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Politics : Al Gore vs George Bush: the moderate's perspective -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (739)	9/20/2000 11:22:39 AM
From: Rarebird	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 10042

Ron, the System has no idea what it takes to make learning happen in the classroom. Teachers are sick of hearing about standards. Their day is wasted in meetings hearing about all the new standards rather than helping children during their free periods. Their sick of hearing about standards and their leaving in droves. If the System wants top educators, it will have to pay 6 figures and give them the power to make their students learn. That means when a teacher disciplines a kid for being disruptive or not doing their HW, the buck stops there. Kids often run to Assistant Principals and Principals when teachers discipline them. Guess who the A.P's and Principals support? All the Principals care about is becoming Superintendent and all the AP's care about is becoming Principal. They are not interested in learning. Why should someone become a teacher? The word is out that you can't do your job. Kids know that teachers have no power to enforce their discipline. I worked in the mid 80's as a HS public school teacher in Fort Apache, in the South Bronx. That area would make all the ghettos in the Northeast Section of DC heaven. They don't fix traffic lights off the main roads when they are not working. The street people don't ask you for money. If your in your car, they put their fist through your windshield and take what they need. I taught those kids for 5 years. They came to my class with their knives and guns every day and did their HW and learned. (They didn't have metal detectors back then.) What did I do? I just taught the lessons and treated them with respect and made them learn. I was gentle with them. I never raised my voice. I told them they could all learn if they gave it a honest shot. Boy did their eyes pop wide open when I said that. I also told them that if they had to go to the bathroom or leave just take the pass and go. Don't ask me for permission and disrupt the lessons. Anyone who disrupted my lessons, the kids would literally pick up the kid or kids in question and throw them out of the class till tomorrow. Those kids never allowed the Administrators to come in my class to observe what was going on. They all took the State Regents exam in Math and passed. So, I must have done something right. I wasn't their friend either. I didn't get very personal or wrapped up in their world. I just taught the lessons. I didn't care if the class was noisy as long as they were talking about the work and helping each other. Kids don't want to hear sermons about aids, sex or drugs from teachers. They know the story there. Plus, it removes the professional distance between student and teacher when you talk about that and the kids disrespect you for doing it. Children just want teachers to strut their stuff and teach their subject. I personally enjoyed teaching; but I left to go into business for myself. It was tough communicating with most of my other colleagues(teachers and administrators). Would I ever go back to it? Maybe, after I retire, for half a day. But if I have to hear about all the BS about standards during the day, No. Just pay me well, leave me alone and judge me by the results of my kids.