Bench Warrant
As part of my teacher training program at Cal State, I have to observe for a few days every quarter in a regular classroom to see what it is like in the "real world" of teaching. Mainly, I think it is just a way to scare people out of the teaching profession, but so far I have managed to hang in there and remain fairly positive about this potential career change, even though there is an overwhelming about of negative information out there if you are looking for it.
Today was not a good day in sixth grade. Apparently, the kids got a little out of control with a substitute teacher yesterday, and as a result, Mrs. C. came down on them like a ton of bricks today. All the kids were "benched" at lunch, which I guess means they had to eat their lunch in the classroom as they worked on their four-page essays on responsibility and telling the truth.
Although I respect this teacher for standing up to her kids and trying to get them to stop screwing around and do their work, at some point I think the yelling starts to lose its impact and just becomes another thing to laugh about after class. She actually had one of the kids crying out in the hall today, which I'm sure will go over big with his classmates on the playground tomorrow.
The thing abut sixth grade is that it still does not really count for much yet. Nobody looks at grades until high school really, so most of these kids have plenty of time to change their attitudes and shape up in school. The problem is, however, that most of them won't. These kids adopt behavior patterns as early as elementary school, and carry them out well into adulthood. The sixth grade screw ups who lose their homework and toss paper airplanes around all day are most likely not going to finish high school. Even if they do, their skills are so poor that they will never get past the high school exit exam currently being phased in by the state of California.
It is really sad to think that a kid's academic life can be over by middle school, but with very few resources to spread around at public schools, and no support or discipline coming from the parents, it is pretty likely that they direction they are heading in will be the one they will keep heading in until they get to the end of their very short road.
Today was not a good day in sixth grade. Apparently, the kids got a little out of control with a substitute teacher yesterday, and as a result, Mrs. C. came down on them like a ton of bricks today. All the kids were "benched" at lunch, which I guess means they had to eat their lunch in the classroom as they worked on their four-page essays on responsibility and telling the truth.
Although I respect this teacher for standing up to her kids and trying to get them to stop screwing around and do their work, at some point I think the yelling starts to lose its impact and just becomes another thing to laugh about after class. She actually had one of the kids crying out in the hall today, which I'm sure will go over big with his classmates on the playground tomorrow.
The thing abut sixth grade is that it still does not really count for much yet. Nobody looks at grades until high school really, so most of these kids have plenty of time to change their attitudes and shape up in school. The problem is, however, that most of them won't. These kids adopt behavior patterns as early as elementary school, and carry them out well into adulthood. The sixth grade screw ups who lose their homework and toss paper airplanes around all day are most likely not going to finish high school. Even if they do, their skills are so poor that they will never get past the high school exit exam currently being phased in by the state of California.
It is really sad to think that a kid's academic life can be over by middle school, but with very few resources to spread around at public schools, and no support or discipline coming from the parents, it is pretty likely that they direction they are heading in will be the one they will keep heading in until they get to the end of their very short road.
posted by Rob at 9:30 PM
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