[mtbopfuyn]

It’s not the kids really, it’s their parents’ lack of values.

[rocksblues]

I agree!

[cinives]

Yes, it’s the kids too. Don’t let them off the hook. You don’t get to be 16 and not have some input into your own actions.

[WarToad]

Seriously. First and foremost I blame the parents for not bringing the smack down and taking control in their own house and with homework and understanding it. They’re your kids. They’re your responsibility. Deal with it.

[pfflier]

Oh yes it is the kids, and the parents, and the schools and the society.

The students do not want to work for a grade, they have been conditioned to receive credit and praise for their "effort", not the results. They plaguerize, cheat and look for excuses.

They don't know both parents anymore but they have a homelife where they have several siblings, all of different fathers. There is no longer any social stigma against that.

They watch MTV and other mindless entertainment where the kids are always smarter than the teacher and the adults, and they believe it, they mimic it and they play it out in the classroom. They listen to audio of words my mother washed out my mouth for learning, and I never used until I lived in the barracks.

The NEA and their teachers are constsntly experimenting on them in the areas of learning and socialization. They have been subjected to new math, no math, SRA reading, phonetic spelling, bilingualism and cultural awareness sensitivity. Science isn't even taught anymore unless algore endorses the content.

At the same time they are being suspended for drawing pictures of guns and are not allowed to meet veterans of wars or military recruiters. Patriotism is equated with fascism while they are bombarded with multi-culturalism, and are told they must embrace "alternative lifestyles".

I am retiring in two months, from teaching 16 years. The current system is broken and it is NOT Bush's fault. Our country has lost it's moral compass and refuses to set a new course. I used tho hope that I made a difference. Now, I only hope that I can make it for two more months without getting sued.

[bikerman]

It’s not the kids really, it’s their parents’ lack of values

Its Clintons fault, to much midnight basketball.

[NonValueAdded]

Yes, and most of the programs we hate are put in place to compensate for the lack of parenting. It riles us up because we are parenting and abhor the intrusion - and with good reason, it seems. The city is the place where institutional "parenting" is practiced most and we see the results.