I come from a line of teachers. My dad was an English teacher for over 30 years and my brother is currently a teacher like I am. Therefore, my family and I have lots of "philosophical" (if you can call them that) conversations about education today.
My brother works at a charter school in Florida. He was telling me a story about breaking up a fight between two young ladies at his school. A cop had to be present because of the background of one of the young ladies and the other young lady was in and out of school all year from suspensions, etc.
That spurred my brother and I on a very important question, "Why do we HAVE to provide these students with an education?"
Please do not get me wrong, I fully believe in turning a new leaf and students coming back from things like juvenile correctional facilities having learned their lesson. However, I have a student who is 17, has no hope of graduating even if he passes every class this year, and yet he is still in my classroom. He disrupts the learning environment, distracts others, in blatantly disobedient... so why can't we say "you have lost the privilege of getting a free education"?
Many conversations talk about what other countries are doing better. It's simple. They are holding their students/children accountable. If a student is not appreciative of their current educational surroundings they are gone - where as our system gives them plenty of ways to get around rules and through loopholes. We keep students in the education system even if they've been suspended in the double digits AND cause trouble in our schools. Even the students who don't "cause trouble" are lazy because they know if they cry to mommy and daddy about their grades that their teacher will give them 5,000 ways to make up their grade! And if the teacher doesn't (i've tried that) they get chastised for it.
What's wrong with our education system? Lack of accountability. Plain and simple. If I show up late to my job more than a few times - i'm fired. Why is school not the same? If I don't turn in my project for work on time - I'm punished and possibly fired if it happens again. Why is school not the same? If I get arrested, it is pretty impossible to find a job after that. Why is school not the same?
Erin-
ReplyDeleteI could not agree with you more. It is a controversial topic, for sure, but it is a conversation that needs to be had in our country. It used be "three strikes, you're out"...now its 5,732 strikes and you can still get on base. It makes no sense. The lack of accountability on the students behalf is astounding. I think it has a whole lot to do with the shift in popular parenting styles in the ME Generation (that is what I call the children in this generation because everything is about ME.) If accountability were taken more seriously, the importance of education would be taken more seriously. I don't know if there is a solution, unless we can change the parenting trends in our country... -Amy Linville
Wow Erin, I had not really thought about this before. I completely agree with you. One of my first thoughts were then I can only imagine how inner city schools would function. I am not judging, it is just a fact. We live near Minneapolis and the older children in the family have/do attend the public school here. They have told us about the fights, having police on schools grounds, etc... and this school is rated in the top 100 apparently. The kids tell us they have to be in AP classes because there it's only the "regular" class or the AP or advanced classes and so the kids who want to be there have to take the AP classes or be forced to endure taking classes with kids who typically don't care. This really is a serious issue and obviously not much focus and time is put into changing this.
ReplyDeleteHi Erin. I think you bring up a sensitive topic. I have my own reservations about school politics as well. For example, I recently heard of a student from a local middle school who was sent home due to a dress code violation. You know what the violation was…no belt! That’s right, he had forgot to put a belt on. I understand that most rules and regulations are to protect students (and teachers), but how is sending this student home for not wearing a belt to school? I think schools get wrapped up in politics and forget what their job is – to educate!
ReplyDeleteAlthough your experience is somewhat contrasting to mine, it still represents a problem in the education system - education policy needs to be reformed to enhance/promote a healthy learning environment.
Hi Erin,
ReplyDeleteI can see your point quite clearly. When we are faced with extreme behavior problems in the classroom, we end up spending more time dealing with that issue, than providing quality time to work with other students who are there to learn. It has happened to me many times. There is such a thing as the discipline process, but that only works if the administration truly supports their teachers. Sometimes I locate the student's other teachers to see if the problem is unique to my class, or if we are all experiencing the same difficulties. If the latter is true, I encourage the other teachers to work with me on our own intervention plan, including calling the parents, parent shadowing, lunch detention, and so on. I usually find that working with other teachers on a shared problem helps me alleviate some of the stress. It helps to know that someone else shares the difficulties and is willing to help me work out a solution. Sometimes, it is a matter of getting all the teachers to turn in the discipline referral AT THE SAME TIME. I also make my own recommendations on the discipline form. If the discipline administrator does not respond to me, I will forward a duplicate copy to the big boss with a letter suggesting that this concern requires prompt resolution. We must consider that all students must feel safe in the classroom.
The No Child Left Behind Act had all good intentions I am sure, and there have been many students who have benefitted from an increase in qualified teachers, or from the opportunity afforded them through speech and language services, or serices for the homeless, deaf or blind. Yet there are other students who use the system to make their life easier. I have recently learned that students stay in school even beyond the age of 18 if they can because they recieve welfare and or foodstamp benefits. If they are out of school, those benefits will dry up, and they will be forced to look for a job. Another reason some students stay on the school record is that they sell things to other kids in the school. They might deal illegal drugs or stolen items like cell phones. Still another reason would be a student attending school only to hang out with their boyfriend or girlfriend, not necessarily to learn anything.
Hi Erin,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a very interesting, but controversial and sensitive point. I have also questioned why students are still allowed in school, but then I think about where else they might be. If these students “strike out” they will most likely be incarcerated. Many of these students are struggling for a reason, and the system has most likely failed them before. Maybe they can’t graduate, but what if one teacher can set them on a different path. Or at least keep them out of prison.
I am not saying that these students should be allowed in the classroom if they are disrupting others education. If this is the case, then alternative education should be considered for these students.
Interesting take. I think that when I look at the problems of education, I think that we need to sit back and ask why are we doing school? I think that one of the major problems is that every teacher and student would answer that question differently. When your a child I think that mistakes should be allowed but every mistake needs to have a lesson. Obviously those lessons are harsher when you are an adult. They should be.
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