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I think we should acknowledge that teachers have different experiences, just like students do.
I would agree that, in many cases, blaming the parents and children for poor performance is a way for teachers to explain away their own inability to be leaders of the classroom and their own lack of clarity and guidance as teachers. That's true in many cases. I also agree that many bad teachers could improve to become at least mediocre teachers, and that many average teachers could become good teachers with more attention to their own work.
But I think that there really are some teachers who are put in bad situations, too. There are some school districts where children come from split families that don't value education. And there are schools in which administrators don't support their teachers. In those cases, it's a no-win situation.
The thing to remember is that no matter what the situation, the parents are the ones with the most power to affect change. Like the poster you were answering, I have two kids who are night and day. One struggles and I'll breathe a sigh of relief when she graduates while the other breezes through school. This has to do with their personalities not how they were raised or the school itself. However, I am the one who has the best chance at getting dd#1 through school and into college. I have to keep pushing her. I do things like keep her in counseling even though I have better things to do with the money and keep on her about her grades and keep her in extra curricular activities (to help her want to be in school)...This is MY JOB as her mother.
How can I, as a parent, blame the school when I have two kids who have totally different outcomes in the same schools? What's different is my kids. The school cannot individualize to each of my kids and shouldn't be expected to. It is my kids who need to adjust. As a parent, it's my job to help my dd adjust. A parent who sees a child struggling and doesn't do something to intervene is not doing their job. If the school is in position to help, great but most of the time the teachers have their hands full with 30+ students per class so they can't be expected to cater to one child. I, however, can cater to one child. I only have two to worry about at home. I made the decision to move my girls to a charter school when dd#1 was in 5th grade because the school she was at was not working for her. While it would have been way more convenient for the neighborhood school to have worked for us, it was not the school's job to cater to my dd. We did fight them on the curriculum choice but that's because it was an all around bad choice. It was also one we could not work around with my dd so we moved the kids. If I had left dd to flounder, whose fault would it be? The school's for making a bad curriclum choice (everyday mathematics FTR) or mine for not seeing to the needs of MY child? Who is more responsible for my dd's, individual, education? The school or me?
It really isn't hard to figure out when you think about it. In fact the actual cause is probably right in front of us. Well here it goes food for thought as to why so many public school teachers burn out. They have been going to school to long. Way to long. Most people stop going to school about 18. Some continue til 20 and a few more continue to 22 ish. Even if most do continue to 20 or 22 how many people go to school for 45-60 years? Think about it. Most of us start school at age 5 and by the time we are 22 we have had enough. Some are fed up well before that. Well teachers keep on going and walking into a classrooms day in and day out. Don't you think that can get stale after awhile? Start at age 5 by the time you hit 45 you have 40 years of class room time in. Day after day after day etc. By age 45 you have had 40 years of Winter and Spring break. How many years of graded papers, forget the fact you didn't have to write them all those years you are still deeply involved. Why do teachers hate staff development so much? You got it, how many years of being taught can one human being take. Now you do the math at age 50, 55 and 60 or beyond. How many teachers can one person tolerate having to listen to all their life talk about behavior. Just food for thought and do you think it might have merit?
1st off, let me affirm the backdrop provided... I was shocked to see people taking issue with what makes complete sense. Prolonged stress, however, is the number 1 reason. Add to that the negative conditions of work in dysfunctional bureaucracies. Add to that the Kool-Aid that you are forced to drink that is pervasive in the educational field, worst was probably the required staff development training on "Quantum Learning." This PBIS stuff is also right at the top of the list. Add to that the hard-core problem kids that enjoy nothing more than making your job about a difficult as it can be, and the light-weight administrators who will do little or nothing about it. Or, how about 42 walk-through observations by 3 different administrators in 1 school year. Does that sound reasonable to anybody? It has been widely circulated in my district (Comal ISD) that some principals and asst. principals will falsely document things about teachers on these walk-through observations if they don't like you, just to make your life hell and try to get you to quit. Nothing quite as demoralizing as doing your best under adverse conditions only to have lies being documented about the goings on in your classroom.
Last edited by toobusytoday; 08-15-2011 at 08:34 AM..
Reason: removed names
I am always amazed when threads "resurface" after years of being "done", and this one is no exception as someone who felt like teaching wasn't for her, reignited it.
I will admit that I only read the first 3 pages and then the last one as it seemed the same theme was continually being read. But having 33 years under my belt, I can tell you that teacher burn-out does occur and many even feel like it is combat stress/fatigue much like our soldiers and police suffer through. It just depends on so many factors: where you teach, what you teach, what kind of students (and parents) you have, if the administration not only enforces rules but backs you up or not, what events specifically happened to you that school year, and what inane ideas the board of education, state and federal government comes up with and YOU as a teacher has to learn and apply, only to be changed within 3 years or so (except the d@mnable NCLB). Being a teacher is NOT just about teaching, and how many people can actually wear as many hats as we do? We are also counselors, mediators, disciplinarians, surrogate mothers/fathers, cheerleaders, mentors, nurses; we are often expected to often do three or four things at once, yet not show frustration. How many other occupations are expected to do this??
As for me personally, I usually tend to get burned-out somewhere towards the end of the term when research papers come in as I am already tired of grading; but I know summer will be here soon. And this break is much needed as I get to take workshops that I am interested in, read, and really decompress from the previous year even though I am always "planning in my head" as to what I want to change/do the next year, for what other occupation gives a "fresh start" to its employees? I would say that 90% of the teachers at my school are excited and postive about the next school year, and the other 10% who dread coming back are really ones who either need not be in education or who just need to stop being so negative as they really are good teachers in presenting material but just are born complainers!
Many times, however, this burnout builds up and no amount of time off will stop it as all the things we are expected to do and what has happened to us thorughout the years have taken its toll; and unless you have experience it, you cannot possibly understand. And after years and years of this, sometimes it is decided that no summer can cure it, and that is now me. I just do NOT want to put up with what I have in the past and go through another change in my county as to how we should be teaching (and isn't it ironic that the man who began the program quit to go to head a dept at the local college?). So even though I could teach for 3 more years, I will end after this one. BUT will I just slide by and not do a good job? No as I am the junior team leader and had to get our new plan together for this upcoming school year this summer and will continue to "tweek it" throughout the year. I will have the same high expectations for my students as I always had, but I think ONLY because this will be my last "hurrah".
But before I leave this post, I do want to reiterate again, that many teachers do suffer a type of combat fatigue which does lead to burnout. For what other occupation deals with children who could threaten us, physically harm us, lie about us, curse us out, ignore our pleas, and destroy or steal our property, yet we often cannot do anything about it without US losing our jobs??? Just some food for thought....
I am always amazed when threads "resurface" after years of being "done", and this one is no exception as someone who felt like teaching wasn't for her, reignited it.
I will admit that I only read the first 3 pages and then the last one as it seemed the same theme was continually being read. But having 33 years under my belt, I can tell you that teacher burn-out does occur and many even feel like it is combat stress/fatigue much like our soldiers and police suffer through. It just depends on so many factors: where you teach, what you teach, what kind of students (and parents) you have, if the administration not only enforces rules but backs you up or not, what events specifically happened to you that school year, and what inane ideas the board of education, state and federal government comes up with and YOU as a teacher has to learn and apply, only to be changed within 3 years or so (except the d@mnable NCLB). Being a teacher is NOT just about teaching, and how many people can actually wear as many hats as we do? We are also counselors, mediators, disciplinarians, surrogate mothers/fathers, cheerleaders, mentors, nurses; we are often expected to often do three or four things at once, yet not show frustration. How many other occupations are expected to do this??
As for me personally, I usually tend to get burned-out somewhere towards the end of the term when research papers come in as I am already tired of grading; but I know summer will be here soon. And this break is much needed as I get to take workshops that I am interested in, read, and really decompress from the previous year even though I am always "planning in my head" as to what I want to change/do the next year, for what other occupation gives a "fresh start" to its employees? I would say that 90% of the teachers at my school are excited and postive about the next school year, and the other 10% who dread coming back are really ones who either need not be in education or who just need to stop being so negative as they really are good teachers in presenting material but just are born complainers!
Many times, however, this burnout builds up and no amount of time off will stop it as all the things we are expected to do and what has happened to us throughout the years have taken its toll; and unless you have experience it, you cannot possibly understand. And after years and years of this, sometimes it is decided that no summer can cure it, and that is now me. I just do NOT want to put up with what I have in the past and go through another change in my county as to how we should be teaching (and isn't it ironic that the man who began the program quit to go to head a dept at the local college?). So even though I could teach for 3 more years, I will end after this one. BUT will I just slide by and not do a good job? No as I am the junior team leader and had to get our new plan together for this upcoming school year this summer and will continue to "tweek it" throughout the year. I will have the same high expectations for my students as I always had, but I think ONLY because this will be my last "hurrah".
But before I leave this post, I do want to reiterate again, that many teachers do suffer a type of combat fatigue which does lead to burnout. For what other occupation deals with children who could threaten us, physically harm us, lie about us, curse us out, ignore our pleas, and destroy or steal our property, yet we often cannot do anything about it without US losing our jobs??? Just some food for thought....
Well said... and no amount of PBIS is going to affect those kids... I'm finally free from public school teaching after 10yrs. In some ways, I can't believe I made it that long. I should probably thank the SOB principal(s) that made my life hell these past 3 yrs., made my decision almost easy. Now, believe it or not, I'm about as happy as I have been, teaching a little GED course (adult ed. @ 10 hrs. a week) and running my own little business. I'm unsure about my future in education, but I feel strongly that I need to continue to try to push for change in the system, specifically, teacher rights/how teachers are treated. Here are the basic ideas... I have a message for all principals, asst. principals, and administrators in general: Shut your mouth, go back to your office, spend your days trying to figure out how to make the school, students, staff, and teachers safer. Next, try figuring out how to relieve teacher stresses and burdens. Next, try figuring out how to keep those 3% of hard-core trouble makers from destroying all that is good in this world. When you are finished with all of that, you may leave your office and continue to the 1st classroom that you find and relieve the teacher that you find for a 15 minute unscheduled break. Next, continue on to the next classroom and do the same, and keep repeating... Also, keep in mind, the only programs that you are to initiate (preferably none) would come from an obvious need but be devised and voted on by the teachers. Lastly, keep in mind, that one of your most vital roles is to act as enforcer, so when a teacher send a discipline referral to the office, you best be prepared to back them up. Not to burst your bubble, but this last function is really the only thing that teachers care about as far your position goes, so get it right!
Most people stop going to school at 18? Do you live in the sticks? Most people I know have at least a 4-year college degree, if not more. If you don't like learning or aren't a very good student, then yeah, being in school is unappealing, but I think teachers are burning out for other reasons.
This is false; 23% of adults have a college degree based upon the census. Many of those adults come from forgeign counties with their degrees. That means 77% or 77 out of 100 adults do not have a 4 year college degree. Having a college degree doesn't mean that one is more intelligent than one who does not posess a college degree.
Teachers are stuck. Parents and their kids along with the administration who has no backbone; tend to gang up on a teacher who tries to adjust a student's behavior, attendance and motivation to learn.
As far as I'm concerned, my education will never be finished.
Agreed! Although I have no college degree, nor the faintest interest in obtaining one, learning and improving myself has been a lifelong priority and interest. My education, from outside of the mainstream education system, serves me very well. I'm the only person in my IT related department without a degree. Most of my co-workers have masters degrees, and my boss ( who deserves to be the boss ) is an aerospace engineer. I find it rather comical that I work for a rocket scientist and I have no traditional degree.
As far as I'm concerned, my education will never be finished.
Agreed! Although I have no college degree, nor the faintest interest in obtaining one, learning and improving myself has been a lifelong priority and interest. My education, from outside of the mainstream education system, serves me very well. I'm the only person in my IT related department without a degree. Most of my co-workers have masters degrees, and my boss ( who deserves to be the boss ) is an aerospace engineer. I find it rather comical that I work for a rocket scientist and I have no traditional degree.
When I worked at NASA in the late 70's/early 80's, there were a lot of the rocket scientists that didn't have traditional degrees. One guy I worked with had started working at age 17 at the Redstone Arsenal in the late 50's without a high school diploma. He went on to design systems for the Gemini and Apollo spacecraft before I came on board in the early days of the Shuttle program.
I think our country puts too much credence in credentials. I understand why, but credential inflation is has become a big obstacle for people whose talents lie outside academia. While it is desirable for a rocket scientist to analyze literature, I think it's more important to keep the rocket from blowing up with the people on board. I don't know if there is a resolution to this situation.
As far as teaching goes, I believe that too many young people are forced into choosing between academics or dropping out. In many districts, the general or vocational programs have either been dropped altogether or dismantled to the point where they are not a viable option. They also begin way too late for many kids who would love to work with their hands starting around age 14 or 15. An additional problem is that the insurance companies have put an embargo on hiring people under the age of 18 for construction jobs, etc. As a result, they can't get hired even if they can do the work.
"If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library." - Frank Zappa
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