Random conversations
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Fellow teacher here. High school at an inner city school. This will likely be my last year in education - at least anything below college. Been in the thick of it for nearly nine years now, and it's pretty damn ludicrous. Recently watched a vid on Instagram by a teacher, and she suggested something brilliant: all adults in the U.S. should have to substitute teach to see what it's like. I feel your pain @Oaktavia and @Mizmazzle. Kudos to you for soldiering on. I think I'm done.
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@MisterEclectic You mean adults/parents take responsibility for their kids and their actions…that’s cra cra. /sarcasm intended!
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@goosehd Wild, right?!? lol
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@MisterEclectic I know that’s it’s unacceptable to spank children now, but how about beating some of the parents asses.
In my school’s principals office growing up hung a wooden paddle behind his desk. I knew of no one who ever had it used on them. Every kid in that school feared it though…
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I taught motion graphics in community college for six years and it was the mildest experience, yet it still managed to drive me insane, so I have nothing but respect and admiration for y'all fighting it out in the high / middle school trenches haha.
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@goosehd That made me laugh hard!
Yeah, my wife and I don't utilize that method of correction for our kids, though that is what I grew up with. My grandma used to tell me about the Catholic nuns at her elementary school in San Francisco - they'd use a ruler on kids' hands, paddles, and all varieties of corporal punishment. I'd say we've come a long way. Sadly, we appear to have gone too far in some regards. I have a coworker who broke up a fight in his classroom, and one of the students threatened to shoot him. Kid got suspended for a few days and was back in his class. Blows my mind. -
@MisterEclectic it sure is hard to see something you love to do taken and twisted into something that is over administrated and underfunded.
Ive been at it 17 years. I still love it and am really hoping that I can find a place that lets me use my creativity to develop my own lessons and engage students in a way that I’ve had great success with over the years. The last several years these new mandated curriculums and initiatives have become like a boot on the back of my head in a sea of overwhelming responsibilities that are drowning me.
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Man, @Mizmazzle the one real ray of light in my teaching experience was being able to design my own curriculum. I knew a few people who taught at places where it was preset, and I never thought I could deal. That's gotta suck.
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@popvulture you get it dude! Teaching is a creative endeavor that must come from individual experience and personality.
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Couldn't agree more @Mizmazzle. I grew up poor and charged into this profession with a helluva lot of passion and positive intentions. Came in with a MA in History, some decent writing skills, years of customer service experience that hardened me a bit to the bullshit, but I still just can't deal with the continual onslaught of unrealistic expectations, micromanagement, and cacophony of mental noise that goes along with this profession. So much needs to change, but those of us who are here in the trenches are rarely asked, and the ones who do speak the loudest are often the dreaded "yes men" that seem so frequently to be first in line for promotions to administration.
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@MisterEclectic it’s funny you refer to it as being in the “trenches.” That’s exactly the word I use to describe the classroom. I’ve been at my current school for 10 years. It’s going to break my heart to go somewhere else. I truly love the community. I just need to find some inspiration.
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@Mizmazzle I hope you find that, my dude. Most students are wonderful human beings, and it's incredibly rewarding to build relationships with them and see them grow. I will miss that.
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@Tago-Mago favorite Simpsons scene ever!!! Ive even mimicked this for my students in the past when I’ve told them how sweet it must have been to paddle the kids back in the day!!
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@MisterEclectic the relationships with students are the absolute, number one thing I love!! It’s what makes the job so incredible.
