Somedays, I get it.
Nov. 14th, 2006 10:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
learnteachLittle lost lambs, straying...what could be stupider than a sheep? A willful High School student. I spend more time on basic discipline than on teaching here, and it's worn me down to where I understand why the Lord would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, and why you can't find a good man there--"Good" is relative; in the land of the goof off, the one working is the one who gets their stuff stolen or pilfered or stuffed full of paper, and verbally ridiculed, and physically abused.
So, in short, I haven't defeated the prevailing culture of violence and stupidity completely enough. And if you are not part of the problem, you better duck and cover. And...wow.
School should use computers. No, really, we're in Silicon Valley; the students are all carrying machines (cell phones, music players, game systems) that can literally give them all the answers, but the State Requirements (derived from the Federal Requirements) is that they close the books, sit in a room, and pass a test--a form of test used no where else in life, and a set of skills they don't really need.
Education Reform Now! What do we want?
It's Amerika. We want more money.
I don't think modern schooling is serving us well, just as I don't think modern government is serving us well. But I don't really have an answer. Just some up close and personal observations.
The scary thing? According to the population figures, soon the majority of youth in California will be immigrants (more or less.) And they're not doing well in these schools.
Just one set of thoughts...
So, in short, I haven't defeated the prevailing culture of violence and stupidity completely enough. And if you are not part of the problem, you better duck and cover. And...wow.
School should use computers. No, really, we're in Silicon Valley; the students are all carrying machines (cell phones, music players, game systems) that can literally give them all the answers, but the State Requirements (derived from the Federal Requirements) is that they close the books, sit in a room, and pass a test--a form of test used no where else in life, and a set of skills they don't really need.
Education Reform Now! What do we want?
It's Amerika. We want more money.
I don't think modern schooling is serving us well, just as I don't think modern government is serving us well. But I don't really have an answer. Just some up close and personal observations.
The scary thing? According to the population figures, soon the majority of youth in California will be immigrants (more or less.) And they're not doing well in these schools.
Just one set of thoughts...
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no subject
Date: 2006-11-15 06:10 am (UTC)Sure. They can discipline. Too bad the parents have not done that themselves.
but originally their job was to teach.
It's so sad that teachers can no longer teach...
no subject
Date: 2006-11-15 07:12 am (UTC)There is a lot to be done about promoting good parenting skills (this happens to be one of my current jobs) and there is a lot to be done in the realm of educational reform (it breaks my heart to stand in a classroom and watch kids have to sit and learn how to pass really lame standardized tests instead of learning how to think and be constructive).
But I will maintain that if one can't have positive regard for those with whom you work, there can't be any positive progress. It's precluded. And that's all I'm saying. Without hope, what's left?