Posted by Steve Terplak on February 19, 2015 at 06:23:22 from (162.72.14.70):
I have been a history teacher for 8 years...the last few years, especially, have been chaotic and very uncertain in terms of education.
I have been very impressed by a lot of the comments about teachers and the education system on here (yt). Usually, I quietly endure comments from the community about how a lot of the testing, "common core" etc.., are the teachers' fault. In NY we now have a gov. who is openly attacking us and the whole education system.
As I said, I have been impressed here, on YT, by everyone's comments. As a whole, you guys have demonstrated a solid understanding of the education system and where a lot of fault lies. I have not seen much in the way of attacks throughout the last few days. So, thanks to all of you for "getting it".
With regards to the 3rd grade math...it is nuts...kids should not be doing that kind of stuff...they need to learn to explore ideas and numbers and enjoy math. Not be force fed abstract concepts they are not ready to understand.
A lot of commentary here on families, etc.... It is amazing how blind people can be. I teach in a relatively urban (broken factory city) where a large portion of the population has made a career of living off of the system. In our school, there is no one economic class, race, or gender that creates the most problems. We have great black and hispanic kids, great white kids. Great boys, great girls. Good kids who are poor, and good kids who are well off. And the same goes for our bad kids. Most commonly, it is those with parents who don't hold them accountable for their actions. Those who expect us to do their job. Those are the students who are problems and it is a large number of them. They can do no wrong, they don't fear parents, school faculty or even the police. Without a healthy fear, they can be un-disciplinable.
An earlier post mentioned that many teachers do not like kids. It is true, but I know some teachers who openly don't particularly like kids and still do a good job teaching and dealing with them. Myself, I like kids, that's why I do what I do, and I try to treat them with respect and I have very, very few discipline problems in my classroom. Though, over the years, I have been told to F*** myself, on more than a few occasions. I understand, from my own youth, that kids do stuff to get a reaction. The most effective tool I use, is minimal reaction and quiet words. Walking over to a student and quietly saying "I am going to go back to what I was doing, and you will get up, gather your things and meet me in the hallway in 30 seconds.", a quick, harsh stare, and walking away works every time. I never lose, but I also don't need the last word. I also never use empty threats and am honest with my kids 99% of the time.
Got side-tracked there, but as I started with. Thanks to everyone here who seems to "get it". 90% of teachers do a good job within the limitations of their power.
An analogy: Image you were a vegetable farmer. Instead of specializing in one or two crops, you were responsible for raising whatever type of vegetables you were given each year. Instead of seeds, you were given small plants. When they arrive to you, they are in a variety of conditions as they were each started in a different house. Some took care of them, some arrive already lifeless. After you plant them, you are limited to caring for your farm to 1/3 of each day, the other 2/3 it is in the care of a bunch of other people, some do what they are supposed to and weed, water the plants, others do nothing, others actively make things worse. When harvest day comes, which is a pre-determined day, you must harvest all plants, even those who take longer to grow. You are then judged on the overall performance of your vegetables. Not the easiest way to be successful, for the farmer or the plants.
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