I recently retired from public school teaching. I don’t have a problem with holding bad teachers responsible. But I think that the real problem lies with trying to hold the students and their parents responsible. The thing that is killing public education is the fact that the public schools must accept every warm body that shows up. The more problems and ‘handicaps’ a child has the more rights he or she is given. The mainstreaming of problem children means that your normal child gets to learn in a circus atmosphere. Parents who know the score and have the means pull their kids out for parochial/private/home schooling—which makes the public school worse.
When I started teaching, each teacher had a paddle. If a kid crossed the line, three swats were given (with all the class doors open, to encourage the others). Twenty years ago the paddles were taken away—only the principal paddled. Five or six years ago the principal gave that up. Over the years minor punishments were taken away—sentences (like Bart Simpson), standing at the board, sending into the hall, etc, etc all taken away. All tha teachers can now do at my old school is send a child to a ‘safe seat’, if the behavior continues the kid is sent to a ‘buddy room’ where he or she fills out a form and returns. Sending a child to the principal is frowned on and requires the filling out of a long form. Suspensions do occur, but are rare because ‘that’s just what he wants’ and of course cost the school money. And God help a district if the percent of protected classes being suspended is to high.
Of course kids get passed on to the next grade regardless of what he or she has learned. Who wants a 15-year old in the fifth grade? Certainly not the parent of a normal fifth-grader. The best we can hope for is that he will be quiet in his eighth-grade class and let the others learn. If he can’t be quiet, then the others (including the teacher) will have to do their best in spite of him.
I don’t think teachers really asked for any of this. All of these things tend to get passed on from the top downward. In the last twenty years the top has been in Washington rather that the state capitals or local school boards. There are good public schools left—but that’s in spite of not because of the current trends.
Teachers I know stopped reporting bad behavior on paper because it’s always the black kids misbehaving, and the teacher will be a documented racist if they keep reporting actual incidents.
Based on your 20+ years of teaching, how would you measure a teacher’s success?
“fills out a form” ~ ? ~ now there’s a leftwingtard idea of punishment for ya’ ~ “fills out a form” and I’m thinking of that original ObamaKKKare application form ~ WOW! 60 pages!
“But I think that the real problem lies with trying to hold the students and their parents responsible. The thing that is killing public education is the fact that the public schools must accept every warm body that shows up.”
+1
“The more problems and ‘handicaps’ a child has the more rights he or she is given. The mainstreaming of problem children means that your normal child gets to learn in a circus atmosphere. “
+10
” Sending a child to the principal is frowned on and requires the filling out of a long form. Suspensions do occur, but are rare because ‘that’s just what he wants’ and of course cost the school money. And God help a district if the percent of protected classes being suspended is to high.”
+100
“Of course kids get passed on to the next grade regardless of what he or she has learned. Who wants a 15-year old in the fifth grade? Certainly not the parent of a normal fifth-grader. The best we can hope for is that he will be quiet in his eighth-grade class and let the others learn.”
+1000
“I don’t think teachers really asked for any of this.”
+10,000
Thank you for saying some things that ought to be said.