Teacher's "lazy whiners" blog

[Wolfenbarg]

its still not the teachers job to make the students do the work. part of the motivation lies with the parents. you cant heap every part of the educational aspect onto the teachers and then spin around and blame them if your kid doesnt do well. if the parents just let the kid sit at home and dick around with video games or run around with their friends instead of doing homework or studying for tests of course they will fail causing much frustration on said teacher when she gets a billion phone calls from parents asking why their kids arent doing well. and besides, i think her blog falls under the freedom of speech.

Yes, of course it falls under freedom of speech, she can rant and rave about stupid kids all day long for all i care. Doesn't make her right, but whatever. Thing is, kids aren't going to dick around on videogames and hang out with friends ALL THE TIME, want to know why? Because EVERYONE has a natural curiosity and desire to learn, it's just human nature. All public school does is discourage that in favor of subjects kids don't even care about and will never use in real life. Example: Currently i'm in Algebra 2. I despise math. (I'm more of a Social sciences/literature/art kind of dude) Why am i in that class when i know for sure that i'm not going to use anything more complicated than simple 6th grade math in real life? Because it's the "law."

And it's the law because schools now have the incredible task of teaching kids who are practically required to be college educated in order to get relatively the same pay that their parents would have gotten when entering the workforce. Most people can't just find a steady job out of high school they'll stay with for life. And when you have a majority of students that need a degree from a university, why would you want to stunt them by keeping them at a 6th grade level in math? That would extend your university time by over a year with something you should already know.

Not to mention that public schools are an arena of competition for the rest of the world. When a company is looking to put investment dollars into a region, one of the key things they look up are demographics and how each one measures up in math and science compared to other areas. If you can get a high level of competency in such subjects relative to the level people are willing to work, you have a willing formula. Businesses aren't just relocating to other parts of the world because they're cheaper, it's also because of high competency rankings.

 

[DMonkey]

Well, I am currently doing an internship at a school in a city and I do not agree with the woman's blog post. Should she be fired? Maybe. If she's a great teacher and just frustrated and hormonal from her pregnancy then maybe not. I do think she owes her students an apology however. As someone else said, it was totally unprofessional to make comments about her students such as "I skip school just to avoid your child." If you were a student of this teacher and you read this, how would it make you feel? What if you were a trouble maker in her class and felt she was referring to you? That's why I believe it's a problem.

What horrible experience can happen in a persons life that would traumatize them into becoming masochistic enough to teach in a public school? Its hard to have pity for them as they are doing it to themselves at this point. Its like staying in an abusive relationship... who do you shake your head at more- the one doing the hitting, or the one who puts up with it?

Let's not go back in time to when people blamed the victim hmm?
No one goes into teaching for the money. They usually do it for more intrinsic reasons. Someone has to teach kids, whatever kind of school they go to. Besides, I'd take a public school over a Catholic school any day.

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

And catholic schools have the best school girls (according to many "documentaries" I have "watched" extensively).

 

[DanDeFool]

Um.... what's the point in public school at all? The public school system is a joke, a broken system that makes children memorize things they'll never need, but never actually learn. Schools aren't places of education, they're prisons designed to turn otherwise bright, creative children into apathetic, complacent "good citizens". Maybe the reason why those students are "lazy" is because they hate the teacher's subject and will probably never use it in their actual future career. So what's the point in actually being in that class?

"If you want to learn, you go to the library. If you want to get laid, you go to school." - Frank Zappa

Agreed. Even in college, in science and engineering programs, we get told our degrees don't mean much in the real world. It kind of seems like all education is pointless.

This is where the good teacher would come in and remind the students that school isn't about learning specific things, it's about developing learning as a skill. It's about learning how to gather information, synthesize ideas, and come to conclusions. Its about learning how to reference and read textbooks to be able to apply knowledge to solve problems. Its about learning how to work together with people you don't know well and may not even like that much to complete a shared objective.

And last, but not least, it's about learning to discipline yourself to accomplish something even if you don't really want to.

To discount school as pointless because the specific knowledge you learn isn't always useful in the real world is to miss the point, and I think any good teacher will be able to impress that upon their students.

OT: My sister is a a high school teacher in a lower-class school, and I think she feels the other teacher's pain. Of course, instead of being just lazy, most of her kids are dealing drugs and getting pregnant.

Underpaid/Underappreciated civil servant: Thy name is High School Teacher.

Yes it's true that school helps develop discipline and character and teaches one how to work well with others, etc. Thing is, it's not necessary for school to develop those characteristics. Prior to the 20th Century, most people were too poor to even dream of going to school. Some of history's greatest geniuses were homeschooled or autodidacted, people like Mark Twain, Leonardo Da Vinci, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Thomas Edison, etc. None of those men were natural born geniuses. They simply became as smart as they were due to natural curiosity and a hunger for knowledge. Public school is really a self fulfilling prophecy of sorts: The system breeds kids who can't think for themselves, making them that much more reliant on the system. Trust me, if i had trillions of dollars, i'd go to every public school in the United States (I'm not all that familiar with the educational system in other countries) and replace the schools with public libraries with as many books as you could ask for.

It'd sure as hell be a lot more educational.

I can see where you're coming from. Personally, I still think public education can be useful, not only as a setting in which children can learn but as a setting which introduces them to being social with their peers in a relatively safe environment.

It may not be necessary for schools to teach general learning and success strategies, but if you consider that many parents aren't going to teach their children these things, or lead them to the situations that will teach them these, I think focusing on these skills would help students in general.

I disagree with the point you made about Da Vinci and the other Renaissance geniuses. Certainly an individual with a strong desire to learn can succeed without the need for public education, but even within our current education system it's still possible for a motivated student to succeed well beyond the expectations of their teachers. I knew at least two students who went on to take classes at the local university while still in High School. While not every high-performing student may have access to these kinds of opportunities, I don't think the system, bad as it is, can rob a student with a genuine desire for knowledge of their success.

I agree that the system has failed the average student, but I think the problem isn't the concept of public education itself. Rather, it's the manifold problem of trying to teach too much, not focusing on the skills that will be important to every student (regardless of future career choice), and increasing teacher salaries so that the profession can demand better talent.

 

[Nemesis729]

What did she expect becoming a teacher? Its part of her job to motivate students. I'm a senior in high school and I can honestly say that if a teacher teaches their class well and treat their students with the respect they somehow think they deserve, I will listen and try in the class, However, If I get a bad teacher, for example my web disign teacher treats us all like 7 year olds and knows almost nothing about the subject. If she doesnt respect me and she cant even teach me anything, why should I respect her? Teachers always use the phrase "Education is a two way street" well so is respect

 

[BGH122]

What did she expect becoming a teacher? Its part of her job to motivate students. I'm a senior in high school and I can honestly say that if a teacher teaches their class well and treat their students with the respect they somehow think they deserve, I will listen and try in the class, However, If I get a bad teacher, for example my web disign teacher treats us all like 7 year olds and knows almost nothing about the subject. If she doesnt respect me and she cant even teach me anything, why should I respect her? Teachers always use the phrase "Education is a two way street" well so is respect

Unfortunately, a lot of people in positions of power in all walks of life seem to operate under the assumption that respect can be demanded. Respect is earned, not given.

 

[Exterminas]

As a teacher myself, those students certainly exist and are frustrating to deal with. But a teacher's job IS to motivate students to learn. That's what she was educated to do in college. That's why she took a teacher's certification test. To bash her students even anonymously is highly unprofessional.

Quite frankly, I'm surprised that she wasn't fired.

Absolutely.
There are kids out there who have some deepr motivation problems. But the vast majority can be motivated, if you pull it off right.
That's what being a teacher is all about, it's not about reciting facts anyone can look up on wikipedia.