lockewong
TUG Member
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2015
- Messages
- 240
- Reaction score
- 249
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area
- Resorts Owned
- Marriott Maui Ocean Club, Marriott Kauai Beach Club, West 57th, The Central at 5th, HGVC Bay Club, Tahoe Seasons
It is a very difficult situation. There are students who do not respond to heavy pressure or peer pressure. They recede into themselves and just do not engage. Some students respond by stepping it up. I cannot say what administration does but I know they need to support the teacher who is on the front lines. Is it smaller class sizes or more enrichment for the teacher..i.e. innovative ways to teach and engage the student? But, the pressure to promote a student who is not meeting the minimum standards does neither the student nor the other students a favor. An engaged student who is prepared and participates actively enriches the educational experience for all. That is the ideal. But, how does one teach all subjects to students who have differing abilities or interests? That is the real ability/art/magic/alchemy. To the teachers that despite my inability or lack of talent that still pushed and encouraged, I will always be grateful. I was miserable in PE. But, I showed some tenacity. My 7th grade PE teacher put me on a softball team- second string. I did okay. She told me she put me on because she saw something in me. Something that I did not think I had. It encouraged me in college to take PE. To swim. To be active and eventually, to take up running and skiing. I would never have done it but she believed in me and in turn, I believed in me. My parents would never have challenged her grading of me. But, in the end, she gave me something more than the grade reflected. I hope you find an administration that appreciates your dedication and your passion. I think you care so much and it makes you bonkers that current societal pressures do not recognize your real motivations which are purely to educate and encourage your students to become their best selves. But, students are immature, they will never see your impact on their education and their lives until later. I wish I could find every teacher who made an impact on me and personally thank them.@lockewong - that is an excellent question and one that is really worth considering on a deeper level.
I know the following is an editorial cartoon but it really summarizes the change that has occurred in education over the past years.
The onus of responsibility for student learning has been placed far too much on the teacher's shoulders while it has concurrently been lifted from the shoulders of the parent, school and district administration, and mostly the student. When my oldest kids were moving through high school, our math program was structure in such a way that it offered students three opportunities to demonstrate their grasp of subject material. It did NOT matter whether a student made a perfect score on their first attempt or somewhere later in this process - all 100% scores (regadless when earned) were considered the same.
It did not take students long to make two very accurate observations. Homework was pretty much ignored because a student could use the first test attempt to see what the test looked like (what type of questions would be on the test) and then use test 2 and 3 to get the same score the students who learned the material earned with one test. Class participation and attention plummeted (as students learned to make as little as effort as possible until the teacher 'revealed' the test) but administration looked at the metrics and deemed this approach a success. Actual learning decreased, less content was covered, but administration could look at reports that created a false sense of student competence and parade these in front of the public. This approach is spreading and it is a cancer!
You asked is this a parenting issue - my reply is a certain yes given the quality of parenting (and I hesitate to call it that) far to many of our students get at home(s) these days.
School administration continues to put kids back in classrooms who have no business being there (due to behavior issues) citing the rights of the student yet conveniently overlooking the rights of the other student(s) in the classroom.
I do not expect a classroom full of perfect angels (but wouldn't that be fun!) because I deal with kids who are still learning how to act in a social situation. There will be set backs as students learn - I get that. I've had some students screw up in class who (after dealing with them on an individual level) figured out a better way. I'll remember and recall these kids with a special fondness as they move on through the grades and do they best they can.
But our society is increasingly turning out kids who lack support (of all kinds) at home, who cannot function in social situations, and whose presence in the classroom destroys the educational quality for the remaining students in the class. Teachers cannot fix every problem they are given, but administration prefers to ignore that reality.
Yeah, it frustrates me.
