Teacher Trash!

I don't know about you but all the nasty talk about teachers just burns me up! I teach in a private school and our kids get high test scores, as one might guess when there are fewer than 20 students in a class. But I used to teach in public schools, and when I moved here from Florida in 2006, I spent a year as a substitute teacher in several public schools, just so I could see how things are done these days in the states. I was amazed at what I found.

Many schools face a transition rate of 40% or higher! That is huge. Kids get moved from state to state, city to city, school to school. Some students, granted not a high percentage, attend three or more schools each year! Moving like this can lead to big gaps in education. Because there isn't a national curriculum, some 7th graders will take Life Science while other schools will teach their 7th graders Earth Science. Move a couple of times and you may never get Life Science!

All the medication kids take today is crazy, often quite necessary, but crazy! Many people think that ADD and ADHD kids simply lack self-discipline. Wow, that is not true! While subbing in the public schools, I have seen kids literally whirl around a room or rock themselves until they sweat just because they forgot to take their meds. These kids would give anything to be able to get through a day without driving themselves crazy! How many of these kids had parents who experimented with recreational drug use while conceiving or carrying their kids we'll never know but I am quite sure that the drug culture of modern society has led to at least some students today who are truly incapable of controlling themselves. Again, not all situations are like this but if I had a nickel for every parent who referred to experimenting during their 20s... well, my savings would look very different today! Yes, I know, I've been teaching forever!

Home life is not what it used to be either. With two parents working, or single-parent situations, kids do not get the academic help they once received at home. Learning the multiplication tables used to be a family event. Now everything is supposed to be done in school. It just doesn't work that way, especially with kids who need extra help. But it's not all the fault of home either. Society today is so different. Kids are connected to media nearly all day long, in school and out. Just ask a teacher how many of her students text each other during class. Kids are good at it. I've seen kids text with their phones in their hoodie pockets! It's crazy how wired we are in today's world.

Teachers work hard, day in and day out, and often are blamed for low test scores of students who are not getting proper rest, nutrition, supervision, interaction, or stability at home. Supposedly the going rate for babysitters these days is $8 - $12 per hour per kid. Wow! That would be amazing, right? Teachers would be well over the six-figure salary mark if that was the case. But for the vast majority of us it isn't about the money, never has been. It's about changing the world, one child at a time. I sure wish people could see that and be more respectful of the public school teachers who serve, yes serve, in their communities!