tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post4677918903641799149..comments2024-03-27T20:54:52.544-07:00Comments on Rural Revolution: Teacher in the trenchesPatrice Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06012022335047974670noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-55749818923510496562010-08-22T06:58:33.184-07:002010-08-22T06:58:33.184-07:00I am a public school teacher (6th grade in a low-i...I am a public school teacher (6th grade in a low-income, high-poverty, inner-city, Title 1 school) in a middle school. What one person posted is so true when mentioning the training to control crowds in a state prison. That was funny because too often it is the truth! <br /><br />Since I teach in a school that has a low income population, most of them qualify for free/reduced lunch. What is appalling is that, claiming to be "poor" they often come to school without a pencil and/or paper. Yet, almost all of them have cell phones much nicer than mine. Most of them have all of the latest consumer electronics and very expensive video game consoles (X-Box 360, PS3, etc.). I do not have those things since my wife and I have to watch what we spend in order to provide for our daughter.<br /><br />These kids, by-and-large, have not been taught: responsibility, respect, a work ethic, self-control, etc. I am sorry to say this, but many of them really do behave like wild animals in a jungle! They don't respect your rights, feelings, or property. They respect power. They view people who are kind and generous as fools to be taken advantage of. <br /><br />Now, I have worked in other public schools where this kind of garbage did not occur! It is all in the upbringing and what they have been exposed to in their environment. Quick story: one 6th grader last year missed the bus (in the restroom VERY sick) so she needed to be taken home. Our principal drove her home and as they entered her community noticed a large group of young men carrying golf clubs, walking in the opposite direction. When my principal asked her if they were golfers going to a local driving range the girl replied, "You don't want to know what they are going to do!"<br /><br />Needless to say, I would not care to be there when things fall apart!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-25739385845124289952010-06-01T19:27:39.915-07:002010-06-01T19:27:39.915-07:00My Dad experienced quite a bit of what the letter ...My Dad experienced quite a bit of what the letter writer experienced. Teaching is the love of his life, but the situation in the school degraded so rapidly and so deeply that he chose to retire rather than continue banging his head against the wall of an administration that always blamed the teachers in any disciplinary infraction. And he taught in a small town school, where everyone knows everyone else's names...so much for the values of small town America.<br /><br />MelodyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-19181253451210106882009-06-14T06:15:35.903-07:002009-06-14T06:15:35.903-07:00Keep homeschooling! Don't allow public educati...Keep homeschooling! Don't allow public education to change your child into someone they are not. They don't need condoms stuffed in their pockets, nor learn how to tolerate a different lifestyle while having it forced down their throat and kindergartner's don't need to be taught how to have safe sex! You can't speak of Jesus Christ in public schools or you are condemned to hell and punished and the text books are quickly turning into a leftest agenda! Homeschool and keep your kids safe!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-9997231176416729042009-06-12T12:10:44.615-07:002009-06-12T12:10:44.615-07:00This post breaks my heart. I hope that it was cath...This post breaks my heart. I hope that it was cathartic for the mother to write in and that she gains clarity for herself and her children.<br /><br />This post helped me in that sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the right thing by my child by homeschooling.... every homeschooling parent, heck every single parent sometimes wonders this....and it's confirmation that, indeed, I'm doing the right thing. In spades.<br /><br />Thank you for writing to Patrice, and thank you, Patrice, for posting it. I hope that in time you are able to find the path that is right for you.Debranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-16972858423601137502009-06-06T18:01:20.912-07:002009-06-06T18:01:20.912-07:00And this is why I can not in good conscious ever s...And this is why I can not in good conscious ever send my children to the wolves.Kairahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10765357430906520319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-83080922948197595412009-06-05T07:44:28.987-07:002009-06-05T07:44:28.987-07:00I was a public school teacher at the high school l...I was a public school teacher at the high school level, and IMO this assessment is spot-on - and it is one of the primary reasons we homeschool our children today - they can't learn where they are not safe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5526768924178592295.post-36160962960467892072009-06-02T18:15:17.780-07:002009-06-02T18:15:17.780-07:00My mother is a teacher, and her summary of the pub...My mother is a teacher, and her summary of the public school system would mirror this poor woman's assessment exactly! Many hard working teachers are battling their own administrations on top of the vicious and ignorant parents of school hoodlums, just trying to get the basic respect and safety that should be automatic in their positions! Thank God for these brave souls who go to work every day just to be salt and light to children from broken homes who have no other contact with stable, loving adults.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com