When I got home from small group last night, I did a check again for jobs, and came up with one district that had two postings. One was closer, one was one of the furthest schools from me. People who know me know my love for driving, or rather how much I love to not have to drive much in traffic. So the choice was obvious of course- I took the second one. Say what? You’re thinking, “Didn’t he just get through saying…?” Well, yes, but I mentioned in one of my comments a couple of days ago that there is a position I vowed never to take again. This was for one of those teachers. ELL at that one middle school is a nightmare I wish never to repeat, err, again. I actually subbed for these teachers (two ELL teachers on the team) a few times but I finally had enough last year. My theory is that discipline is far more strict in Mexico (these were primarily Hispanic kids) and so when they come to the US and enter our education system, we are far more limited on what we can do for punishment and so it’s like a cake-walk to them. Our worst is no problem to them as long as they only break rules and not laws in which case they finally have justice meted toward them. In any event, coupled with typical low-income for this area they are very difficult to work with. There is another middle school in the district, but oddly enough I have never actively chosen to not sub for ELL there. Maybe the difference is the grades are separated over there but all combined at the first school. 6th-graders learn how to play the system sooner from the 8th-graders since they spend a lot of time in the same room. In any event, as possible proof of this theory one of the days a student actually threw his binder at another student’s head (in retribution). In front of me while I started to deal with the initial problem. Besides this, there was just a constant lack of respect overall.
Never again.
So of course that same position just showed up for tomorrow, but no alternative assignment. I am still looking for something for tomorrow…
Of course there are even worse positions. A nearby district actually has a lot of gang activity at their middle schools, though it is really not as bad as what I hear of from the city. I no longer sub in that district.
It must be really difficult for school administrations to decide how to discipline students who act out when the fear of parental retaliation is ever present.
or LACK of parental involvement, especially when the parents are absent from the kids’ life or don’t speak the same language as the administrators.
I think it’s more of what Taylhis said, lack of parental involvement. Even if the parents get called they are often too busy to punish their kids. Punishment may not even be effective if they tried, like grounding them- how would they enforce it if they are at work?
However, Jamaiahsh is right about retaliation being another problem. Many parents have the “touch my kid and I’ll see you in jail” attitude which brought about our lame school discipline of today. The idea is to let the parents handle the discipline now, but when they don’t that’s when problems as with low-income (or really any latchkey) kids arise.
both problems seem to be prevalent in today’s society. Lack of parental involvement or hotheaded parents. Luckily, there are some parents who do take time to be involved with their kids in a positive way.
Amen to that.