Why I Stopped Teaching

[bodecea]

If there was any possible way, I would homeschool my children before I would put them in the public school system. At our former church I was leader of the senior citizen ministry who was treated annually to a lovely dinner hosted, staffed, and served by the church high school youth. Almost all of those kids were home schooled. Bright, personable, intelligent, extremely well mannered, people persons all.

I've mentioned before one of my great nephews was homeschooled by parents who had only a high school education but it was the education the public schools used to produce. (When my sis and bil were teaching actually.) When he was ready for high school he enrolled in the public school. Within two weeks he was begging to come home again because he was so far ahead of his classmates in every subject and they wasted so much time he was extremely frustrated. He finished his high school education at home, went on to college and graduated with honors in four years.

Homeschooling has always been an option. Don't like public schools, you are always free to home school or find a private school to your liking.

 

[Foxfyre]

I completely agree with you, my point was mainly that even 'soft liberals' are not going to disagree with the content shown in the op video, they're just going to go along with it. Nor would they respond to any survey that what is highlighted in video would be the reason for them having quit teaching.

You're probably right. Ideology can be a demanding master and cause people to accept something that they know is wrong rather than incur the displeasure of their friends, colleagues, bosses, whatever.

 

[bodecea]

It's a little scary actually.

I am my children got an excellent education in the public schools but that was before 'wokeism' became a thing, before the state started taking over the rearing of children even to the point of feeding them two or three meals a day--parents in my day were expected to feed their kids and the school cafeteria was offered only as a convenience for parents instead of a social agency for the hungry.

Children who misbehaved were disciplined at school--detention, even a swat with a ruler--and if their behavior was bad enough they would be suspended for a day or three or a week and the parents had to deal with them. One suspension was usually sufficient to correct the problem as the parents supported the school pretty much universally.

But if my children were school age now, I would home school. No doubt about it.

"as the parents supported the school".................and here you alllllllmoooooost saw the problem.

 

[Foxfyre]

"as the parents supported the school".................and here you alllllllmoooooost saw the problem.

No parent or anybody else should ever support any public institution that they believe is doing harm to children and/or others.

And far too many public schools do not want parent involvement. They don't want the parents observing or even knowing what they children are being taught. They don't want to tell the parents that a child wants to transgender even. And when parents show up at board meetings to protest unacceptable curriculum or whatever in the schools they are dismissed with contempt and/or forcibly removed and/or labeled 'terrorists.'

 

[LeftofLeft]

NO, it is indicative of some students not adhering to the school's cell phone policy because they are so addicted to the damn things.

Again, no personal accountability. It seems you are blaming the phones.

 

[SweetSue92]

Where did I ever say that, please point it out? You know, we're on the same side most of the time politically but you're one of most hostile and arrogant people that post on here and attack those that are like minded to you. You can't even take a simple observation or question about what you said without flying off the handle and attacking. You're not the only 'expert' on teaching, yet you act like you're the 'end all, be all' when the topic is brought up.

The specific areas that are having issues with disruptive and belligerent students isn't in the nice rural areas where children have conservative parents and upbringing and are taught respect for authority. The disruptive students are coincidentally in the same areas that have the hard leftist indoctrinators running the schools and introducing all of the curricula that the woman in the video was talking about. I was simply pointing out that the stats you mentioned aren't going to have curriculum as a top priority for the reasons I mentioned, their top concerns are more about self than the students. They're going to care more about salary, working conditions, etc.. first, and then the good majority in those areas are not going to disagree with the curriculum that she was outlining because they agree with it, simple at that.

You're just wrong. Sorry that hurt your feelings.

 

[SweetSue92]

I left California for Kentucky a years ago. Kentucky is very rural and very conservative, and yes, the schools are full of Leftist imbeciles. They are not quite as overt about it, but they are, Parents are pulling kids out of schools and sending them to private schools.

So rural, conservative Kentucky is full of Leftist teachers? How does that work exactly? They pipe them in from Manhattan or Brooklyn or something?

 

[SweetSue92]

One thing has nothing to do with the other. I can't see a thing that defunding the police has done that has been positive in any way for the cities.

But this isn't about police. It is about the perception that public education is as much or more into indoctrinating children with leftist concepts and ideas than it is in teaching actual honest subjects.

It absolutely does. You are so convinced that the schools do nothing but indoctrinate that you have made a very difficult, often thankless and low-paying job impossible. Don't believe me? Check the teacher shortage stats.

No one, of course, thinks or cares about what comes next. But that's what we do in the 21st century. Enjoy the Moral Panic, raze everything, and then shrug and move on. Who cares about those left behind?

 

[Foxfyre]

It absolutely does. You are so convinced that the schools do nothing but indoctrinate that you have made a very difficult, often thankless and low-paying job impossible. Don't believe me? Check the teacher shortage stats.

No one, of course, thinks or cares about what comes next. But that's what we do in the 21st century. Enjoy the Moral Panic, raze everything, and then shrug and move on. Who cares about those left behind?

I'm sorry but I am just not seeing a correlation between police issues and problems with the public schools. And what you are describing is not what I have been arguing and honestly just doesn't mesh with the issues I and some others are addressing. I see your frustration and believe you are sincere that it is those opposing leftist doctrines in the school that are the problem. Those opposing may be focused on the wrong issues to fix the problem, but I'm pretty sure they aren't the problem.

 

[OKTexas]

It's Prager U, so of course this is the angle you're going to get on "why I stopped teaching". It's anecdotal, so fine, but doesn't bear up with statistics.

Most teachers are quitting because of workload, pay, and terrible behavior.

K–12 teachers are quitting. What would make them stay?

Nearly a third of US K-12 educators are thinking of leaving their jobs. But there are steps districts could take to attract and retain teachers.

www.mckinsey.com

Excuse me, that was her personal story, everyone has one.

.

 

[OldFlame]

You're just wrong. Sorry that hurt your feelings.

Okay, very mature of you.

Want to tell me what I'm 'wrong' about, or are you incapable of discussing it like an adult?

 

[OldFlame]

It absolutely does. You are so convinced that the schools do nothing but indoctrinate that you have made a very difficult, often thankless and low-paying job impossible. Don't believe me? Check the teacher shortage stats.

No one, of course, thinks or cares about what comes next. But that's what we do in the 21st century. Enjoy the Moral Panic, raze everything, and then shrug and move on. Who cares about those left behind?

The fact that you don't think a large portion of educators indoctrinate rather than teach just shows how much your head is in the sand. You only care about defending your profession, you don't really care about hearing the truth. Just because you don't do it or most of the teachers in your district don't do it, doesn't mean it's not happening in many other areas.

I suppose you don't believe it's happening at the collegiate level either?

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

I left California for Kentucky a years ago. Kentucky is very rural and very conservative, and yes, the schools are full of Leftist imbeciles. They are not quite as overt about it, but they are, Parents are pulling kids out of schools and sending them to private schools.

Your schools that are leftist have to be in Louisville, which is NOT rural. I taught in rural Kentucky schools for many years. The only leftist schools were in Louisville.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

The fact that you don't think a large portion of educators indoctrinate rather than teach just shows how much your head is in the sand. You only care about defending your profession, you don't really care about hearing the truth. Just because you don't do it or most of the teachers in your district don't do it, doesn't mean it's not happening in many other areas.

I suppose you don't believe it's happening at the collegiate level either?

No. She is dead-on target. Education critics are the ones with their heads in the sand because they paint all education with a broad brush. For example, Votar made a comment about schools in KY that is blatantly false. Who knows better? A former teacher who worked in 5 rural school districts or an adult who may be familiar with their own district only.

I retired from teaching in KY because conservative politicians tried to get back at teachers for not supporting their attempts to destroy our retirement system. The governor lost his reelection bid and more teachers were elected to the state legislature than ever before. I got out when "the getting was good!"

 

[OldFlame]

No. She is dead-on target. Education critics are the ones with their heads in the sand because they paint all education with a broad brush. For example, Votar made a comment about schools in KY that is blatantly false. Who knows better? A former teacher who worked in 5 rural school districts or an adult who may be familiar with their own district only.

I retired from teaching in KY because conservative politicians tried to get back at teachers for not supporting their attempts to destroy our retirement system. The governor lost his reelection bid and more teachers were elected to the state legislature than ever before. I got out when "the getting was good!"

You worked in a very tiny portion of the country, you can't extrapolate your experience to the rest of the nation. All you have to do is read about school board meetings everywhere where parents are raising concerns regarding the curriculum their children are being taught. It's a pervasive problem and not only in urban centers any longer, and it needs to be addressed.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

You worked in a very tiny portion of the country, you can't extrapolate your experience to the rest of the nation. All you have to do is read about school board meetings everywhere where parents are raising concerns regarding the curriculum their children are being taught. It's a pervasive problem and not only in urban centers any longer, and it needs to be addressed.

I taught in 7 districts in 2 states. I was also a school administrator. I evaluated my teachers, hired the new teachers, and evaluated the substitute teachers. I have a master's in educational leadership where I studied education in this country and even foreign schools. Compare those qualifications with an amateur parent looking for trouble in one district..

 

[OldFlame]

I taught in 7 districts in 2 states. I was also a school administrator. I evaluated my teachers, hired the new teachers, and evaluated the substitute teachers. I have a master's in educational leadership where I studied education in this country and even foreign schools. Compare those qualifications with an amateur parent looking for trouble in one district..

That's still a very limited experience in comparison to the vastness of the United States, how many school districts are there in this country? There are over 13.1k school districts, you are hardly an expert in even a minority of them. You cannot speak for what parents are going through in other school districts across the country.

 

[Moonglow]

There you go. That's the answer (although even some Lutherans are going woke these days)

Lutheran's have always been woke that is how they were created.