[Richard]

Originally Posted by stickey

I mentioned this in the other thread...but I don't care how many classes i took on education in college and how to get students motivated, but the mere 6 weeks i have been teaching social studies to 11th and 12th graders, the biggest disappointment are the students that do not want to learn. I have been receiving excellent advice from faculty and have come to realize, as they suggest, that you cannot make a student learn or do well as long as they do not want to learn. I explain my concerns with the teachers, they reassure my methods and attempts are noble and productive, then laugh and chuckle and say "welcome to teaching".


The old horse to the water analogy applies here. I have tried to spoon feed these kids the quiz and test material, throwing blatant hints as to what is going to be on them and what the answers are, and still, because they don't care, they still fail. What my fellow teachers are saying makes sense, the students that show effort are the students that have decent parents that support the idea of a good education. The other students come from families that don't care, therefore, they do not care.

As one who has taught in inner city schools where half my students were Hispanic gangbangers and the other half were black gangbangers; where many of the parents--if known--were gangbangers; where the veteran teachers, administration and district professed an open disdain for the potential of the students and an expectaion of nearly nothing; I will say, "Beware the insidious bog of disillusionment fed by the stagnant stream of those who have surrendered and occupy the perceived sanctuary of the faculty work room."

And I will discuss this topic tomorrow after a good night's sleep.

Richard