Teacher's Take on Issues in Schools

I was a middle school teacher for almost 6 years before the system broke me down and I had to quit a job I was highly passionate about. In both Louisiana and Texas teachers who try to make learning fun and stand up for their students are seen as insubordinate, are written up, and in some cases, given a much larger work load. I guess the powers that be think if you've got too much on your plate, you won't have time to cause waves.

At this point, thanks to George W. Bush, we've got politicians taking over our classrooms - we have no say so over the curriculum taught or the speed at which the material must, in some cases, be shoved down our students' throats. Not only that, but teachers are and always have been the scapegoat for many of the problems that our society and our kids face. Granted, with teacher salaries so low, there are many teachers who should never have been given the right to stand in front of a class full of kids; however, for every bad teacher out there, there are ten good ones, fighting for our students and working to make their lives better. In most cases, we have absolutely NO SAY SO in what is taught or how it is taught. Nor do we have any say in school and classroom policies that allow disruptive students free reign. Students who truly care about their education are being passed over for the ones who make the most noise and cause the most problems.

And here's the big one folks, we have no control over the home life and upbringing of our students. If there is no support for a child's education at home, a thousand teachers can work thousands of hours with a student, but we can't go home with them and try as we may, we can't instill the importance of an education in them if the parents don't take the lead. Not only are laws and policies allowing disruptive students to remain in the classrooms and basically STEAL education from other students, but parents of these students more often than not cause even more problems by threatening the teacher or threatening to sue the school system. Again, schools are now run by politicians, so these parents who gleefully threaten to take money from schools who already have very little to spare, are taken extremely seriously and in most cases run our schools. That's right - parents who don't respect the school system in ANY way and who shift the burden of raising their kids on over worked and under paid teachers are taking over.

You wonder why most teachers quit within the first three years in the classroom and the school are left with no choice than to put unqualified teachers in their place? Seriously? You wonder why we can't find high quality teachers or in some cases, just qualified teachers to enrich our kids' lives? Even if our pay were to be increased ten-fold, we are not miracle workers. We have several students and only a short period of time with them - we can't change their upbringing or their values. In fact, if we try, we can be sued or fired for interefering. The old saying, "you can lead a horse to water but can't make him drink" is still true today. I can't MAKE a child want to learn (although I was excellent at getting them interested and excited until the curriculum was turned into a one-size-fits all drill and I was written up for not doing the worksheets that I was supposed to be doing); I can't MAKE their parents instill the importance of an education in them; I can't MAKE politicians leave our kids alone. But I CAN give a little insight into the every day struggles of a teacher. If we truly want to make a change, then it will take parents, kids and teachers working TOGETHER and SUPPORTING each other, and ALL OF US need to open our eyes to our own faults and stop pushing the responsibilioty onto someone else's shoulders.

Parents - RAISE YOUR KIDS - GIVE THEM RESPONSIBILITIES -SUPPORT THEM IN THEIR SCHOOL WORK - WAKE UP AND REALIZE WE DON'T HAVE THE TIME MONEY OR RESOURCES TO RAISE YOUR KIDS FOR YOU, TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE DOING THEIR HOMEWORK, TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE RESPECTING THE CLASSROOM AND THE OTHER STUDENTS IN IT-TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN MISTAKES AND STOP ATTACKING EVERYONE ELSE FOR THEM

Kids - WAKE UP - THE WORLD WON'T HAND YOU EVERYTHING-YOUR BOSS WON'T BEG YOU TO PLEASE WANT TO DO YOUR WORK (THEY'LL JUST FIRE YOU) - YOU ARE GIVEN A FREE EDUCATION AND BOUNDLESS OPPORTUNITIES THAT OTHER KIDS IN OTHER COUNTRIES DON'T HAVE - IF YOU SPEND AS MUCH TIME WORKING ON SCHOOL WORK AND SETTING AND REACHING FOR GOALS AS YOU DO BLAMING EVERYONE ELSE FOR YOUR POOR GRADES OR LACK OF INTEREST, YOU'D HAVE STRAIGHT A'S AND MORE SCHOLARSHIPS THAN YOU'D KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH - WAKE UP!!!

Teachers - IF YOU DON'T ABSOLUTELY HAVE A LOVE FOR LEARNING, TEACHING AND ESPECIALLY CHILDREN, STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM OUR CLASSROOMS - THERE ARE PLENTY OTHER JOBS YOU CAN GET FOR THE SAME OR MORE PAY - IF YOU FIND YOURSELF BECOMING BITTER AND IT'S HARD FOR YOU TO CARE ANYMORE ABOUT YOUR STUDENTS, IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBNILITY TO GET OUT OF THERE AND FIND SOMETHING ELSE

Students and parents, sometimes, the teacher is the only advocate your child has in a horribly polluted school system. Instead of burning bridges with them, start building bridges of communication and trust.

And by the way parents, in your child's life, he or she will have a bad boss who runs things poorly and unfairly. It is an extremely important life skill for one to be able to get around that issue and try for success anyway.

I hope what I've shared will help with youthnoise's cause and shed a little more understanding on what really goes on in the school system.