BrandoC said:

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As long as dip****s are not raising their kids correctly at home, it will always be a struggle at school. Teachers have to realize you cannot save every kid. Only the ones who truly want to be saved, can be helped.

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It's not that teachers want to save every kid. It's that the expectation is that they are responsible for every kid.

I have a student who has been to one class this semester before walking out 30 minutes in. I have been repeatedly asked what I am doing to make sure they succeed. I have to keep a record of how many times I call home, reach out to other teachers, etc. They clearly don't give a **** about my class or graduating. But at the end of the year, their failure becomes my fault.


I'm not trying not save every kid, I'm just held responsible for every kid.

Martin Cash said:

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FL_Ag1998 said:

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Martin Cash said:

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FL_Ag1998 said:

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My wife's a teacher. Her two complaints, which will drive her out of the field in a couple of years, are

1) no backing from parents (or parents flat out fighting against discipline for their kid)

2) and a school district which doesn't back the teachers, hasn't given out raises in a decade, and is constantly trying to cut more and more benefits from the teachers while requiring more and more time and effort from them. And no, the teachers aren't spoiled and overpaid to begin with.

But, yeah, the OP's question is a ridiculous one. Don't try to tell me a 12 year old with a really ****ty situation at home should just suck it up.

You'd probably also be one of the first people to complain about the decline of our society and point to the deminishing role of the nuclear family as a reason. Think maybe the diminishing nuclear family might be at the heart of teacher's true complaints?

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Calling BS on this one.

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Uhhh, I do our taxes every year Mr. Wise One. She's been making the same thing for a decade. They fit "raises" in under incentives....if you do this extra work on top of your normal duties then you make an extra $1000/yr.

Sorry, I realize that probably doesn't fit your narrative of all teachers being overpaid, lazy, liberal union members who are ruining our kids with woke ideology.

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Ignorant. My wife, sister, sister-in-law, mother, father, mother-in-law, father-in-law, three aunts and an uncle are all retired teachers. I was on the school board for 16 years, president for 6 of those years. Your assumption is as wrong as you are. There has NEVER been a year the district did not give some raise, even if minimal. It is true that those raises were often weighted toward newer teachers and not the most experienced, but everyone got something every year.

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Sorry, I didn't realize you were on the school board in my wife's district and knew exactly her pay scale.

And you being not only on the school board but the president of it tells me all I need to know, lol.

zooguy96 said:

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I grew up in severe poverty, was beaten, had to wake up at 2:30 and be a janitor and then go to school. I still got my work done and made good grades.

I'm now a teacher and the majority of my students try (for the most part) and make decent grades even though 99% get free lunches.

I tell them about my background the first day in class, as it takes away most of their excuses. They also don't have their phones during class (I take attendance by their phones in a shoe holder).

Not all of them are perfect, but for the most, they do what they are told BUT I also have them bold me accountable (not getting my phone out during class, getting papers graded, etc).

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Basically the same. School was an escape for me. I wanted to be anywhere but home and teachers and coaches were the only adults I got care or affection from. That isn't true for everyone. We were lucky it was for us.

AGinHI said:

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HollywoodBQ said:

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Eliminatus said:

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Not saying this to boohoo but it is a reality in a lot of homes. I still think most here on TA come from well-adjusted functioning, comfortable homes and childhoods and have no real idea what it is like on the other side.

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I didn't until I did substitute teaching in Pflugerville.
They stuck me in the class for juvenile offenders. Oh man, I learned a lot that I never wanted to know.

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I had no idea until we moved to Hawaii 23 years ago and I took a job as a high school substance abuse counselor.

Up to that point I had an ag degree and was pretty good swinging a hammer, but a couple of girls changed my life forever. I sat with them not knowing what to do as they cried in anguish (anguish-I don't think there is another word to describe their pain). How do you help when a child has been repeatedly traumatized?

One attempted suicide and was hospitalized. The first thing her drug addicted mother said to her was, "What, are you ****ing stupid?"

The youth I worked with shared experiences so extreme my wife thought they were making them up. We had no idea.

The stories were the same whether they were Hawaiians from rural Waimanalo or Honolulu, white kids and Native American kids in Appalachia, or black and hispanic kids in California.

If you want to get a glimpse into what life is like for some children, and I mean a glimpse, watch Once Were Warriors (one of the leads was Temuera Morrison who played Jango Fett).

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good call

When I was in NZ, one of the maori dudes at work told me to watch that movie and said it was a "romantic comedy." It happened to be on netflix and I gave it a watch. It was a good movie but horrifying.

He told me he still has a few family members like that and that just love the drink.

TheMasterplan said:

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When I was in NZ, one of the maori dudes at work told me to watch that movie and said it was a "romantic comedy." It happened to be on netflix and I gave it a watch. It was a good movie but horrifying.

He told me he still has a few family members like that and that just love the drink.

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Speaking of jacked up childhood Maori Kiwi movies, have you ever seen "Boy"?

Yeah, some folks definitely have it more rough than we do.

My wife has taught for about 25 years. It is difficult to fathom a more dead end profession in the 21st century. Zero respect and very little opportunities to move up. In addition, it appears to be acceptable these days for young kids to hit teachers and then fault the teacher for not handling the situation better. The current situation in public schools is a wet dream for white liberals. Keeps the 'at risk' kids down, fill their minds with garbage while sending their kids to private schools.

Dorm 15 said:

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We (as a Country) have been attempting that for at least 70 plus years. Perhaps we should stop.

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In what way exactly?

Bobaloo said:

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My wife has taught for about 25 years. It is difficult to fathom a more dead end profession in the 21st century. Zero respect and very little opportunities to move up. In addition, it appears to be acceptable these days for young kids to hit teachers and then fault the teacher for not handling the situation better. The current situation in public schools is a wet dream for white liberals. Keeps the 'at risk' kids down, fill their minds with garbage while sending their kids to private schools.

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In Waco, public school is kind of like what you describe. Ladies teach the minorities in WISD and send their own kids to Midway.

But, Midway was sucking at football so, they've got a few apartments in Hewitt now. Call that racist if you like but those are the facts.

Thank you all for your replies and your input. I am notorious for gotchas and calling people out in my past threads; so I just wanted to take a different pace by hanging up/listening.

I almost didn't make this thread. The first time I deleted it, then came back and made it anyway. Some of the points in my OP weren't my own but from what I've heard from other teachers. I met a janitor after school once and he told me he was on board with the whole school thing when he was a kid till his mother passed away. That's when his grades took a nosedive.

I've been in education since 2016. I tutored for four years off and on and taught class for 2 years. I came in because scores on a STAAR exam were so low, they desperately needed the extra help and I needed a job. I'm in a STEM area. Most of my time has been spent in inner city schools.

I had problems growing up too. Some of which I never got counseling for till college. I was out for two weeks in December for surgery and came back after 4 weeks still sore but ready to take care of business. I'm sure my kids know about it.

I hear out my students who come to class, and don't want to do anything. I ask them what they plan on doing when they leave high school. I stress that your options are limited without a diploma. No one is going to give you anything for free. I caution them about the people who will just use you.

One of my students told me she has 6 or so brothers and sisters to take care of.

Everyone must find some kind of ambition/drive within themselves or risk going homeless or at the mercy of those who take advantage of others or on section 8 (that's no way to live, not to mention all the wasted potential).

I thought this fits this thread

A pencil is one thing ALL my students brought to class, every single day. I taught drafting for 38 years.

In general when taking 1000s of students over years...yeah it's the parents


I didn't move to a good school district for my daughter because they have better teachers. It's because on average the parents are better, give more of a damn, put in the extra effort.

HollywoodBQ said:

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Bobaloo said:

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My wife has taught for about 25 years. It is difficult to fathom a more dead end profession in the 21st century. Zero respect and very little opportunities to move up. In addition, it appears to be acceptable these days for young kids to hit teachers and then fault the teacher for not handling the situation better. The current situation in public schools is a wet dream for white liberals. Keeps the 'at risk' kids down, fill their minds with garbage while sending their kids to private schools.

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In Waco, public school is kind of like what you describe. Ladies teach the minorities in WISD and send their own kids to Midway.

But, Midway was sucking at football so, they've got a few apartments in Hewitt now. Call that racist if you like but those are the facts.

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Your facts are wrong, but that doesn't mean you aren't racist.

I was born and raised in Waco and the Scott & White Clinic in Hewitt is where our family doctor was located. Our school played Midway in the three major sports every now and then. Midway didn't just add apartments. Hewitt has had apartments for as long as I've been alive (late 70s). Midway has had success here and there over the past 25+ years.

It appears other Central Texas is enjoying a little bit of the State playoffs run...

Lorena - state champs '22
China Spring - state champs '22
La Vega - state champs '18, lost title game '19
Mart - state champs '17, '18, '19, lost title game '20


...or maybe they all just added some apartments.

PS - Midway has gone 3-7 and 1-9 the last two years. Did they close down the apartment complexes in Hewitt???

Valtrex11 said:

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When are teaches not complaining?

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This

Ghost of Bizbee said:

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Valtrex11 said:

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When are teaches not complaining?

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This

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When is anyone not complaining?

Raptor said:

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HollywoodBQ said:

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Bobaloo said:

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My wife has taught for about 25 years. It is difficult to fathom a more dead end profession in the 21st century. Zero respect and very little opportunities to move up. In addition, it appears to be acceptable these days for young kids to hit teachers and then fault the teacher for not handling the situation better. The current situation in public schools is a wet dream for white liberals. Keeps the 'at risk' kids down, fill their minds with garbage while sending their kids to private schools.

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In Waco, public school is kind of like what you describe. Ladies teach the minorities in WISD and send their own kids to Midway.

But, Midway was sucking at football so, they've got a few apartments in Hewitt now. Call that racist if you like but those are the facts.

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Your facts are wrong, but that doesn't mean you aren't racist.

I was born and raised in Waco and the Scott & White Clinic in Hewitt is where our family doctor was located. Our school played Midway in the three major sports every now and then. Midway didn't just add apartments. Hewitt has had apartments for as long as I've been alive (late 70s). Midway has had success here and there over the past 25+ years.

It appears other Central Texas is enjoying a little bit of the State playoffs run...

Lorena - state champs '22
China Spring - state champs '22
La Vega - state champs '18, lost title game '19
Mart - state champs '17, '18, '19, lost title game '20


...or maybe they all just added some apartments.

PS - Midway has gone 3-7 and 1-9 the last two years. Did they close down the apartment complexes in Hewitt???

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EDIT: my late night post after consuming a few cold ones and waking up in the morning and realizing that nobody really cares about a local Waco topic but I'll leave these parts.

Waco is one of the most racially organized cities outside of Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia.

You're not seriously going to compare the demographics of LaVega with Midway, are you? Chip and Joanna aren't remodelling crap in Bellmead.

And no matter how terrible Midway's football team might be, it's Texas so they're still the top dog.

Home environment has a major effect because it is where the adults live. If there are disfunctional adults at that residence the kids will suffer.

I am from West Texas and have worked and lived all over the world. The most dangerous place I have ever lived at is where I live at the moment. A $600/month apartment complex in Huntsville Al. It residence are all black and there is not a safe, functional family that live here. My immediate neighbor to my left was shot and killed back in December. There have been two other killings as well. I am been late for work because of the one major drug dealer chasing someone with his baseball bat, another dude on a a different morning walked around screaming I am Jesus Christ and a bad MF'er. I have seen countless men and women so hopped up on drugs their color is flat and look like Zombies. No one has anger management skills. It is just zero to 60 and anger spills out everywhere. The other morning as I walked to my truck a SWAT team under the cover of early morning raised a apartment. I looked up and everything was quietly in motion…..it was actually pretty cool to witness. No gunshots and perps were subdued. Yesterday drove in to the apartment complex and a dude and a chick were fighting out front. There were 4-5 folks watching from their apartment door threshold and did nothing. I called the cops once I got up in the apartment.

There is no way the kids go to public schools with proper focus and attitude to do as well as they can. They show up with the baggage of a dysfunctional home life and as long as we excuse that behavior…..it will only continue to get worse.

dds08 said:

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Since when did "problems at home" become a reasonable justification for low achievement/laziness among students? I've even seen some use it to justify unruly behavior.

One could argue high performance as a means to rise above your current situation at home.

I'm running out of patience of this card being played about students' home life. I'm not ready to just accept people throwing in the towel so easily.

Rant over

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Perhaps, both can be true at the same time. Maybe a person should take it in steps:

1. Growing up in a lower socio-economic class makes it harder to succeed. Success is still attainable though, definitely harder, but doable.
2. No matter what environment comes at you in life, rise above it. Having high expectations for everyone is important.
3. Finally, give validation and praise to those who made it out of poverty. I have found many are just looking for understanding on that

Valtrex11 said:

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When are teaches not complaining?

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As a very good friend of mine who is a teacher and he agrees that teachers LOVE to complain. This is one argument though that, while can be a crutch to fall back on, is a harsh reality for a lot of kids. Some have to work to help support their family, others have to watch siblings, and many other outside factors.

We just visited San Antonio and took our early teens to Fiesta Texas for the day. I took note of other kids behavior that was similar to ours. (A) Most of them were in a group with no adult present. (B) Sailor language (C) Roughest kids were typically POC, with some pretty extreme examples witnessed. Conversely, we were rolling with our teens and stood in line with them for every ride even if we just let them ride it and meet us at the exit when they were done. Overprotective - heck no, not in that environment.

If you live in a bubble like we do, the biggest issue remains broken families. My wife teaches 2nd grade and her problem kids (other than those with documented learning issues) tend to be those with strains at home - parents going through divorce - or who have my two mommies and no father.

Agree with other posters who said, it is on the teacher to be responsible for all of the kids...and the school leadership doesn't really support the teachers. Make them document everything for months on end while the teacher knows this kid needs special help. By that time, it is nearly end of school year and teacher has spent inordinate amount of time and effort documenting kids who don't need to be in a regular class and that kid didn't get the help that was needed so they just pass them on another year.

After 7 years teaching, my wife is calling it quits. Thankfully, we have the means that I have encouraged her to do so. She loves many things about it, but the bad outweighs the good. And, we are in a middle to upper middle class area. I can't imagine teaching or seeing her teach the kind of kids we observed at Fiesta Texas.

Coog97 said:

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There are so many societal changes, reversals that have developed over the last forty years that have, IMO, really done a tremendous, even destructive disservice to young people:

• the deemphasis of accountability
• the deemphasis of discipline
• the removal of stigma or shame from many conditions / behaviors
• misguided "anti-bullying" initiatives
• the emphasis of victimhood
• the emphasis of entitlement
• the promotion of concepts such as "my truth"
• the promotion of the idea that indisputable realities are, in fact, oppressive "social constructs"
• social and physical isolation from one another

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Spot on!

As someone else said in another post, we could fix a lot of problems today if we could be honest about what causes them. But we can't, because in every case, the truth hurts some protected group's feelings.