OK, to most of us this would be common sense. But I realize common sense is not all that common. Hopefully if you are reading this, you know someone who could use this advice and forward it along to them.
1. Monitor what your young children are watching on TV and listening to on the radio. It is NOT okay to let a 1st grader watch "Chucky" movies or Jersey Shore. It is NOT okay to let them listen to profane music.
2. Do not let your child talk back to you. It is disrespectful and turns them into a rude little urchin.
3. Sit down with them and make sure they do their homework - then YOU check over it. If they say they don't have homework - empty their backpack and look for yourself.
4. Make sure they get a good dinner, bath, and go to bed at a decent time. TEACH them how to brush their teeth and TEACH them how to bathe - that's right - as a parent you must TEACH them these things.
5. Make sure that they talk to adults with respect and have manners - say please and thank you.
6. If you suspect your child has an issue behaviorally or psychologically - TAKE THEM TO A PEDIATRICIAN.
7. Know who your children are playing with outside of school - the kids AND parents.
8. Set limits and stick to them - you are NOT their friend - but someone that is charged with helping them to become the best they can be.
If you cannot do these things - don't have kids or give them to someone that can take on the responsibility.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
The Truth
I went in to teaching because I enjoyed learning new things and teaching kids. I really enjoyed teaching my own kids and thought what better career was there besides teaching?
Ten + years later, I am trying everything I can to get out of it before it destroys me. Don't get me wrong - I love kids and I still love teaching. But it has come to the point where the negative side of teaching far out weighs the positive.
Things I love about teaching:
1. The creativity of planning lessons.
2. The smiles on the kids' faces when excited about learning new things.
3. When kids give me hugs and tell me, "You're the best teacher in the world!"
4. Learning from my students.
Things I hate about teaching:
1. The time consuming meetings, documentation, paperwork that take up all my free time and take away from my effectiveness to plan lessons.
2. The limitations set by high stakes testing.
3. The angst of students and teachers due to high stakes testing.
4. The inability to teach a concept until kids "get it" because we must stick to a curriculum road map and time table. I am so sorry if it takes your kid to learn division longer than the road map says we have to teach it. It is not my intention to leave them behind, but the school district mandates this.
5. Having my class dominated by behavior problem kids and kids with serious psychological issues. It takes more than a year to have a child diagnosed and put into a class that is best suited for them. I am so sorry that your child has to be subjected to a psychological disturbed child that may curse worse than a sailor and throw furniture. These children apparently have more rights than the other children that are able to learn. Unfortunately, your child has to waste a year or more of schooling in a chaotic classroom before they do something.
6. Having administrators that have less than 5 years classroom experience act like they have the "magic pill" for success - one more program to implement until the next administrator comes along with their "new method".
7. Being held accountable for students that have low IQ's, or refuse to learn, or are defiant, or are violent, or never work - because of course I must be doing something wrong if they are not passing.
8. Having to write 5 page lesson plans that all but include when I go to the bathroom. What happened to the "Paperwork Reduction Act"? Hah - that's a joke!
9. Worrying every minute if I'm going to get "written up" for being 2 minutes late to a meeting, deviating from the typed lesson plan for 5 minutes because a student has asked a question, or because my lesson plans are not detailed enough.
10. Parents that don't parent their children.
I went in to teaching to be a teacher, not a mental health professional. It has worn me down. Teachers have no support, we are just hanging by a shoestring.
The truth is, when the good teachers are run out of education by these horrible working conditions, who is going to be there to teach your kids? That is the sad part. Public schools must change in order to survive these times and for teachers to be respected.
I hate to say this, but because of these working conditions - you will see more and more deplorable teachers that are there because that is all they can do until they get fired for who knows what??? The public school system will be left wide open to a bunch of low life deviants - and the smart ones will get out. Teaching is not a respected profession anymore. If it were, we wouldn't have the problems that we have in our classrooms.
The public school system has become just like any other government entity. It is all about money and special interest. If you think that any school district is in it for student success you are sadly mistaken. They care about numbers, cutting costs, and passing tests to receive funding from the federal government. If they truly cared about students, they would do what it takes to turn this system around. But like all government monsters it takes years to muddle through all the red tape and bureaucracy to change one thing.
Ten + years later, I am trying everything I can to get out of it before it destroys me. Don't get me wrong - I love kids and I still love teaching. But it has come to the point where the negative side of teaching far out weighs the positive.
Things I love about teaching:
1. The creativity of planning lessons.
2. The smiles on the kids' faces when excited about learning new things.
3. When kids give me hugs and tell me, "You're the best teacher in the world!"
4. Learning from my students.
Things I hate about teaching:
1. The time consuming meetings, documentation, paperwork that take up all my free time and take away from my effectiveness to plan lessons.
2. The limitations set by high stakes testing.
3. The angst of students and teachers due to high stakes testing.
4. The inability to teach a concept until kids "get it" because we must stick to a curriculum road map and time table. I am so sorry if it takes your kid to learn division longer than the road map says we have to teach it. It is not my intention to leave them behind, but the school district mandates this.
5. Having my class dominated by behavior problem kids and kids with serious psychological issues. It takes more than a year to have a child diagnosed and put into a class that is best suited for them. I am so sorry that your child has to be subjected to a psychological disturbed child that may curse worse than a sailor and throw furniture. These children apparently have more rights than the other children that are able to learn. Unfortunately, your child has to waste a year or more of schooling in a chaotic classroom before they do something.
6. Having administrators that have less than 5 years classroom experience act like they have the "magic pill" for success - one more program to implement until the next administrator comes along with their "new method".
7. Being held accountable for students that have low IQ's, or refuse to learn, or are defiant, or are violent, or never work - because of course I must be doing something wrong if they are not passing.
8. Having to write 5 page lesson plans that all but include when I go to the bathroom. What happened to the "Paperwork Reduction Act"? Hah - that's a joke!
9. Worrying every minute if I'm going to get "written up" for being 2 minutes late to a meeting, deviating from the typed lesson plan for 5 minutes because a student has asked a question, or because my lesson plans are not detailed enough.
10. Parents that don't parent their children.
I went in to teaching to be a teacher, not a mental health professional. It has worn me down. Teachers have no support, we are just hanging by a shoestring.
The truth is, when the good teachers are run out of education by these horrible working conditions, who is going to be there to teach your kids? That is the sad part. Public schools must change in order to survive these times and for teachers to be respected.
I hate to say this, but because of these working conditions - you will see more and more deplorable teachers that are there because that is all they can do until they get fired for who knows what??? The public school system will be left wide open to a bunch of low life deviants - and the smart ones will get out. Teaching is not a respected profession anymore. If it were, we wouldn't have the problems that we have in our classrooms.
The public school system has become just like any other government entity. It is all about money and special interest. If you think that any school district is in it for student success you are sadly mistaken. They care about numbers, cutting costs, and passing tests to receive funding from the federal government. If they truly cared about students, they would do what it takes to turn this system around. But like all government monsters it takes years to muddle through all the red tape and bureaucracy to change one thing.
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