I agree with Cashmere and vw.
I'd also lay it on thick about how I already have my degrees, and can go teach somewhere else, where the students at least have an inkling of the idea that an education is important, even if they don't get why.
I'd mention those degrees make me employable in a whole bunch of different, good professional jobs that come with vacations, salaries and benefits -- and that I wasn't obligated to be a teacher for the rest of my life.
And I'd tell them that if they throw away high school, they're basically taking a sledge hammer to the unskippable step at a chance to have a decent life. I'd say something about how they're going to end up working somehow, somewhere, in some fashion, and that those of them who get an education will be spending half of their waking life in much better conditions than those who don't.
That's just me. I suspect we're really different, and I don't expect you to do any of that. I'm just sharing, in case you get ideas (even if your ideas come from seeing how little I understand about your students -- which is probably true).
What Cash said, Gris. So much of the students' attitude comes from the home and their peers. There's only so much you can do. The fact is, you are trying and trying hard. You know, too, that you can make changes and that means you will. We've seen you, we know you will do it, because that's you.
It's a fine line to walk with students who are on the edge. Any sort of hard lessons you try comes across as preaching. You can tell a 16 year old that they will regret dropping out of high school but they won't really understand it until they get their themselves, unfortunately. I tried to save my 15 year old nephew. He lived with me for a while and got good grades at a good school. But he went back home and dropped out of school the following year. Now he's a low-paid factory worker. His brother quit school at 16, too--only he at least got his GED in juvenile detention. Of course that's not doing him a lot of good in prison right now. *shrugs* I always say that education is the magic bullet. But it takes a lot more than one teacher to educate a child.
I don't think I could teach because of the agony of realizing that somehow, teachers are becoming responsible for the performance of kids who they're lucky to see an hour a day (in the case of high school students).
I'd like to see No Child Left Behind applied to families and communities, rather than skewering teachers for so much that is beyond their control.
Ooooh! We're finally getting some snow! Of course this means I need to try to find our snow boots.
{{Gris}} So rough. I agree with what the others have said, and I hope that the town meeting goes well.
I'm really surprised at how many teachers make it past the first year.
It's sad how many don't, though. People who would be good teachers, too.
eta: Cash is wise.
{{Gris}} I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate dedicated teachers. You rock. I am amazed on a daily basis by teachers. It is a very tough job. Don't know why any of you last more than the first year.
I feel this way about my kids many days. This morning I didn't bring Brendon to school at 7 because the project that he was up working on until 2 this morning was such crap I wouldn't let him turn it in. So he didn't get to school until 9 because I made him do it over. And today is his birthday, but instead of having a fun morning his dad and I had to deal with his minimalist crap homework.
Also, 15 years ago today I gave birth to my first child. Parenting often sucks.
{{{Laura}}}
Happy Giving Birth Day, anyhow.
Ben is getting into the minimalist crap homework phase. It's driving me nuts.
{{{Laura}}} You're a good mom.
I'd like to see No Child Left Behind applied to families and communities, rather than skewering teachers for so much that is beyond their control.
Amen. Amen. Amen.
Gris, I'm so sorry, and so humbled by the difficulties you face as a teacher. I couldn't do it and I can't support you enough in finding ways to take care of yourself so that you CAN do it with less wear and tear on yourself.
Recently, I borrowed the audiobook of Frank McCourt's Teacher Man, read by the author. I highly recommend it. Rather than a stirring To Sir With Love sort of vibe, he speaks bluntly about what it was like to teach in the NYC schools for 30 years. The occasional wins, the losses and all the ordinary in between.
Much peace ~ma to you as you navigate this difficult day.
