TEACHERS ARE BLAMED, KIDS ARE AT FAULT

While I spend a lot of time writing, I also substitute teach in our local school system.  I cannot bear to sit at a computer all day and write.  I have to get out of the house and see what is going on in the real world.  I can think of no better way than to substitue for a teacher.  The attitude and behavior of the kids in the school system gives me a "birds-eye" view of our culture. 

Let me start out with something POSITIVE about being a substitute teacher.  I have been doing this for a couple of years.  I have struggled with a lot of negative criticism most of my life, so when I get to school and I am met with a lot of compliments from both boys and girls, I am truly shocked.  The compliments range from how they like my looks to declaring me to be their "favorite substitute teacher."  I have had trouble dealing with some bad behavior, but no matter how hard I come down on them by putting them in the hall with their backs up against the wall, or pushing the intercom button to request that someone come and remove a student from the class, most of the students respond to me in a positive way.  I find that kids in general have a better attitude than some of the adults that I have worked with in the business world.
 
Now, on to why I am writing this blog...full-time teachers are blamed for our poor educational test scores.  However, I have not personally found that to be true.  Some of the things I point out below DOES NOT APPLY TO ALL STUDENTS, but applies to MANY of them:

• Students have difficulty sitting down and being quiet.  This is the most challenging problem that a teacher faces when trying to teach them.  This has always been a problem but is getting worse as the years go by.
• Many students have dysfunctional home lives. Some parents are on drugs and alcohol, use foul language that the students immitate, and do not provide for the simple basic needs of their children.
• The kids lack manners.  When classes are changing and the halls are full of students and a teacher is going in the opposite direction, they will not move over to allow a teacher to easily pass them.  They talk back, argue, and deliberately disrupt the class in order to bring attention to themselves.  Making their classmates laugh brings them immediate gratification.
• Some (most) of the disruptive students are immune to punishment.
• Some (many) simply do not care if they learn anything.
• While our school system provides computers in every room, smart (really smart) boards, highly educated teachers, and the latest educational material to aid in the learning process, many students could care less, and they take all of the gadgets for granted.
• Smart phones predominate the minds of the students, by viewing photos, texting messages, and the latest phones are slowly taking over the minds of our children.

I can go on and on, but I will end this up with:  THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH ,OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IS THAT MANY OF THE STUDENTS SIMPLY DO NOT CARE IF THEY LEARN ANYTHING IN SCHOOL.

The people who live in "ivory towers" and do not have the slightest notion what is really going on in the schools, thinks that more "money" needs to be thrown into the system to improve scores.  This is not the case!  No matter what approach a teacher takes, or what gadget they use, a child must allow the information to penetrate their brain.

A good education starts at home with parents who care, try to live productive lives themselves, instill good goals in their children, see to their children's basic needs, get involved at school, help with homework, and apply some sort of negative punishment for bad grades if the child has a decent IQ.