Thread: Why would one be a teacher in America?

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.

Originally Posted by 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.

I know they have changed spoken english to gobbly gook

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

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.

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.

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

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

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