Monday, February 21, 2011

If you can read this, thank a teacher.

Two blogs in a day! It must be a manic Monday, and I am riled up!!
It seems that we are in a time of pointing fingers were they ought not be pointed. Now, we get to blame teachers for the scores their students get, without considering the fact that the student has responsibility and the parents have a responsibility. Might I just say, this is ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT?? Come on! I can sit through a class, and not pay attention...I can go home and not study...these things will cause me to do poorly in school...that would be MY fault, not the teachers. I could have had parents who didn't care if I did my homework, but I, luckily, had parents who didn't have a problem harassing the shit out of me until my homework was done, then checking it for me, and being there for me while I was doing it so if I had any questions they could answer them. Had I had parents who didn't give a damn about my homework and never checked...yeah, I probably would have not done it, and thus done poorly! Oh my holy grilled cheesus!! COME ON!
Now, in this country, (and I hope my sister reads this!) we have a president who intends on holding teachers accountable for their students test scores. Even grade school teachers...so, we're not just discussing teachers instructing honors classes and not teaching anything when the students are willing and eager to learn, we're talking all teachers, in every school, in every facet. Obama, wants to fire all the bad teachers, now I'll give it to him, I've had bad professors that were tenured and didn't give a rip and stopped teaching and would, instead, use their classroom as their personal soapboxes. These classrooms were political platforms for the professors who were in charge. But, in grade school and high school...my teachers (even the ones I really didn't like) taught the material and it was up to me as to whether I was paying attention or not, whether I did the homework or not, whether I studied or not. You want to know why it's professors who don't give a rip and teachers who kind of have to? It's really quite simple.
Kindergarten through twelfth grade is mandatory attendance in this country for all kids under the age of 18, still following? Ok, so all these little booger eaters have to be dropped of by their parents and attend school...and I don't know if you've noticed, (I've been told about it all my life), but kids now-a-days are ASSHOLES! They really are. Starting at about 6 years old, kids now are these tiny little shits that you aren't suppose to punish anymore, you're not suppose to scold or chastise and they know it. They are told they are little princes and princesses and they get what they want because we give it to them. Heaven forbid you swat your child for being an asshole in a store. That's damaging to their self esteem! Everyone wants their child to grow up knowing how special he or she is, they want them to be eternally happy and gleeful. We don't want to put the fear of god in them with a hand, belt, spoon, soap in the mouth, Tabasco sauce...no, we need to calmly ask them to behave and offer them a reward...Why am I bringing all of this child bashing up? Because you drop your turd of a child off at some poor grade school teachers class and for the next 8 hours that teacher gets paid this tiny little amount to try and corral him and 30 others just like him into desks and oh-so-kindly tell them to shut the fuck up while this stressed-out, sleep-deprived, under-paid teacher attempts to force information through their ADD riddled little heads...day after day...
Oh, and don't worry. Should anything happen, and the teacher accidentally hurt poor little jerkwad Timmy's feelings, the administration that the teacher works under will take your side, because the parent is always right and we want kids to feel good about themselves!
Perfect example. My father was the boys PE teacher...now, 'PE' stands for PHYSICAL EDUCATION...we all on the same page? Okay, so my dad, taught high-schooler's...(have you met a 15 year old boy you liked?) all day, 5 days a week, and these, I'm sure lovely boys, would tell people how mean my dad was for wanting them to change into their gym clothes and try...just try to run a few laps...participate...in PHYSICAL EDUCATION...and anytime the administration would get wind of my fathers, obviously ridiculous, terms for running his class, they would side with the parents and the student. Now, my dad was kind of the "mean guy" on campus...but think for just a second...he taught 15 year old boys for 20+ years and he's old school discipline...so yeah, he got a reputation, but one that was completely undeserved. You're kids in PE class, trying is kind of mandatory. Just me?
Want yet another example? Got it! My mom teaches third grade, and the administration has told all teachers that scolding and punishing kids should be avoided at all cost. The principal of the school wants every kid to come out of her office smiling. Kid....sent to the principals office....comes out smiling??? Really??? Guess what that kid was just taught by going to the office? They were taught that whatever they did to get sent there in the first place was not bad. For a punishment to be effective it must be moderate to severe. That is an absolute fact.
So, Obama want's to punish teachers...he wants to hold them accountable...fine, but give teachers what they need: Shock collars on every student (fine, maybe something less severe, but options for punishing students), report cards for the parent as well as the child, smaller and more manageable class sizes, school supplies, reinstate special education classes (yeah, some have been cut completely and those children are now in the regular classes...), and cut the whole 'no child left behind' crap. If a child is legitimately handicapped, he or she can have a sliding scale, if your child is of average intelligence but never wants to do anything, let him stay in third grade until he's 18 and drops out, maybe eventually the embarrassment will inspire him to learn the material. If you have a teacher who has their entire class fail...sure...evaluate them, make sure their doing their job. But DO.NOT. hold the teacher solely responsible, when they really don't have a lot to work with.

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