Why would one be a teacher in America?

[p38arover]

See One Day In The Life Of An Urban Teacher (http://thefederalist.com/2016/01/14/one-day-in-the-life-of-an-urban-teacher/)

[ramblingboy42]

kind of makes me wonder if these kids are actually being educated well enough to ensure the future of the USA.

still it only takes 5% of the population to run a country.

[Roverlord off road spares]

kind of makes me wonder if these kids are actually being educated well enough to ensure the future of the USA.

still it only takes 5% of the population to run a country.
I know they have changed spoken english to gobbly gook

[Slunnie]

I don't think that would be indicative of the vast majority of schools in the US.

[Chenz]

Having grown up in a time where if you mucked around in class at school there were a number of consequences:


Told to keep quiet or stop mucking around - fail to do so
Asked to leave he class and go see the deputy principal or
Come up the front of the class and get the strap or cane on the hand of your choice in multiples of three - continue
Go see the deputy principal and get the strap or cane in multiples of three - continue
Call to father who would agree with the teacher/deputy principal that this sort of behaviour was unacceptable and institute some form of punishment ranging from loss of certain privileges or a good kick in the rear end or both.

Some more liberal minded students went on to become teachers and educational administrators and changed the system to one where the student had certain rights and therefore were awarded the freedom to express themselves.

This has now gotten to the point where the students have more rights than the teachers and those students who were accommodated in the aforementioned list now run the assylum.

Teachers who try and buck this "system" routinely now just give up and go and do something else.

There are still schools where this type of behaviour is not tolerated but the parents need to pay up big time to have their kids there. My daughter went to a private school and said that when getting test or assignment grades back, those that did well were congratulated by their fellow students and the teachers would talk to and assist those who did not do well to get them to improve.

My mate whose daughter went to the local public high school heard this and said that those that got good marks and grades were called arselickers and crawlers and consequently their grades dropped so they could fit in with the in crowd.

I see them waiting at the bus stop opposite my house of a morning and the language and discussions - from the girls would make a wharfie blush. Maybe I am getting old but I think there has to be some form of discipline in schools.

[Slunnie]

Thats exactly it Chenz, except I tend to think that the softening of discipline has had more to do with education/psychology academics presenting "best practice" and it becoming policy. eg where it is ok to do the wrong thing twice, but not three times, and if you do then you can escape the classroom and chill somewhere for a while.

My other opinion is that with respect to correcting, is if possible it needs to be immediate and not later, and the problem can be seen coming then deal with it proactively. I would also say that dealing with it typically doesn't need to be a punishment

From what I have seen, there are quite different cultures between schools, but I've never seen anything like that in the article.

[Chenz]

I agree with that Slunnie.

I have a friend who teaches in Sydney's south west who told me that on more than one occasion when writing on the whiteboard an apple or orange has smashed into the board next to her head having been thrown with a great deal of force.

On turning around there are a whole lot of sneering kids looking at her who know nothing of how that just happened. The principal and education system seem loathe to act on this type of behaviour.

No wonder she wants a change of career

[frantic]

Thats exactly it Chenz, except I tend to think that the softening of discipline has had more to do with education/psychology academics presenting "best practice" and it becoming policy. eg where it is ok to do the wrong thing twice, but not three times, and if you do then you can escape the classroom and chill somewhere for a while.

My other opinion is that with respect to correcting, is if possible it needs to be immediate and not later, and the problem can be seen coming then deal with it proactively. I would also say that dealing with it typically doesn't need to be a punishment

From what I have seen, there are quite different cultures between schools, but I've never seen anything like that in the article.
It's a very different funding system in the USA. It's based on the taxes collected In that schools region. This means poor areas with high unemployment get very little, but rich areas end up with library's , basketball halls , pools and excellent facilities.
A few other things not covered, if you take a sick day , in certain states you pay for the replacement teacher. Some schools and districts are so poor that the teacher provides the pens and paper . A few of my wife's friends did 12 months as a teacher in a southern state near an army base, which was the only major employer in town.

[spudboy]

Well, you could teach Creationism if you were a teacher in America...... not sure that would go down so well here though!

[Ausfree]

I wouldn't be a teacher, here or America for anything. Having the ill-disciplined rabble on the bus I drive is enough. I'm probably showing my age but to me......if you haven't got discipline how can you teach.:confused:

[DiscoMick]

Schools vary greatly, for various reasons.
Some students are just a rabble, but most are either reasonable or excellent.
Discipline policy is the good students are not supposed to suffer because of the bad ones, who should be dealt with on the spot or forwarded up the line.
It's important that parents are contacted as soon as there is a problem. Often, there is a home-based reason why the student is causing problems. For example, students whose parents are separated and the child floats between two homes sometimes turn up out of uniform or not having done homework because of the actions of parents. You do wonder what goes on in some homes.
Non-government schools seem more able to expel dangerous students than government ones.
I think the average person probably doesn't really understand what schooling is like nowdays. There is a huge amount of pastoral care because students are bringing personal problems to school with them.
Where I work, we have a reputation in the community for being a safe environment, unlike some other nearby schools. For example, I heard about a school where female staff were not allowed to do playground duty because it was too dangerous for them. I also heard about a school where many students had never learnt how to use knives and forks because they ate with their hands.
Of course, while we often focus on the problems, there are actually many students who are just great and making it.
My opinion is the most important thing students learn in school is not academic, but things like how to get along with others and get their own lives organized.

[Slunnie]

It's a very different funding system in the USA. It's based on the taxes collected In that schools region. This means poor areas with high unemployment get very little, but rich areas end up with library's , basketball halls , pools and excellent facilities.
A few other things not covered, if you take a sick day , in certain states you pay for the replacement teacher. Some schools and districts are so poor that the teacher provides the pens and paper . A few of my wife's friends did 12 months as a teacher in a southern state near an army base, which was the only major employer in town.
That may be the case, but culture isn't determined by funding. There are many financially challenged schools and communities with excellent cultures. I would say that there are some pretty big issues in that school that related probably to funding as you say but the dysfunction will be from the top to the bottom, people, system the lot.

[bob10]

I wouldn't be a teacher, here or America for anything. Having the ill-disciplined rabble on the bus I drive is enough. I'm probably showing my age but to me......if you haven't got discipline how can you teach.:confused:

My daughter has spent just over 2 years teaching at a country town, Gayndah, in the North Burnett region. A small school by most standards, about 300 students, I suppose. Catholic school, but that means little here, across the road is the State School. Same same. It's been the best start to her career she could hope for. My wife and I traveled to Gayndah many times in the past 2 years, really got to like the place, and the people.

Because of the small number of teachers, each one had to take on more than their normal duties. Her normal working day started about 6.00 am, finished about 9 pm, what with teaching preparation, after school activities, class room setting up, etc. It was full on for 2 years, she loved it. The headmaster was 34 years old, his first school as head, a real good bloke, he & his Wife were involved with the townspeople as much as they could. His policy was that teachers were to get involved with the town as much as possible, he didn't want to see those from Brisbane going home every 2nd weekend. In the first year daughter rang once in tears telling Mum she wanted to come home, her fiance lived here, it was her first time away from home.

The children were fantastic, the majority came from cattle properties and citrus farms, and most normally had jobs to do before coming to school, and after. Respectful, well mannered, just a delight to be around, in the main. There were some with learning problems, the usual few " little Johnnies" , If ever our daughter met them in town, it was " Miss Kathryn". Show & tell was like " this is the tusk from the pig that ripped me dogs throat out".

The children taught daughter all about citrus farming, cattle stations, what to do when brown snakes came on the school grounds, all in all a great country teaching experience. My heart swells with pride when I think of the nervous, homesick young woman who went to Gayndah, and the confident, self assured young teacher who came back. She has a contract to a school in Brisbane close to where their home is, she can walk to work. [ her old headmaster put in a good word for her] She spent the better part of last week sorting out her class room, getting it set up. People who don't know have no idea how much extra work teachers do.

It will be interesting to see how this new big city school experience goes. And, we are all going back to Gayndah for the Orange festival next year. Cheers.

[DiscoMick]

Leadership can make a big difference to the culture of a school. Boundaries have to be set and sensitively enforced or it can break down pretty quickly.

Sent from my SM-G900I using AULRO mobile app

[Ausfree]

Leadership can make a big difference to the culture of a school. Boundaries have to be set and sensitively enforced or it can break down pretty quickly.

Sent from my SM-G900I using AULRO mobile app

A polite way of saying DISCIPLINE!!!!:p

[DiscoMick]

Setting boundaries is a way of managing before something happens, hopefully to limit or prevent it.
Discipline is a response to unacceptable behavior after it has happened.
For example, students are not allowed to hit each other - that's a boundary.
If students do hit each other, that's discipline.
Many behavior problems result because boundaries were not set. Once boundaries are set, people know what is acceptable or unacceptable. Most people then observe that. Those that don't, get disciplined.
Good leaders ensure sensible boundaries have been set.

[p38arover]

Setting boundaries is a way of managing before something happens, hopefully to limit or prevent it.
Discipline is a response to unacceptable behavior after it has happened.
For example, students are not allowed to hit each other - that's a boundary.
If students do hit each other, that's discipline.
Many behavior problems result because boundaries were not set. Once boundaries are set, people know what is acceptable or unacceptable. Most people then observe that. Those that don't, get disciplined.
Good leaders ensure sensible boundaries have been set.

Ahem! :twisted:

[vnx205]

behavior


Ahem! :twisted:

Does someone still have the spell checker set for the US rather than Aus?

[DiscoMick]

Does someone still have the spell checker set for the US rather than Aus?
Yes, quite right. My laptop was recently reloaded for the new year and I hadn't changed it yet.

[DoubleChevron]

Yes it's arse about now. My brother thought it was bloody hilarious .... One of the guys he works with, one of his kids come home from school with documentation on "their rights". "Look dad, your not allowed to lay a finger on us, we can have you charged if you try and make us do anything we don't want". Control has been taken away from even those parents that actually try to discipline there own children to the point where kids are being "educated" on there rights.

This guy however sounds just like me ... He got straight up and gave the kid a good belting for being a smart arse and said "It's a damn shame that doesn't apply to you isn't it... Here's the phone, ring them and see how much you like it in a home".

One of the guys I do taekwondo with ... He's in his early 50's. He's amazed by the lack of discipline in this generation. If one of the kids does something wrong with the parents go in and raise hell at the school and blame the teachers. He said, they used to cop a flogging at school (him and his brother, they sounded like real ratbags). He said you would NEVER go home and complain to your parents that the teacher had belted you for bad behavior ...... His parents wouldn't storm into the school and raise hell that the teachers layed a finger on his kids. No, his old man would give them a follow up hiding .................. 'Cos if his kids something bad enough they got the strap at school, he figured they sure as hell needed a follow up treatment at home.

It sure hasn't hurt that generation from what I can tell.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think physical violence is the answer to anything. Kids need to learn appropriate behavior and boundaries though. My kids have probably only been smacked half a dozen times in there lifetime.... And it certainly would be with very good reason ( I have it easy though .... 2 gentle girls ). The 3rd will probably be different. If he's even half as stubborn as me, were going to have discipline fun in the future for sure.

seeya,
shane L.

[DiscoMick]

Schools and teachers cop the raw end of behaviour which often basically demonstrates the parents have never tried to teach their kids responsibility, respect, that actions have consequences or proper behaviour generally. Gotta say, you can't just assume that people on welfare are the worst parents either, as sometimes it's people who are quite successful in life who have the most irresponsible and arrogant attitudes.
You would be amazed at the way some parents behave, particularly in state schools where it's much harder to expel a bad kid than in a non-government school, where the parents have to sign a legal agreement to abide by the school rules, so if they repeatedly screw up or refuse to co-operate, it's actually breach of contract and the non-government school is totally able to say, "See you later".
That's one of the reasons there is a trend among responsible parents to send their kids to non-government schools, because good kids feel safer than in state schools. I have had parents and students tell me this. It's also why so many teachers are leaving the state system for non-government schools, as they feel the school will back them up in a confrontation.