[A_perfect_lady]

I'm in Los Angeles. We miss it every year because half our students are illegals who just keep pouring in, speaking no English and barely able to read or write in Spanish either. We get them and in three weeks we're supposed to transform them into the kids from Dead Poet's Society.

It doesn't help that they're used to Mexican schools where they can be beaten, and when they realize that there's no beating in American schools, they run amok, screaming in joy. Because once you've smacked a kid around, being given 15 minutes of trash pick-up doesn't particularly bother them. It's miserable. I am seriously considering relocating to Fargo if my writing career doesn't eventually save me from this job.

[shag377]

I feel your pain. My county in Georgia is the #1 agriculture county in the state and we have lots of migrant workers and a good many hispanics that have settled here.

Like you I have a problem with kids dropping in and out, and having to test immediately after coming to the country. NCLB has done nothing but shackle good teachers who are trying.

I don’t mind accountability, but I do mind it when the rules get changed in the middle of the game without knowing.

[texas booster]

Come to Texas instead. We need all the conservatives we can get to stem the tide of libs from Yankeeland.

Just make sure you move to a rural area north of Austin, either East Texas, North Texas or West Texas. Teaching becomes fun again.