Very upsetting...

[lady_sarai]

So, I read Fernwithy's most recent post and her last rant has to do with education, and the rant is okay. I've no problems with it, and was concidering replying.

And then I read some of the comments and *her* reply and...

I just feel hurt and bothered now. And terribly disappointed.

I'm an education major. I plan on spending my life teaching. I know a fair amount about how schools work, and the politics and requirements and all that jazz. I've student taught, I've done research, I've had classes...

First. Addressing the issue, which is apparently something about the idea that schools are geared towards girls and boys are being discriminated against.

NO.

There is research to prove that the opposite is in fact true. And something I am eternally grateful for is that the ways a teacher SUBCONSCIOUSLY discriminates AGAINST girls, especially in science and math, (and, to be fair, against boys in Language Arts) was pointed out to me. And I actively avoid this behavior.

There are lots of teachers like me.

And every teacher I worked with while student teaching, in 2 different schools, attended classes and lectures and workshops and read (on their own) about teaching. Teachers LEARN, all the time. We HAVE to. To keep our jobs, for one thing.

But more importantly, if we want to be the type of teacher we dream about being, we NEED to.

It is a STRUGGLE, teaching. It is NOT an easy profession. You are a professional, but you are asked to prove yourself over and over and over again as qualified.

In my state, teachers are fingerprinted as a requirement, to make sure we are not sexual predators. Yay for safety, but has anyone ever fingerprinted a gynecologist to make sure he/she isn't a sexual predator? Is there a database for your dentist? No.



I'm just really annoyed and disillusioned and frustrated right now.

Can we get a little frickin' support? Seriously.

I loved it when my former roommate came and told me she was homeschooling her son because the public education system is messed up and teachers don't teach what needs to be taught.

Never mind that before she married, she was a secondary elementary education major, who was going to teach high school English. Never mind that she said this to 2 elementary education majors and 2 early childhood education majors (daycare/head start, for example).

I have had many a moment of disillusionment and frustration. There were times I questioned whether or not I wanted to teach.

God help me, it is NOT for the money. It makes me sick thinking about THAT. (When you consider what jobs get paid more than teachers.... ERG.)


I am very upset. I don't think I can be coherent. But when I hear people talk about wanting to homeschool their kids because public school is going to "mess them up" or "damage" them... well. Or I see lots of complaints about "stupid/dopey" assignments and "pointless" work... It bothers me.

I would bet, 9 times out of 10, that those "dopey" assignments are a curriculum requirement, set by the district, or state, or country. And YOU try coming up with meaningful assignments ALL the time.

If you don't teach, you have no idea how exhausting a lesson plan can be. Nevermind a UNIT. Nevermind trying to come up with a unit that is everything it SHOULD be.

And while you're making that unit, try grading and assessing and attending workshops and meetings and doing community work and being involved in the school, and getting everything ready for every day without the funding for paper.... Never mind a host of other set backs.

It. Is. So. Hard.

And then teachers get little to no respect. From students, parents, the community, the government...

If something happens, it's the teacher's fault. Blame the teacher. Bad teaching, that's what it was.

Sometimes it's NOT. Yeah, sometimes it is.

But damn it.

I'm really pissed off. Is it so hard to just say "yeah, things suck, but teachers do the best they can"? That's all I'd like.

It wouldn't kill people to appreciate their teachers.

Also, I absolutely HATE it when people refer to teachers as glorified babysitters, which was a comment on the board in the student center today.

Not even touching that topic and debate, because my friends and I pretty much ranted and raved all we could at dinner. Suffice it to say, it was along these lines, so coming here tonight and seeing the same ideas... really bothered me.

That is all. For now.



So damn it, hug a friggin' teacher. Or at least smile at them.

::reads more of Fern's comments to and from other readers:: And now I'm going to cry, seriously.

GODDAMN IT.

It turned into a teacher-and-school bashing fest.


I give UP.