First of all, I want to apologize for being the worst blogger in Bloglandia.
New school year + New school site + Parent conferences = NO TIME LEFT TO DO ANYTHING BUT COLLAPSE
I promise to let the October breezes carry me back over to your wonderful blogs.
I've invited the panic button onto my blog this week so anyone concerned about education in our country can give it a push.
Since when is education not important enough to finance?
Since when have teachers become villains?
Since when have students ceased to be individuals and become test scores?
Since when has hugging a child in distress become an action that can threaten your job?
Since when is it vital for a ten year old to identify the chemical signature of photosynthesis?
Just sayin'.
Thoughts?
I can't wait for first quarter to end so that things slow down. I have 10-11 hour work days right now since I'm still setting things up.
ReplyDeleteI have felt villainized these past few years. And tests, tests, data, data. This post spoke to me.
I am a teacher but I certainly don't support the union. In fact, I believe the unions should be eliminated and instead a system be initiated in each state that rewards a teacher from every county (maybe 2). The amount would be sufficient to warrant the attention of the teachers and compel them to perform better. We work hard.
ReplyDeleteI don't get why teachers have become villains either, or the education system in general.
ReplyDeleteI hope most teachers don't feel like villains. In our home, they're valued and appreciated. Thanks for teaching the next generation!
ReplyDeleteLeslie Rose- And people wonder why children in other countries are smarter than ours or why kids don't want to read or why stress and anxiety is on the rise in younger and younger children? Hmm, because we test them to death, we don't let them learn in a natural way, and we don't trust that our teachers, who have never been paid enough, know what's best for them. My biggest worry when my first child went to kindergarten was that there wouldn't be anyone to hug him when he was in distress. I think that kindness is lacking in this world and if a teacher shows it to a child, it should be applauded, shouted from the rooftops. It might be the only hug that child gets that day.
ReplyDeleteWhat is this world coming to? Nothing is PC anymore. You are always damned if you do. I find it incredibly frustrating that it seems that no one is listening to the masses, I just want to shake the politicians and say,"Get down there in the fifth grade trenches! See what it's really like!"
I would love you for hugging my child that is in distress. You are a hero for the job you do. I am not a teacher because it is one of the hardest jobs in the world and it carries a great deal of responsibility. I don't think I'm up for the challenge. Thank you to all of you that teach!
Heather
I salute all teachers and feel it's a national shame that they are not more revered and better paid. My sister is a teacher and my mom was one. I know how much of their heart went into each lesson. My sister teaches science to the most disturbed kids in Wichita, and they are dying for a gentle hand on the shoulder and a kind word. Teachers, you are the only warmth some kids ever feel, and I applaud you.
ReplyDeleteSorry if I was gushing, but you hit a nerve. :)
Gushing is welcome here.
DeleteAgreed! The data collection is insane. Some days I feel like I've spent more time assessing than I have teaching! Data collection is great ... to a point, but let me teach! Let me take care of the kids and help them learn their strengths & how to cope with their challenges. Give me the time I need to help them believe in themselves. Please!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't have said it more perfectly. Here - here!
DeletePressing the panic button too. I agree whole-heartedly.
ReplyDeleteI love Jemi's comment above - let me help them learn their strengths and how to cope with their challenges.
Thank you so much everyone. It's so refreshing that you all "get it."
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your new school year! September is always such a hectic time, isn't it? Lots of people say they haven't been on blogs much lately but that they're planning to be back in October.
ReplyDeleteAs for your questions, those are some of the reasons I am no longer a teacher. I would also add, Since when is it acceptable to have fifty students in a classroom?
I'm sorry the teaching profession lost you, Caryn. I have to admit as much as I love the kids, I think about leaving teaching at least every other day. Sad, since it's been my life for over 25 years.
ReplyDeleteYou're definitely not the worst blogger in Bloglandia. I am. But it's okay because life and writing are always more important than blogs (as fun as they are). :)
ReplyDeleteVery good questions here, too. I wish kids would be treated more as individuals. Indeed.
A lot of us feel the way you do, Leslie! "Since when" starts off some big questions and they should be answered.
ReplyDeleteI bailed on teaching in the high schools and went to the university where some of these questions weren't applicable. Now, of course, the funding is a huge "since when" question.
Oh, and you're not a bad blogger in bloglandia. Not in my bloggy mind.
ReplyDeleteYou are not the worst blogger. And i totally understand were you're coming from. Those are big questions that need some big answers :)
ReplyDeleteNutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
There's a car in my school's parking lot that reads something like, "Wouldn't it be great if the government put lots of funds into education and had to raise $ from bake sales to go to war?"
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad about not blogging. Life happens!
Now there's a bumper sticker I can wrap my head around.
DeleteOh, I don't think you are a bad blogger, lol. But I know *I* have been a terrible blogger lately! HA!
ReplyDeleteI think that teachers are vital to every community! I don't know much about the education problems in the US, but here I think we need to have more great teachers, and pay them better. ;)
I win the prize for bad blogger. Sorry. And I'm also sorry that teaching has become such a (well more so anyhow) stressful job. We need good people like you in the classrooms. You're my hero.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts are that I'm very happy I chose not to teach. I would be locked up by now, I'm sure. Kudos to all who do. I just stopped in to say after my blog break :)
ReplyDeleteHow many times can we push that button?
ReplyDeleteWelcome back, Leslie! Good luck with your new school year!
I'd like to push the button repeatedly, too, like Vicki seems to.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely am in the running with ya for worst blogger in the land. :) But it's good to know I'm in such great company!
The thing about those t-shirts - would we ever actually take the time to get them made?
DeleteI'm guessing...no. :)
*push*
ReplyDeleteThe hugging one is the saddest one.