Essex
As of this afternoon at about 2:20, I ended my interim tenure as Essex High School's Latin teacher. The kids' regular teacher will take the reins from here. With your indulgence (or without it), I'd like to share some thoughts.
- I was delighted to discover how eager students are to learn. Admittedly I may have a somewhat self-selecting group, but it's still amazing that the majority of them are so focused.
- Most teachers are dedicated, hard-working professionals devoted to their craft and to their students.
- Many of our education bylaws are counterproductive, and not just the ones that you'd expect.
- Coddling students is about the worst thing you can do.
Nothing too profound, but hey, it's only been two hours. Feel free to comment on education policy, your favorite teacher from school, or whatever.
posted by Joshua @ 4:11 PM
3 Comments:
Let me start by saying that this is not the norm. I teach in a public school in Brooklyn, and thought #1 is absolutely not true. Students in the city are highly motivated to do nothing. My students shuffle down the hall as though they were auditioning for "Dawn of the Dead 2." When they do work, it is usually blatant cheating that gets them by.
With regard to your second thought, I will accept that the majority of teachers are good and hard working people, though I have seen several in my short tenure that while well meaning are unqualified. I think this will do for now. I will get back to you on the rest
I'll take "or whatever", though I’ll preface my comments with a lil’ witnessing:
I’m a happy and fairly successful product of a marginal public education system, and was also quite a shuffler in my day. Caring enough to cheat would have counted as substantial motivation to some of my classmates. But that one teacher, the one that gives a shit even though surrounded by the unqualified, the uncaring, and the unmanageable, that one teacher is all it takes to make the difference between a limitless future and teen suicide.
But, ya know, there are always other jobs out there. I’m a pimp.
That being said, I have more important things to talk about:
Did anyone else giggle when they saw that Trent Lott's new job is "minority whip"? That's gotta hurt the whole "I am not pro-Segregation" image he's shooting for, at least subliminally.
Like I said above, Essex may be entirely atypical. As Brooklyn. The truly typical school may be somewhere in between.
My next gig - that's right, Latin gigs abound - will be at a school some 30 miles north. I will let you know how that one goes.
Post a Comment
<< Home