sink in and let this truth hit home so to speak. And then, just observe yourself and see if there is not a light inside of you, an energy that rises inside of you, that can conquer all of it. I know that light is there and I want all of them to know it too. Thatās all. Am I any good at it, probably not, but there it is anyway.
I donāt like giving advice, but if I was, to kids, it would be follow your heart. Donāt let anyone else define you. Donāt let teachers or schools decide who and what you will be. You do that! You have all the light and the energy within necessary to live any life you wish, it is up to you, you are not other dependant.
E.E. Cummings was right. āTo be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.ā
I think weāre just trying hard to get our point of view across clearly. Weāve tread different pathās, saw different scenery and different views. Thatās all. I donāt mean to sound preachy or uppity, I see everyone as equals, just different. Nor do I want or expect you to like me or anything I have to say. What I have to say is independent of all that. I hope that is understandable. I see the reality and truth that I speak of, but Iām not lying or trying to convince you or anyone of anything, just pointing out the view from my life as clearly as possible. Clear as mud. :D And in this case along with the facts put forth from the statistics of the US educational system.
Programmer now eh. I helped save the world fromā¦ Yā¦ 2ā¦ Kā¦ (say it like the Muppets āPigs in Spaceā intro to make it more dramatic) as a mainframe programmer myself. I donāt miss cobol or JCL though. Iām joking on saving the world of course, but I did do plenty of Y2K fixes for a lot of banks & companies. Even though college was for OOP, there was such a need for mainframe people that plenty of accelerated schooling became available to anyone with a degree so I took advantage of more schooling and job opportunities. Mainframe all day, every day, for a few months and you were done! You miss a class or fail a test, thatās one. Do it again and you were kicked out of the program. I liked that school actually. We didnāt really have teachers, more presenters, then it was up to us as students and project leaders to do the work and make it through on our own. Stressful but fun!
As to teachers being a source of loveā¦ only love is a source of love. No human being has love leashed and under their control to dole out as they see fit. Itās the other way around. āLove is, when we are notā a wise fellow said along with āthe ending of sorrow is loveā. Where there is fear and sorrow, love cannot be, as it has never been touched by fear or sorrow. Love never will be touched by fear or sorrow or conflict, else it would be destroyed, and love is destruction, not the other way around.
No flame war was intended by me. Just stating my own point of view and some facts from many studies done on the US school system. I didnāt make those facts true or want them to be true, but if you canāt face reality, what change can ever happen? It will just keep repeating itself as it has done for my whole life.
Amen to that my friend! What started out as a kids lament their summer had ended too soon has become this protracted acrimonious diatribe against our public school system. Regardless of any truth which could possibly be mined out of these tirades I think weāre done now.
Iām starting to wonder what this thread has turned into all I wanted was a light hearted conversation thread but apparently I got this. at this rate with all these school problems being brought up Iām just about ready to lock it. Cause Iām tired of seeing super long replies for ridiculous stuff. That really doesnāt really matter I mean itās not changing the world or stuff.
Welcome to the forum, where everyone hijacks everyone elseās topics and donāt give a damn.
But seriously, this is just ridiculous. Why do people have to write novels for replies that arenāt even on topic. Iām okay with novels as long as itās on topic, but anything else just grinds my gears. Sorry Abby that your topic turned into a topic about how messed up the world is. Though I do enjoy reading those posts, itās just rude that they hijacked your topic. Hope you have a nice year as a Freshman. As a Sophomore all I can say is make as many friends as you can, get yourself out there, do everything that you can without over whelming yourself. And remember,
donāt fall victim to Shoulda Woulda Coulda.
I actually like the long posts, but ok. A lot of these posts about our school system is donāt quite ring true with me so far as a student; if youāre driven and in a good district thereās plenty of opportunities, it just depends on where you are. Iād probably take my current system over most.
AP World History/ AP Art History/ Precalc probably my favorite subjects, though the math is too slow.
I get that the initial posts was meant to be lighthearted. Sorry if we got too serious. Conversations are like living things, they change, grow, and evolve.
Though my first response wasnāt as long as some, it was simply meant to address some of the generalizations I saw made.
No, the system isnāt working the way it should- never claimed it was. But fixing the issue needs to be multifaceted. We canāt just blame the teachers, or the admins, or the parents (and so onā¦)
I wasnāt crying victim hood either.
There was one post that implied we crush creativity and individuality when I know many of us work to inspire it.
I just wanted to counter a general view many have of teachers.
I chose to become a teacher, and recently at that. I knew there are challenges facing education and I entered the field knowing full well what I was getting into.
It can be fixed.
We canāt blame any one thing.
Kids: you can survive and stay true to yourself.
Now we can all stop the condescending crap and go outside and play.
Its all good. Must have just been my guilty conscience
I love watching how these threads evolve. But sometimes (I include myself in this) some get carried away and take the convo to seriously. I think that happened in this case.
Just repeating myself ad nauseam trying to get a point of view across and a laugh. Didnāt mean to be condescending to anyone. Donāt read them, it probably wonāt make sense anyway, to most.
It can be condensed easily. Denial is a negative weak energy. Truth is not. Without the truth anything attempted will fail in the end.
True Joy and Bliss and Love can only be found with the ending of the self, the me, the center as āyouā, an āegoā, because it is only a figment of your own imagination and is what causes your suffering. You donāt have to do anything for this Joy or Love. It is already here, all you have to do is get yourself, your ego, out of the way. To be truly free just die every day, every moment, to everything. Simple.
āOne must shed the bad taste of wanting to agree with many. āGoodā is no longer good when oneās neighbor mouths it. And how should there be a ācommon goodā! The term contradicts itself: whatever can be common always has little value. In the end it must be as it is and always has been: great things remain for the great, abysses for the profound, nuances and shudders for the refined, and, in brief, all that is rare for the rare.ā
ā Friedrich Nietzsche
at this rate with all these school problems being brought up Iām just about ready to lock it. Cause Iām tired of seeing super long replies for ridiculous stuff. That really doesnāt really matter I mean itās not changing the world or stuff.
Didnāt mean to be condescending to anyone. Donāt read them, it probably wonāt make sense anyway, to most.