ANSWERS: 7
  • Government control....
  • Too much Administration and underpaid and under qualified teachers.
  • overcrowded classrooms, money is being WASTED on non educational things--other things have more importance than children's learning, underpaid teachers, students are being taught things that they will never use nor rather than being taught life skills that they need to know
  • Teachers are expected to train like a professional, but they are paid and micromanaged like a fast food worker. They are expected to fix things in kids that doctors and psychotherapists can't fix. The ADA and IDEA don't recognize any differences between a slow learned and a juvenile onset paranoid schizophrenic. Somehow, they are supposed to deal with the kid who is smearing feces on the rug in the corner (at 8) because he is unable to comprehend that this behavior is socially unacceptable (true story, I ran across the kid just after he'd FINALLY been moved from the regular classroom into a self contained room. At the same time they are to teach fractions to the average kids and extend the lesson to keep the gifted kids from being bored. And in between, they are supposed to figure out a way to make fractions understandable to the kid with an IQ of 80. And when all this doesn't work out well, everyone blames the teacher and shows up after school to scream at her because their kid isn't doing well, or because she gave their kid a zero on a test when she caught the kid looking up the answer in their notes. I was just starting my last year of teaching on this date seven years ago as the World Trade Center came down. At the time, I was taking home $1200 a month, with 21 hours toward a masters degree. Somehow, I was supposed to do all those things on about the same money as I'd made as a farm laborer with the same benefits. After four years of teaching, I decided I was never going to be able to part the Red Sea, I was going to be bankrupt if I tried for another year and that the education system was teetering on the verge of collapse. My experience with teaching was enough of an eye opener that I'm homeschooling my child.
  • It boils down to this, really: Too many people sitting on their collective *sses and b*tching about how bad the educational system is and not doing anything about it. Parents: Who don't take any cotton-pickin' interest in their children's activities or attendance records, who don't make sure homework gets done, who are too lazy to support their children's teachers (remember classroom mothers?), who don't teach their children manners or to respect their peers and teachers, who think their kids need drugs to be able to pay attention in class. Teachers: Who don't properly challenge their students, who don't demand consistent good performance, who are arm chair doctors diagnosing active children as suffering from ADD or students who aren't paying attention or participating in class as autistic, who would rather push a problem child off on someone else instead of finding out what makes them tick and making it work for them. Administrators: Who are more concerned with following all the little pain-in-the-*ss regulations to the point where they are a hinderance rather than a help to the teachers, parents, and students; who don't uphold the educational standards; who don't give a sh*t about making things work for the benefit of the student who is supposed to receive an education. Students: The ones who are old enough to know better and are STILL classroom disruptors, who don't bother to do the work assigned, who would rather be socializing with their friends than concentrating on school while they are in school, and so forth. Politicians: Who are too pansy-*ssed to lay it on the line and demand that people do their jobs as parents, teachers, and administrators. That said, there are a LOT of outstanding teachers, administrators, and parents out there. However, the ones who don't give a sh*t are dragging the whole system down and burying the real problems under an avalanche of bullsh*t in the guise of "we need more (fill in the blank) to do a good job!" Yes, I agree teachers and the educational system could use more money. But everytime I see a teacher who obviously doesn't give a d*mn about teaching, my sympathy goes right out the window. The number one BIGGEST thing we ALL could do for our children in school is this: GET ACTIVE WITH YOUR CHILDS EDUCATION! This starts with home. Make sure your child is doing their homework. Make sure they are getting plenty of rest before school and that they are properly fed. Make sure they are well behaved. TALK with their teachers and see how they are doing in class. Don't wait until the report cards come out and you find out your child is failing a subject. HELP the teachers...they ALWAYS need assistance with projects, classroom mothers, extra adults for field trips, and more. Teachers buy many things out of their own pockets for their students...feel free to donate those unopened kids meal toys, stickers, paper, and what-not. ASK the teachers what they need. Most of the time they just need some help with the class so they can get some other things done. An hour of your time watching and entertaining the kids during recess or lunch or study time frees up the teacher to do something else they must get done. Ever volunteer to grade papers? Every little bit helps. More money is nice. But money by itself doesn't get the job done. WORK gets the job done. Giving a teacher a well deserved raise doesn't help the students if they STILL have to cram 10 hours of work into a 7 hour school day. God bless all those outstanding teachers, parents, and administrators who DO make a difference.
  • You may find this suprising coming from a teacher. The biggest problem is that we focus way too much on academic excellence. Real life skills are more important and get swept under the rug way too much. For example, if a kid is a calculas wiz but can't change a tire, isn't he missing an important life skill.

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