Upon re-reading my most recent post I thought, "Sounds callous and dismissive." So here's my follow-up. Maybe I can explain where some of this is coming from.
You see, I live with a public elementary school teacher. And though I've never seen her at work, I'm convinced she's a terrific educator. In fact, I'd go so far to say that her students are downright fortunate to have her.
But it's not easy. With pressure to raise scores on standardized tests, mixed with a pledge to leave no child behind, combined with constant-but-unnecessary disruptions, the job is close to impossible.
It's the "constant-but-unnecessary disruptions" part that gets to me. Because of the presence of a handful of unruly kids in our schools, the majority--well-behaved and teachable--often has to settle for an atmosphere where instead of learning, they merely cope.
And it's worse than a lot of people imagine. Hardly a week goes by that I don't hear a story about how "Jimmy" once again assaulted "Kevin," turned over his desk and threw his chair. What's more, because the offender knows that the school security guards as well as the teacher can respond with little more than passive restraint, there's not much to slow him down.
In the wake of the most-recent, predictable assault, "Jimmy" may or may not be suspended. It seems that, increasingly, with pressure on the schools to reduce suspensions and raise the rate of attendance, he won't be. Instead, the teacher, who because of the threat of litigation could do little more than send the class out into the safety of the hallway, winds up getting grilled about her "classroom management" techniques. "What might we change in order to make such outbursts less likely?" as though any fault lies with the teacher.
At some point, every teacher thinks, "It's not fair that most of my students have to settle for mediocrity, because one or two of them routinely ruin the learning environment." The current administration has mandated that there be "No Child Left Behind." But wouldn't it be better to issue a mandate that our schools "Teach." And wouldn't it be better if we added the promise that anytime administrators took tough measures against "violent and multiple" offenders, they'd be trusted and backed?
That's the way I see it.
Howdy Frank! Saw your blog to Mike Cope and thought I would drop you a quick note. Would love to catch up with you sometime. If you are ever in Uganda, you've got a place to stay. Give my love to Lesa.
ReplyDeleteFrank,
ReplyDeleteEveryday in my job I advocate for children to be placed in public schools and task the school system to provide the special education services that they have the right to recieve. The stuggle I have is I am working with 15, 16, 17 year olds who are 3 to 4 years behind and are expected to work like good little students. If I am confronted every day with I am a failure, don't expect me to act successful.
The bulk of the problems you describing come down to parent problems. They aren't there, they aren't consistent, they aren't supportive of the school, etc... . But, then there are the cases where the parent has done everything right and this still happens. I say this to say, there are no easy answers.
Last year, my 1st grader was spat on by a "Johnny" in the making. We got a very nice letter from the mother explaining what was wrong with "Johnny" and what she was trying to do to solve the issue. She is a single mom who works way to much and has little energy left over to handle "Johnny". I was thrilled when "Johnny" wasn't in her class this year.
My point to this rambling is we need to identify "Johnny" sooner. Not just try to fix him but also work with the family to make things better at home (since home can undo everything the school fixes and vice versa).
BTW my wife taught 7th grade public school for 6 years before we had kids. She is thinking about re-entering the fray. She loves that age.
Hi, Steve! Thanks for reading and commenting.
ReplyDeleteFrank by the way my email is
ReplyDeletesteve-shannon@juno.com
My memory has gotten fuzzy but was it you I helped look for an engagement ring in front of Benson after it fell out of the reese's cup wrapper?