Posted on 01/06/2014 6:27:31 AM PST by Timber Rattler
I recently published a post with various answers to the question: How hard is teaching? Here is one response I received by e-mail from a veteran seventh-grade language arts teacher in Frederick, Maryland, who asked not to be identified because she fears retaliation at her school. In this piece she describes students who don’t want to work, parents who want their children to have high grades no matter what, mindless curriculum and school reformers who insist on trying to quantify things that can’t be measured.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Yes, but the American people still believe in state-controlled education, the more controls the more they like it. That may be wife mostly liberals hold school board seats even in conservative states.
Cue the Public education haters in 3....2....
You rang? :)
John Dewey...
Prussian model...
Government idol worship...
etc
Yeah we should love the disaster that we’re all forced to pay for.
Get on this before it gets old.
He told us that in order to learn we must read books, the daily newpaper and select and read a magazine to further our interests, ( I picked Scientific American)_. He then told us how he was going to show us stuff!
I grew up in a suburb of Newark NJ. He took us on various field trips. To the New York Museum and Bronx Zoo. The Edison Laboratory where we learned about the 1100 patents he developed. We then took a day trip Philadelphia where we saw the Liberty Bell and the room where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were drafted. "We came, we saw we learned!!!"
But Holy Cow—she takes pages and pages to do so!
She had a lot to say...
In the business world one is taught to serve its customer; customer #1 mentality is paramount in most well run companies. The problem with the public school system is with the teachers unions. As structured now, the teachers customer is their union. In turn, the unions customer is its leadership and extended to politicians who vote legislation in their behalf. So, it’s a circular ponzi scheme with the students completely left out. So, if public schools are to be cleaned up and changed into credible learning institutions the unions have to be busted. It’s that simple.
Avid readers learn with or without a teacher.
As a general rule, those are the least effective, least intellectual and most in need of union support teachers in the school system.
Teacher and Public Education Hater reporting for duty!
Schools should be privatized and sold to the highest bidder;.
Whenever she would be asked about her career change she would say, "Well, there are two distinct advantages to teaching at the Vo-Tech as compared to the public high school. First, all the students are there because they want to be there. Second, the disruptive influence brought about by the integration of schools, doubled the frustrations of the job. Where it used to be just one type of one color of student that took pride in failing grades, there are now two colors that revel in their ignorance. It is indeed a shame that the best intentions of integration, which were to raise others to a higher standard, have seen those standards shamefully lowered."
My kids all went to public school. And did very well. One was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and is studying in Europe. One is an engineering student at a large state university.
The point is, not all public schools are sewers. Some do their job very well.
I have spent some time in an elementary school recently. Public elementary, that is. Oh my, but the children are animals! Not all of them. But there are enough animals that it takes a special child to get anything out of what the teacher is teaching. And the special child will come home with “other” knowledge that should not be happening at an elementary school. So the alternative is to pay up the wazoo to send your special children to private school. We have done that with a few of our children. Our son, who is no genius, shakes his head at the ignorance of his peers. He doesn’t think it is because the private school is not teaching. He thinks his peers are dumb but very well behaved. Lol. I would sure like to be able to send our children to school with like-minded and intelligent people. That is the way my public elementary school was. Alas, social engineers have spoiled the system and made a huge mess for all.
This is an excellent, well written letter. If you have had kids in the public school system you have seen all the things she mentions and a lot more that is worse. She does not mention the gangs and the violence that are in many public schools. She also doesn’t mention the constant stupidity and political correctness of the liberals who run the public schools.
The fact is most teachers I know literally hate their jobs.
The more intelligent and harder working they are the more they hate it.
The older teachers usually stay because they have tenure and do the absolute minimum and work within the system. The younger ones look for a way to leave and find other employment. The only teachers who like their jobs are have either learned to get around all the liberal administrative political correctness and bureaucracy or just don’t care and do little or no work and give all the students high grades.
This teacher is highly unusual if she works 80 hours per week. Most teachers take advantage of all the days off, use all their sick days and personal days and do not spend much time preparing lesson plans or grading papers. That is simply the way it is.
The public schools have been dumbed down. Most students learn little or nothing. They are extremely costly to taxpayers. The best thing to do would be to close them and end the waste of money and young peoples lives.
First, all the students are there because they want to be there
_______________
My son took two certificates at a Voc-Tech HS and the first thing one notices walking through the door is the commitment of the students. Unbelievable. These are kids who want to start their lives. Want to earn, want to move up. Very impressive.
True genius is neither recognized nor harmed by poor tutelage.
Or... the quality of the parents. Thats 90% of it in my opinion.
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