To Save the Schools, We Must Change the Social Contract

[SweetSue92]

"demonize"........

You think the problems are coming from within the schools. As if the children--the products of this broken culture, really--are coming to us with clean, unwritten slates and on those slates all of us, to a teacher, are writing the most prurient and unwholesome things.

Otherwise, the children of this very broken, busted up and sad culture are coming to us.....well....broken, sad and busted up. Some of them have never known a stable and secure adult in their life

If you have a five year old child hitting, biting, kicking and throwing things in the room, and you are the only adult in the room, YOU CANNOT RESTRAIN THAT CHILD. You cannot even touch the child. By law.

I would also like to point out to everyone who is so naive in this thread how very physically destructive young people, even children, can be when they are melting down

Our culture is the problem

Are you here saying that the right of one child to continually be disruptive outweighs the rights of all the other children to stay in their classroom with their teacher and learn?

Thread after thread after thread about the 'little angels' that distort & disturb your professional existence Sue

Maybe it's not the kids, maybe YOU'RE the problem if they all s*ck

Maybe it's time to retire

~S~

Well sparky if I"m rated in the top 10% of teachers year after year in my very highly rated school district, then clearly I'm not the problem, am I? And really my comments don't reflect that I can't handle the children or that I don't want to handle the children. My comments reflect that we have a blistering teacher shortage and a growing problem in the schools that no one is talking about. That you can't really address, so you made it personal. One more like this and you go to ignore!

 

[anotherlife]

"demonize"........

You think the problems are coming from within the schools. As if the children--the products of this broken culture, really--are coming to us with clean, unwritten slates and on those slates all of us, to a teacher, are writing the most prurient and unwholesome things.

Otherwise, the children of this very broken, busted up and sad culture are coming to us.....well....broken, sad and busted up. Some of them have never known a stable and secure adult in their life

If you have a five year old child hitting, biting, kicking and throwing things in the room, and you are the only adult in the room, YOU CANNOT RESTRAIN THAT CHILD. You cannot even touch the child. By law.

I would also like to point out to everyone who is so naive in this thread how very physically destructive young people, even children, can be when they are melting down

Our culture is the problem

Are you here saying that the right of one child to continually be disruptive outweighs the rights of all the other children to stay in their classroom with their teacher and learn?

Thread after thread after thread about the 'little angels' that distort & disturb your professional existence Sue

Maybe it's not the kids, maybe YOU'RE the problem if they all s*ck

Maybe it's time to retire

~S~

Well sparky if I"m rated in the top 10% of teachers year after year in my very highly rated school district, then clearly I'm not the problem, am I? And really my comments don't reflect that I can't handle the children or that I don't want to handle the children. My comments reflect that we have a blistering teacher shortage and a growing problem in the schools that no one is talking about. That you can't really address, so you made it personal. One more like this and you go to ignore!

What do you mean by teacher shortage? It takes at least two and a half master degrees to become a school teacher, each costing minimum $100k. Even with all those coushie teacher Union salaries, you don't pay that off in a lifetime. If there was a real teacher shortage, then this would definitely not happen. Then even Pedro the janitor would be teaching maths class.

 

[SweetSue92]

"demonize"........

You think the problems are coming from within the schools. As if the children--the products of this broken culture, really--are coming to us with clean, unwritten slates and on those slates all of us, to a teacher, are writing the most prurient and unwholesome things.

Otherwise, the children of this very broken, busted up and sad culture are coming to us.....well....broken, sad and busted up. Some of them have never known a stable and secure adult in their life

If you have a five year old child hitting, biting, kicking and throwing things in the room, and you are the only adult in the room, YOU CANNOT RESTRAIN THAT CHILD. You cannot even touch the child. By law.

I would also like to point out to everyone who is so naive in this thread how very physically destructive young people, even children, can be when they are melting down

Our culture is the problem

Are you here saying that the right of one child to continually be disruptive outweighs the rights of all the other children to stay in their classroom with their teacher and learn?

Thread after thread after thread about the 'little angels' that distort & disturb your professional existence Sue

Maybe it's not the kids, maybe YOU'RE the problem if they all s*ck

Maybe it's time to retire

~S~

Well sparky if I"m rated in the top 10% of teachers year after year in my very highly rated school district, then clearly I'm not the problem, am I? And really my comments don't reflect that I can't handle the children or that I don't want to handle the children. My comments reflect that we have a blistering teacher shortage and a growing problem in the schools that no one is talking about. That you can't really address, so you made it personal. One more like this and you go to ignore!

What do you mean by teacher shortage? It takes at least two and a half master degrees to become a school teacher, each costing minimum $100k. Even with all those coushie teacher Union salaries, you don't pay that off in a lifetime. If there was a real teacher shortage, then this would definitely not happen. Then even Pedro the janitor would be teaching maths class.

Well this site is called "US Message Board" so we're talking about American schools here.

 

[anotherlife]

"demonize"........

You think the problems are coming from within the schools. As if the children--the products of this broken culture, really--are coming to us with clean, unwritten slates and on those slates all of us, to a teacher, are writing the most prurient and unwholesome things.

Otherwise, the children of this very broken, busted up and sad culture are coming to us.....well....broken, sad and busted up. Some of them have never known a stable and secure adult in their life

If you have a five year old child hitting, biting, kicking and throwing things in the room, and you are the only adult in the room, YOU CANNOT RESTRAIN THAT CHILD. You cannot even touch the child. By law.

I would also like to point out to everyone who is so naive in this thread how very physically destructive young people, even children, can be when they are melting down

Our culture is the problem

Are you here saying that the right of one child to continually be disruptive outweighs the rights of all the other children to stay in their classroom with their teacher and learn?

Thread after thread after thread about the 'little angels' that distort & disturb your professional existence Sue

Maybe it's not the kids, maybe YOU'RE the problem if they all s*ck

Maybe it's time to retire

~S~

Well sparky if I"m rated in the top 10% of teachers year after year in my very highly rated school district, then clearly I'm not the problem, am I? And really my comments don't reflect that I can't handle the children or that I don't want to handle the children. My comments reflect that we have a blistering teacher shortage and a growing problem in the schools that no one is talking about. That you can't really address, so you made it personal. One more like this and you go to ignore!

What do you mean by teacher shortage? It takes at least two and a half master degrees to become a school teacher, each costing minimum $100k. Even with all those coushie teacher Union salaries, you don't pay that off in a lifetime. If there was a real teacher shortage, then this would definitely not happen. Then even Pedro the janitor would be teaching maths class.

Well this site is called "US Message Board" so we're talking about American schools here.

Yes. My figures were in dollars too. What makes you think I am not talking about America?

 

[SweetSue92]

"demonize"........

You think the problems are coming from within the schools. As if the children--the products of this broken culture, really--are coming to us with clean, unwritten slates and on those slates all of us, to a teacher, are writing the most prurient and unwholesome things.

Otherwise, the children of this very broken, busted up and sad culture are coming to us.....well....broken, sad and busted up. Some of them have never known a stable and secure adult in their life

If you have a five year old child hitting, biting, kicking and throwing things in the room, and you are the only adult in the room, YOU CANNOT RESTRAIN THAT CHILD. You cannot even touch the child. By law.

I would also like to point out to everyone who is so naive in this thread how very physically destructive young people, even children, can be when they are melting down

Our culture is the problem

Are you here saying that the right of one child to continually be disruptive outweighs the rights of all the other children to stay in their classroom with their teacher and learn?

Thread after thread after thread about the 'little angels' that distort & disturb your professional existence Sue

Maybe it's not the kids, maybe YOU'RE the problem if they all s*ck

Maybe it's time to retire

~S~

Well sparky if I"m rated in the top 10% of teachers year after year in my very highly rated school district, then clearly I'm not the problem, am I? And really my comments don't reflect that I can't handle the children or that I don't want to handle the children. My comments reflect that we have a blistering teacher shortage and a growing problem in the schools that no one is talking about. That you can't really address, so you made it personal. One more like this and you go to ignore!

What do you mean by teacher shortage? It takes at least two and a half master degrees to become a school teacher, each costing minimum $100k. Even with all those coushie teacher Union salaries, you don't pay that off in a lifetime. If there was a real teacher shortage, then this would definitely not happen. Then even Pedro the janitor would be teaching maths class.

Well this site is called "US Message Board" so we're talking about American schools here.

Yes. My figures were in dollars too. What makes you think I am not talking about America?

1. Because in most states you can teach on a Bachelor's degree and

2. you said "maths"

 

[anotherlife]

Thread after thread after thread about the 'little angels' that distort & disturb your professional existence Sue

Maybe it's not the kids, maybe YOU'RE the problem if they all s*ck

Maybe it's time to retire

~S~

Well sparky if I"m rated in the top 10% of teachers year after year in my very highly rated school district, then clearly I'm not the problem, am I? And really my comments don't reflect that I can't handle the children or that I don't want to handle the children. My comments reflect that we have a blistering teacher shortage and a growing problem in the schools that no one is talking about. That you can't really address, so you made it personal. One more like this and you go to ignore!

What do you mean by teacher shortage? It takes at least two and a half master degrees to become a school teacher, each costing minimum $100k. Even with all those coushie teacher Union salaries, you don't pay that off in a lifetime. If there was a real teacher shortage, then this would definitely not happen. Then even Pedro the janitor would be teaching maths class.

Well this site is called "US Message Board" so we're talking about American schools here.

Yes. My figures were in dollars too. What makes you think I am not talking about America?

1. Because in most states you can teach on a Bachelor's degree and

2. you said "maths"

I am sure that when I will get my bachelors majoring in maths, I will not be able to just walk into a school and tell them to give me a class to teach. You need like a ton of other and very expensive qualification to be even considered.

 

[SweetSue92]

I'm just wondering what this kid did to force an "evacuation".

Classroom evacuation because of an irate 5 year old......uh huh....
Only in America.....and a few other confused, overly PC western societies.

What do you suggest be done with an out of control child throwing things. Let him/her hurt the other students? The teacher cannot restrain/touch them......parents sue over that.

Okay and yes. Here is a main point in my OP actually.

Right now, the children doing all the disrupting--no, not the CHILDREN, their parents--are holding all the "power". They have the law and the threat of lawsuits over everyone, and this is not right. It's not just or fair. Their disruption and behavior is now causing major upheaval for the education of all the other children all over the nation.

I'm saying that the parents of the OTHER children--those are the ones that have to not be intimidated by "victim mentality" and begin to file lawsuits. I just read an article about a child who had a pair of scissors thrown at her head in her elementary classroom.

No more. Let the other parents start filing suit when the districts do not protect their children

Unfortunately, Administrations COUNT ON the parents of the good children not making waves.

Sure, but we all know that once you wake the "sleeping giant", that is when the change really comes. You can affect some change with a loud minority. But then the "silent" majority starts waking up? Look out.

It is happening for the schools--see the media report about the parents going to the school board.

 

[SweetSue92]

Well sparky if I"m rated in the top 10% of teachers year after year in my very highly rated school district, then clearly I'm not the problem, am I? And really my comments don't reflect that I can't handle the children or that I don't want to handle the children. My comments reflect that we have a blistering teacher shortage and a growing problem in the schools that no one is talking about. That you can't really address, so you made it personal. One more like this and you go to ignore!

What do you mean by teacher shortage? It takes at least two and a half master degrees to become a school teacher, each costing minimum $100k. Even with all those coushie teacher Union salaries, you don't pay that off in a lifetime. If there was a real teacher shortage, then this would definitely not happen. Then even Pedro the janitor would be teaching maths class.

Well this site is called "US Message Board" so we're talking about American schools here.

Yes. My figures were in dollars too. What makes you think I am not talking about America?

1. Because in most states you can teach on a Bachelor's degree and

2. you said "maths"

I am sure that when I will get my bachelors majoring in maths, I will not be able to just walk into a school and tell them to give me a class to teach. You need like a ton of other and very expensive qualification to be even considered.

I can't speak to how to qualify to teach in whatever nation you're living in. But you're dead wrong about needing a Master's Degree right out of the gate in many if not most states, and that's increasingly the case in this teacher shortage, and especially in math. Lots of places are granting emergency certificates and in those cases I'm not even sure the teachers have Bachelor's degrees in math.

 

[anotherlife]

What do you mean by teacher shortage? It takes at least two and a half master degrees to become a school teacher, each costing minimum $100k. Even with all those coushie teacher Union salaries, you don't pay that off in a lifetime. If there was a real teacher shortage, then this would definitely not happen. Then even Pedro the janitor would be teaching maths class.

Well this site is called "US Message Board" so we're talking about American schools here.

Yes. My figures were in dollars too. What makes you think I am not talking about America?

1. Because in most states you can teach on a Bachelor's degree and

2. you said "maths"

I am sure that when I will get my bachelors majoring in maths, I will not be able to just walk into a school and tell them to give me a class to teach. You need like a ton of other and very expensive qualification to be even considered.

I can't speak to how to qualify to teach in whatever nation you're living in. But you're dead wrong about needing a Master's Degree right out of the gate in many if not most states, and that's increasingly the case in this teacher shortage, and especially in math. Lots of places are granting emergency certificates and in those cases I'm not even sure the teachers have Bachelor's degrees in math.

I am a university student majoring in maths, and I could teach any high school maths class easily. At university, higher degree students are allowed to teach classes for lower degrees. If there are teacher shortages, then why can't I make a few bucks by teaching a high school class? I don't mean the private tutoring gig that everyone does, but a proper high school class? The skill set is the same. But not allowed. Very simple. So I don't understand why this teacher shortage propaganda exists then?

 

[Unkotare]

... those coushie teacher Union salaries....

 

[SweetSue92]

Well this site is called "US Message Board" so we're talking about American schools here.

Yes. My figures were in dollars too. What makes you think I am not talking about America?

1. Because in most states you can teach on a Bachelor's degree and

2. you said "maths"

I am sure that when I will get my bachelors majoring in maths, I will not be able to just walk into a school and tell them to give me a class to teach. You need like a ton of other and very expensive qualification to be even considered.

I can't speak to how to qualify to teach in whatever nation you're living in. But you're dead wrong about needing a Master's Degree right out of the gate in many if not most states, and that's increasingly the case in this teacher shortage, and especially in math. Lots of places are granting emergency certificates and in those cases I'm not even sure the teachers have Bachelor's degrees in math.

I am a university student majoring in maths, and I could teach any high school maths class easily. At university, higher degree students are allowed to teach classes for lower degrees. If there are teacher shortages, then why can't I make a few bucks by teaching a high school class? I don't mean the private tutoring gig that everyone does, but a proper high school class? The skill set is the same. But not allowed. Very simple. So I don't understand why this teacher shortage propaganda exists then?

Okay I don't know. Go speak to people in your own nation about your own certification requirements.

 

[anotherlife]

Yes. My figures were in dollars too. What makes you think I am not talking about America?

1. Because in most states you can teach on a Bachelor's degree and

2. you said "maths"

I am sure that when I will get my bachelors majoring in maths, I will not be able to just walk into a school and tell them to give me a class to teach. You need like a ton of other and very expensive qualification to be even considered.

I can't speak to how to qualify to teach in whatever nation you're living in. But you're dead wrong about needing a Master's Degree right out of the gate in many if not most states, and that's increasingly the case in this teacher shortage, and especially in math. Lots of places are granting emergency certificates and in those cases I'm not even sure the teachers have Bachelor's degrees in math.

I am a university student majoring in maths, and I could teach any high school maths class easily. At university, higher degree students are allowed to teach classes for lower degrees. If there are teacher shortages, then why can't I make a few bucks by teaching a high school class? I don't mean the private tutoring gig that everyone does, but a proper high school class? The skill set is the same. But not allowed. Very simple. So I don't understand why this teacher shortage propaganda exists then?

Okay I don't know. Go speak to people in your own nation about your own certification requirements.

I was talking about the USA. Schools are not worth much anyways and neither are teachers, in any country, if they don't teach New Testament studies. What point is to a school if it can't tell you why it exists?

 

[SweetSue92]

1. Because in most states you can teach on a Bachelor's degree and

2. you said "maths"

I am sure that when I will get my bachelors majoring in maths, I will not be able to just walk into a school and tell them to give me a class to teach. You need like a ton of other and very expensive qualification to be even considered.

I can't speak to how to qualify to teach in whatever nation you're living in. But you're dead wrong about needing a Master's Degree right out of the gate in many if not most states, and that's increasingly the case in this teacher shortage, and especially in math. Lots of places are granting emergency certificates and in those cases I'm not even sure the teachers have Bachelor's degrees in math.

I am a university student majoring in maths, and I could teach any high school maths class easily. At university, higher degree students are allowed to teach classes for lower degrees. If there are teacher shortages, then why can't I make a few bucks by teaching a high school class? I don't mean the private tutoring gig that everyone does, but a proper high school class? The skill set is the same. But not allowed. Very simple. So I don't understand why this teacher shortage propaganda exists then?

Okay I don't know. Go speak to people in your own nation about your own certification requirements.

I was talking about the USA. Schools are not worth much anyways and neither are teachers, in any country, if they don't teach New Testament studies. What point is to a school if it can't tell you why it exists?

I highly doubt you can prescribe what is best for USA schools from a foreign nation. You clearly don't understand the way our schools work, for starters.

 

[Unkotare]

Well this site is called "US Message Board" so we're talking about American schools here.

Yes. My figures were in dollars too. What makes you think I am not talking about America?

1. Because in most states you can teach on a Bachelor's degree and

2. you said "maths"

I am sure that when I will get my bachelors majoring in maths, I will not be able to just walk into a school and tell them to give me a class to teach. You need like a ton of other and very expensive qualification to be even considered.

I can't speak to how to qualify to teach in whatever nation you're living in. But you're dead wrong about needing a Master's Degree right out of the gate in many if not most states, and that's increasingly the case in this teacher shortage, and especially in math. Lots of places are granting emergency certificates and in those cases I'm not even sure the teachers have Bachelor's degrees in math.

I am a university student majoring in maths, and I could teach any high school maths class easily. At university, higher degree students are allowed to teach classes for lower degrees. If there are teacher shortages, then why can't I make a few bucks by teaching a high school class? I don't mean the private tutoring gig that everyone does, but a proper high school class? The skill set is the same. But not allowed. Very simple. So I don't understand why this teacher shortage propaganda exists then?

Study: America’s Teacher Shortage Is a Bigger Problem than Thought

 

[anotherlife]

I am sure that when I will get my bachelors majoring in maths, I will not be able to just walk into a school and tell them to give me a class to teach. You need like a ton of other and very expensive qualification to be even considered.

I can't speak to how to qualify to teach in whatever nation you're living in. But you're dead wrong about needing a Master's Degree right out of the gate in many if not most states, and that's increasingly the case in this teacher shortage, and especially in math. Lots of places are granting emergency certificates and in those cases I'm not even sure the teachers have Bachelor's degrees in math.

I am a university student majoring in maths, and I could teach any high school maths class easily. At university, higher degree students are allowed to teach classes for lower degrees. If there are teacher shortages, then why can't I make a few bucks by teaching a high school class? I don't mean the private tutoring gig that everyone does, but a proper high school class? The skill set is the same. But not allowed. Very simple. So I don't understand why this teacher shortage propaganda exists then?

Okay I don't know. Go speak to people in your own nation about your own certification requirements.

I was talking about the USA. Schools are not worth much anyways and neither are teachers, in any country, if they don't teach New Testament studies. What point is to a school if it can't tell you why it exists?

I highly doubt you can prescribe what is best for USA schools from a foreign nation. You clearly don't understand the way our schools work, for starters.

Interesting. Did you say American schools work?

 

[Linda Griffith]

Teachers have tried desperately to adapt to the changing needs of our students--and we're failing...and leaving the profession.

To save the schools, we have to revisit, and perhaps even change, the social contract. Specifically, we need to be clear about individual rights and collective rights.

The Kindergarten teacher in the article below, who left her job, mentions the kids who turn over tables because they've never been told "no". The day this happens and your child is injured, YOU must take action. Go to the teacher, then principal, superintendent and school board--and take other parents with you. That way, you apply pressure on the slacker parents and school personnel to do their job or get out of the way, because the most fundamental principle of the collective has been breached: students must be safe in school.

We can take our schools back. We can decide certain behaviors can be understood, but not tolerated.

(If you do not want to click and read her entire article, which I recommend, read her first and fourth reason for leaving, which I have copied below.)

1. The old excuse "the kids have changed". No. No friggin way. Kids are kids. PARENTING has changed. SOCIETY has changed. The kids are just the innocent victims of that. Parents are working crazy hours, consumed by their devices, leaving kids in unstable parenting/coparenting situations, terrible media influences... and we are going to give the excuse that the KIDS have changed? What did we expect them to do? Kids behave in undesirable ways in the environment they feel safest. They test the water in the environment that they know their mistakes and behaviors will be treated with kindness and compassion. For those "well behaved" kids--they're throwing normal kid tantrums at home because it's safe. The kids flipping tables at school? They don't have a safe place at home. Our classrooms are the first place they've ever heard 'no', been given boundaries, shown love through respect. Cue "the kids have changed" .
.
4. Instead of holding parents accountable... and making them true partners, we've adopted a customer service mindset. I've seen the Facebook rants about attendance and getting "the letter". Well, here's the thing... I can't teach your child if he's not in school ‍. I was cussed out by parents who wanted to attend field trips but missed the THREE notes that went home--and when they did attend a trip, sat on their phone the entire time. I've had parents stand me up multiple times on Conference Days then call to tattle on me when I refused to offer an after school option. I've had parents tell me that I'm not allowed to tell their child 'no'...

Ex-Kindergarten teacher’s post about why she quit teaching goes viral for how real it is.

Thank you so much for this material! You are completely right. My mother works as a teacher (but then she quit and started working online as a freelancer), and she also notices how parents send their children to school, and hope that they don’t need to do anything else. The only thing they can do is to make claims to the teacher. It is happening that some children are not wanted in the family at all. Then the question becomes - Why have a child that you do not need and in which you will not invest all your love and care?