YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks. I needed that. My students are driving me nuts, and I had to vent. I want to switch schools now. High school teachers... are there students out there at regular public high schools who actually care about their education? Are there schools that don't have hallways that look like the passing period 20 minutes after the bell? Also... and this is a serious topic. What are the differences between teaching at a 99.9% African American school and a 99.9% Latino/Hispanic school?
wow. I really didn't need to read that today. Today was my last day of college classes and I start my intern semester at a high school on Jan. 5. Should I just run away?
Depends on what kind of Hispanic and social class. In general, the predominantly lower middle class Latino high schools where I subbed in LA were almost as bad as other schools. But Mexican kids are actually pretty mellow and respectful comparatively, so these schools were better than white upper middle class, black middle class and black lower class. The best schools behavior-wise were the lower class Latino schools: the gang-bangers are gone by high school, the kids have no money so they don't cop an attitude, and they're less assimilated to the American way and the behavioral problems that come w/ that. But as a teacher it sucks b/c they don't perform as well. And like most inner-city schools, bad administrators get dumped there b/c poor ppl are less likely to complain. Ditto for teachers. Districts literally dump their worst personnel in the hood. Shamelessly. About Puerto Rican, Dominican and Cuban kids, I don't know what to tell ya 'cuz I haven't had to work w/ them.
I'm a sub at a very nice suburban highschool, ranked in the top 10 in Southern California. The population is mostly white, with Asian ( mostly Korean ) Hispanic and Af-Am, with other ethnic minorities, like East Indian and Samoan, some Middle Eastern and other Pacific Islanders. The kids have very little respect for authority. If given the choice, eventually none would stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. They don't have to recite the Pledge, but they do have to stand. What they want to do, more than anything, is gossip. Their appetite for telling tales about what is going on in their little lives is insatiable. About 1/3 seem to have some passing interest in their studies, but I can't tell whether it's because they want to learn stuff or because they want a higher grade. Today, three kids came into their English class and announced that they had to be absent because their Culinary class had a catering assignment. They didn't ask whether they could skip class. They informed me of their more pressing need. When I acted like I thought they should be in English class rather than do what amounted to an extracurricular activity, the girl who was the spokesperson looked at me as if I were a psychotic serial killer. Apparently, the regular teacher has caved in to the pressure to let these kids do what they feel is more important. Or they scammed me. The teacher I was subbing for is very popular and well-liked. He doesn't insist that the kids read the actual Shakespearean English when they study Macbeth. I think that would make them like me. The only reason I do this is for the 20-30 percent of the kids who act -- much of the time -- like they want to learn stuff. I know this won't be a popular statement, but the America that kept Germany from taking over Europe, and the America that kept Japan from taking over the Far East is gone, at least for now. Whether we will ever see that America again is hard to say, but the generation that is now 15 - 18 shows no inclination to embrace the values that prompted the USA to fight for the freedoms that we used to hold so dear.
That does seem to be a popular statement these days. I think we give the "greatest generation" too much credit and the current generation too little credit when we say it though.
I wish I had saved this, but I didn't... When I was subbing in LA, I came across one guy's lesson plan at the start of each semester. He began w/ a discussion of youth vs. elders, respect vs. non-respect, whether young ppl appreciate their history and culture, etc. And then he would show them a text from ancient Sumaria or somewhere. And it was an older person talking about how the "youth of today" don't respect their elders, don't respect their culture, don't know their history, etc., yet when HE was their age...
Yup. My kids were insane today as well. First time all year I have actually had to raise my voice and give them the business. Then I drove home and as I was listening to the radio, they were talking about the full moon tonight ... It is amazing how that works.
I think the difference between now 50 years ago, when I was in HS is that -- no matter how we felt about parental authority or school rules -- we thought that America was a nation that we essentially respected. The idea that someone wouldn't stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance was unthinkable. We listened to rock and roll but there were no lyrics about killing cops. I Fought The Law...and/but the law won. This group of kids has fallen prey to the idea that because President Bush got us into a bad war, there is something wrong with America as a nation. You don't want to fight a war in Iraq? I get that. But to think that America is an evil, imperialist power that only went into Iraq for the oil and thus to think that loyalty to the flag and the values that built the country is beneath you, that's a huge stretch.
