Why We Look To Teachers To Solve Our Problems
Posted by avoiceinthewilderness
They slice. They dice.
They have the ability to cause children who never come to school to pass standardized exams.
They can overcome broken families, drug addiction, institutional racism, media saturation and all other effects of a society in complete regression.
Look up in the sky, it’s a bird! It’s a plane. No, it’s a teacher!
Naturally, I’m being facetious; but I’m sure you understand the sentiment. For some reason, our society has decided that teachers are going to fix everything that is wrong with our culture… and it’s a little bizarre.
The truth is that we are a society in crisis. School shootings, child abuse, truancy, lack of motivation, illiteracy, domestic violence- the list goes on. Concerned parents are terrified. The problems that their children face are enormous. The world that they will inherit is unraveling.
Then there are the other parents; those who don’t seem so concerned. Their focus is on self satisfaction and passing the responsibility for raising their children to someone else. As teachers, we’ve all heard the phrase, “Well that’s why I send him to school, so you can fix it.”
Our children are growing up spoiled, undisciplined, neglected, irresponsible and illiterate. Their priorities are completely out of whack. How is it possible that a child can own an iPod and cell phone but lack for the basic necessities such as a pen and notebook? Why do students who are dressed in clothing that could pay my mortgage go to school without having breakfast or being provided with lunch by their parents?
Hard work and determination are becoming outdated concepts. Children don’t ‘earn’ grades; they’re given them. Mister, what did you give me? Miss, did you pass me? They don’t pass exams; their teachers get them to pass. The idea of studying and investing in one’s own learning process is alien to our students. Their locus of control is completely external.
And it’s killing them. They’re lost.
As a society, we recognize this-be it consciously or subconsciously. People are suddenly ‘waking up’ and realizing that our children are not going to be able to function. The problem is that the damage is already done. Years of irresponsibility and misguided values are difficult to overcome.
Now would probably be a good time to reevaluate the mistakes that we have made as a global community. Wouldn’t it make sense to begin to evaluate past behaviors that have brought us to this point for the purpose of improvement? Instead, we’re in panic mode. We can’t see clearly; and when people are in panic mode they look for a quick solution. I know! It’s the schools! They’re to blame! They can fix it!
In all fairness, however, there are no other institutions to rely on. Our politicians are too busy being engaged in childish and self satisfying behaviors. Our church officials have been caught in scandal after scandal. Who does this leave? Teachers.
I fully recognize that teachers are not saints. We too have our scandals. Unfortunately, however, society has decided to canonize us, and I’m not sure I’m up for the challenge. You see, I was raised Catholic. I know what happens to saints-they’re usually burned at the stake.
I highly suggest reading the following link about societal regression:
http://www.thebowencenter.org/pages/conceptsep.html
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Comments
Wow, too much truth for one blog, I guess, so shut down the conversation. Heaven forbid we’d have a dissenting voice that actually knows what he’s talking about! Woodlass, have you ever visited an Achievement First school? Or KIPP? They get pretty close to a 100% success rate - a lot closer than just about any DOE schools do.
I never said I have 40 kids on my register, but I’ve seen people do it successfully. I don’t grieve things like that because I know that if they weren’t in my class they’d be dumped on some poor first-year teacher whose head is barely above water.
I shut down the comments because I cannot stomach an adult who, when he gets backed into a corner, decides to attack a person rather than the issues or statement. This is not the behavior that I’d expect from an educator nor is it the kind that I’d entertain. If you are going to argue the issue- by all means do so- I am all for open-forums of discussion. But when you have to resort to personal insults, it’s time to admit that you have lost.
And this is why I am a successful teacher- I teach my students to use their intelligence to win arguments not lowly insults reserved for comedy clubs and second-rate movies.
“…not lowly insults reserved for comedy clubs and second-rate movies.”
Um, and what is that comment, then?
Or these, from Ms. Woodlass, uttered long before I offered anything remotely insulting or ad hominem:
“Platitudes and arrogance are the marks of pretenders.”
Or after my supposed insult, which I still can’t find within my responses:
“You are an insulting little man”
Taken on face value, without you giving benefit of the doubt to those with whom you agree, there’s no fair-minded person who would find my language or my arguments more offensive or insulting than those that were launched at me. The ad hominem attacks are flowing in one direction - at me.
Oh, and for good measure, the constant, incorrect refrain that I’m not really a teacher:
“…like the people you work for want to do.”
All my arguments that were directed at Woodlass were based on her own comments, not my false presumption of who she is. Nor were any of them even remotely insulting unless she considers attribution of her own viewpoints to herself to be insulting. I never got sarcastic, like Ms. Woodlass with her endless “beeps”, and I never name-called, like Ms. Woodlass with her “little man” comment. Therefore, I must conclude that me getting shut down is a result of me espousing a viewpoint that is counter to those of the majority on this site or in the self-congratulatory, circular, and myopic edublogosphere. To that, I plead guilty.
OK, let me point out that our first introduction to you was your comment on the post that Norm wrote introducing our blog. You wrote “Wow, another anti-reform blogger crawls out from under a rock. Those who can, teach. Those who can’t teach, blog”
You immediately put us in an adversarial position and naturally, anything you say will be met with some resistance.
I have no problem with posting comments or listening to opinions that are different from my own. I am very confident that my motivation has, and always will be to help children and I am very passionate about the subject of education.
I welcome the banter that is produced through discord, as it provides an opportunity for refutation and possibly rethinking.
However, how about we agree to do away with the insults and focus on our ideas and not our personalities?
Wow @ all the above comments.
As far as the teaching part goes, I believe that, while teachers are canonized, most of the saints and martyrs die broke and in many cases with a low morale. Teachers shouldn’t have to. I think the NEA did a study that showed that the discrepancy in salary between teachers and their non-teaching counterparts have a difference of about 60%. Also, many of those who leave the profession leave because they feel like they have a little more autonomy, a lot less stress, and a feeling like they’re more appreciated. And I don’t mean that in terms of bonus pay, because that’s just an argument used to dissuade unity, but every so often, some emotional as well as professional support would do well for us.
To Jose:
The really awful thing is that we can complain and leave and find other careers, but the kids are stuck. What does it say about our society that we value the education of our children so little? Teaching is a low-prestige job because, among other reasons, education is given such little value.
I wanted to just clarify for any readers of these comments that I am not connected with this blog in any way except that I thoroughly agree with the full content of the posts.
How the owners handle people like the man who calls himself Socrates (oh, dear) is entirely up to them. I think this person has misrepresented public school teachers in general and me in particular, and I don’t think it’s any reader’s obligation to allow all this frothing at the mouth to go unchallenged.
To woodlass
Thanks! (You haven’t seen my new post, yet, though. I hope you don’t change your mind)
My co-author was very angry at the way that this person called Socrates was addressing you. Learners also loved your final comment and wanted to end all comments with it.
I argued that we should re-open comments. Let me explain why.
First of all, you seem like a tough cookie. I think you can handle your own. I also think that your beliefs stand on their own. No agitator can take away the truth from something that has been said in truth. I also think you gave it right back to him in spades.
My final reason, though, is that I looove to hear the other side of what I believe. It teaches me a lot about what the other side thinks and feels, where their motivation is, etc. I find it fascinating. I also believe that the real creeps are those who say nothing. They smile in agreement and are secretly waiting to stab you in the back. I’m much more comfortable with a vocal person. I have always found that truly dangerous people are not those who infuriate me.
Thank you for supporting our entry into this strange world of EdBlogs!
Thanks for clarifying, avoicein. I figured from the timing of the shutdown that Woodlass initiated it. On my blog I have the same philosophy as you - no comments will be edited, and no commenters banned. In fact, I started my blog because other sites eliminated conversation with which they didn’t agree.
Socrates’s last blog post..Despite Study of Charter Organizations, Grumpy Old Bloggers Can’t Get No Satisfaction
It’s always nice to find people who have the same opinions, but there’s a lot to learn from those who don’t.
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Well said. Very well said!