Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard
As one who has taught in inner city schools where half my students were Hispanic gandbangers and the other half were black gang bangers; 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  |
This is an excellent point! I was warned by a college professor to "stay out of the faculty lounge" for that reason. However, had I followed that advice, I would never have made it past my third year. It is best to "listen" to the burned-out, but let it go in one ear and out the other - at least until you are a "continuing" teacher.
My first year of teaching, one of the "burn-outs" would bring a stack of one page essays into the lounge, slap them on the table, say "these kids can't write at all", and never give another. I kept the first week essays I assigned until the end of the semester (or year) in order to show the kids just how far they had actually progressed.
The key thing to remember is best expressed in a cheesy 1980's movie with Nick Nolte entitled "Teachers". During a fire drill, Nick (the teacher) tells his principal that the "school is for the kids," to which the principal replies, "Half of them aren't coming back from the fire drill." Nick replies, "Yeah, but half of them are." Teach the half.