Teachers Directed To Tolerate Disruption
While reading this news article, found via Education Wonk, I snarled at my computer so many times that my family came in to check on my well-being. I’m pleased to report that I’m okay. It’s the school system in San Bernadino — and all of the pupils they’ll be churning out over the next few years — who aren’t.
It all starts like this… “How many times can you tolerate hearing a student say ‘f— you’ in class each day?” For me, even if I weren’t homeschooling, the answer is 0. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Considering that one school official said he could personally handle more than 100 instances per day — then called it the “New Professionalism” — it might explain why I, along with so many other parents, have abandoned hope in the public school system: because we know kids will live up or down to whatever expectations we place on them. Yet the school systems are increasingly refusing to place any expectations on themselves, their personnel or their students.
But wait, it gets better:
Culberson, director of youth services for the San Bernardino City Unified School District, said at a back-to-school inservice meeting that students today have less respect for authority than they did when many teachers were in school and consequently, some teachers have unrealistic expectations of their students.
According to Culberson, many teenagers come to school with baggage from problems at home or other areas of their lives. Culberson described these students, who are prone to disruptive behavior, as “kids in chaos.”
The district superintendent, Julian Weaver, said Culberson’s message does not represent a change in district disciplinary policy, but Victor Valley has many students from chaotic backgrounds such as Culberson described, and teachers need to learn to interpret their students’ body language. When a student is visibly agitated, the teacher might not want to push any buttons by asking if he or she brought in homework that day.”
“We need to see ourselves as teachers and adults in the classroom,” Weaver said, “but we shouldn’t see ourselves as dictators, where students see themselves as far less than the teacher.”
Since swearing apparently doesn’t offend “new professionals,” let me give a succinct response: bullshit.
See, common sense — which, as Abraham Lincoln pointed out, isn’t all that common — says that kids who have problems at home — kids who don’t respect authority — need to recognize an authority figure in their lives.
Otherwise they grow up to be… c’mon, everyone say it with me… unemployed future felons.
Given their current crime statistics, you’d think San Bernardino would’ve figure this out by now.
Not to make like of my current situation, but someone would have to give me oxygen if a child said “f*** you” to me during a lesson.
It’s about time those in change got a clue and stopped making excuses for bad behaviour.
I remember scribbling that phrase on the bathroom wall in a note left for a girl I truly, truly despised. I wound up not only having to scrub the bathroom but had to spend my Saturday helping the custodian repaint it (it never dawned on me back then that he had to work on his day off, too) AND had to write 500 times how sorry I was AND had to stay in detention for 2 weeks AND lost the chance to go on a field trip with my class AND had to have my mother sign a note stating that she knew what I’d done.
I never, EVER used that language at school again. Not even in college. Not even when I was teaching college. Nor did I use it at work.
We all speak many different types of languages. Some of them are suitable for friends, some are suitable for authority figures, and some we only speak with ourselves.
It’s time we teach the youth of America the difference between each one.
It’s the administration, not the teachers. I bet the teachers would love to boot some of the “kids” out their ear. I taught in an inner city Kansas City, Missouri public school (middle school) for 2 semesters. The good thing that came out of it: I met my wife. I can’t even tell you the number of time’s I was told “F**K you.” I’m not a small guy and, of course, my first inclination was to commence a first class country-style ass wupp’in on the little punks. I didn’t. I went to the administration. This was a “Charter” school ran by a private management company (Beacon) out of Boston. They got $5000.00 a year per student. Any long-term suspension or expulsion cost them $$$. The kids RAN the school. It was insane. The police were called dayly. Crack & guns were routinely found in lockers. Horrible. Not to mention, the school adopted some airy progressive curriculm centered on “project based learning.” The “project” for most of these middle schoolers was to learn to read at 2/3rd grade level. It was insane. The teachers took to drinking heavily after hours. Public education is doomed, it isn’t the Titanic about to sink, it is the Titanic ten years after it sank. This is just another example.
Well said! We’ve become a society where everything is blamed on something else, no one stands up and takes responsibility any more. “Yea I did it, but my mom who spanked me 25 yrs ago is really to blame”
BAH! The gap between what is acceptable and what’s not no longer exists.