This article blames the school system because a high school student had a 0.13 grade point average and failed nearly every class he took. The student in question was absent 272 times in four years. He failed his classes for four years, and the first time the kid’s mother knew anything was during the final semester of his senior year? Yeah, mother of the year right there.
I have 133 students this year. Of those, more than half of them (68) are currently failing my course. Six of those students have a perfect zero for the current marking period, due to the fact that they have not turned in a single one of the fifteen assignments that has been assigned to them. In fact, more than half of my students have received at least 6 zeros. The mean grade for my students is a 48 percent.
Absenteeism is over the top. I have students who have been absent more than not. One of my students has only been in class six times so far this year. I have over a dozen students that I have not seen nor heard from since before Christmas.
There is nothing that I as a teacher can do. I teach, but the student has to show up and actually make an effort. I am tired of caring more about my students’ success than they or their parents.
In fact, I have had enough. I am done. I am putting in my two weeks’ notice tomorrow. Since spring break is coming up, my last day as a teacher will be next Friday. This morning, I was offered a job supervising techs at a nearby hospital. I accepted.
Back to the medical business.
9 Comments
Borepatch · March 4, 2021 at 7:11 pm
Dad was a professor. He said that if he made his final exam mandatory to pass he would see students he’d never seen before at the exam. He also said that if he made the exam optional he would not see some students there who were regular attendees.
This was in the 1970s.
joe · March 4, 2021 at 9:08 pm
and the worse part…they will probably all pass…worked at a hs for a bit…all they had to do to get a 70 was show up and do a daily worksheet…fing joke…
it's just Boris · March 4, 2021 at 11:29 pm
I get it, and I also regret you’ve been driven to the decision. We need good teachers who care, and while I’ve never sat in your classroom, that’s the impression I get from your writings.
And, of course, congrats on the new position!
Beans · March 5, 2021 at 3:46 am
Wife was an adjunct professor at a state college. She wasn’t allowed to fail college students, and the reason was that ‘ the students’ parents would complain to their state representatives and we’d lose funding.’ This was the same college that stopped doing thesis-based Masters because it was too much work for the professors AND only allowed group projects in Master’s level classes because ‘kids these days only work as a group.’
So, yeah, the rot goes from pre-school all the way up to the top. Yes, I’ve even heard the PhD programs are basically cash-on-the-barrel head these days for most degrees.
Sorry this happened to you. Even sorrier for what’s left of this dying nation.
TechieDude · March 5, 2021 at 9:32 am
Good for you. There’s nothing worse than working in a futile environment that sucks the life out of you.
Funny thing about that story – he was in the middle of his class. So there were worse. Also funny was that this seemed to be a surprise to mama. The kid is doomed to a life of manual labor, competing with immigrants if he doesn’t get it together.
[geez alarm] Back in my day, when kids failed, didn’t show up, weren’t socialized, they were sent to a separate school. If they flunked out, they were gone. The thinking was that they shouldn’t be allowed to ruin education for others.
That went by the wayside, as did keeping kids back. I won’t even get into the BS of making numbers look good for funding.
Years back, Baltimore (where this kid is), privatized a dozen or so of their worst schools. The company I worked for installed new phone systems in all of them. They fixed the HVAC, had security. I had a tech who spent a lot of time with them.
But, the Teachers union agitated and badgered, In the end, the ‘test’ scores didn’t improve so they s-canned the program.
My tech up there had to go remove the systems. When he got in the office he was upset as hell. “Yeah, the scores weren’t better. But so what? those schools were well run, The kids had a safe environment with heat/ac.” He teared up telling me this. As I said, he spent time in all of them doing service work, repairs, and training.
So good for you. I’m nearly at a stage in my life where I could give back. But I’d rather manage a group of network technicians than shovel sand with idiot teenagers.
DTG · March 5, 2021 at 9:34 am
Good for you! Ever since I read Gatto’s opus on American education, I have always wondered how the educators (the good ones) put up with the mandates from the state, feds, and the lack of parental as well as student participation in their own schooling.
It’s like they expect the teacher to open their heads and pour knowledge in with no effort on their part.
Cretins.
Good luck to you in your new position!
Dirk Diggler · March 5, 2021 at 12:23 pm
I have a masters in teaching but decided it would be best to work in a different profession where I would have support and respect. I became a research biologist. My sons are both in middle school. They are on the honor role. They have ONE JOB. That is to get good grades and show respect for their teachers. I have always told them that they can either be the guy in the corvette, or the person leaning down to ask if they “want fries with that”.
TechieDude · March 5, 2021 at 12:42 pm
BTW – The School’s budget? $53M.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/03/a_baltimore_public_school_has_abandoned_educating_its_students.html
That’s a scandal.
Anonymous · March 7, 2021 at 1:12 am
Woof. I am impressed. Maybe after you decompress you might teach something to homeschoolers?
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