TiredTeacher
NY Metro Area, NJ
Female, 37
I teach English to 11th grade inner city students. I love my students and do whatever I can to help them succeed, which is quite a mission. These kids face obstacles most of us cannot even imagine: gangs, incarcerated parents, domestic violence and much more. Everyday I read journal entries that would curl your toes...and often I feel I compromise my ethics to get these kids to pass, which I am very conflicted about. Many pass who, frankly, should not.
I think there have been kids who aren't built for school for many years. You'll see famous, successful people talk about how they did terribly in school, yet went on to become very successful. In the setting I work, many kids are not meant for school, but for other reasons: lack of discipline, respect, determination, etc. A colleague's son is definitely an example in the classic sense of not being built for a traditional school setting, and I can guarantee that this kid will really go places. If you think out of the box, I feel school is a difficult environment for some kids, as their differences are not readily accepted by the student body at large. I also think that many of our students should be in more of a vocational setting, than an academic one.
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Unbelievably no...it's more of an accepted noun that seems incredible to me and probably to anyone else who doesn't live in this environment. You don't hear it as much from the Hispanic kids, but I have heard it enough and have never seen a black kid take offense to it. Crazy, right???
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The school in which I work is an entity unto itself. I feel as though they are so isolated in their own environment, that I really don't see any trends they they start. In fact, I've waited years for the trend of sagging pants to go away, and I do think that is starting to diminish, thank goodness!! I do, however, write everyday and feel as though my experiences would make a phenomenal HBO series or book. When I show my writings to friends, they constantly tell me that "What? That really happened? You HAVE to write a book!" Any screenwriters out there??? :) The things I see everyday would make your toes curl. (and I'm not just talking about the kids...the faculty and administration are literally from another realm, too)
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I wish they did! They push kids into going to college who are obviously not equipped to be a college student! There are vocational schools in the district, which attract the kids who already know what they want to do...surprisingly, quite a few kids I know learn their vocations from apprenticing with uncles, fathers, etc. It's ludicrous to think that my school doesn't offer more vo-tech type classes. Ugh!!!
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I have found a great resource in DonorsChoose.org. It's a website that offers teachers resources based on donations from the public. Here's how it works: Say you want a class set of August Wilson's "Fences." You put together a proposal on the website, explaining why you need a class set, your school's lack of resources, etc. Then you research the price of what a class set would cost, based on the vendors they provide. Once this is all approved, donors scour the website and donate to causes they feel are worthy. In fact, just a few months ago, I acquired a class set of "Of Mice and Men." Not only is it a great way to fill your classroom library, but it's a wonderful way to teach the kids the meaning of altruism. You could also request class supplies, technology, or whatever you feel is needed for your kids...and you can do it again and again. Try it and let me know how it goes!
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I'm not a big fan of home schooling, as it limits the child's socialization skills. I suppose if you come from a very big family and llive in a rural area, it might work, but it's not my thing. By not being in a school setting, I feel that a home-schooler misses out on all the experiences school provides, good and bad.
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If only that would be true...the truth is that if they speak ghetto, they write ghetto. Even the "upper crust" kids write with incorrect grammar, which drives me crazy. I haven't seen anything "stellar" in any classroom, ever. They just get pushed trhough grade after grade, when in a perfect world, they would get the instruction they need and teachers would not be pressured by administration to pass kids through.
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