Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Lazy Students or Lousy Teachers?


                That seems to be the question on everyone’s mind these days. Recent studies show that students test scores and grades are reportedly failing. So easily enough they automatically went to blaming the teachers. It has to be the teachers fault that the kids are failing right, it would only make since? 
That is just what some people seem to think, but in reality if you are comparing students from 100 years ago to the students in grade school right now. Look at all the things in technology, also just in life general since then. Students these days have plenty of distractions that the students back then didn’t have, what can you expect honestly? Internet, Xbox, Cell Phones, I could list for days the things that kids could easily be distracted from. Why learn boring school subjects such as math, science, reading, etc. when you can browse the internet, or watch your favorite TV shows. 
According to the New York Times, “Mayors are threatening mass layoffs, including in places such as New York City and Rhode Island where all 1,936 teachers were told last week they would lose their jobs.” It has even gone as far as the public making comments about teachers stating that they are only baby sitters who leave work at 3 p.m and get the whole summers off, you don’t deserve what you make. Can you imagine how awful it would feel to hear that if you were a teacher, that you weren’t doing your job, it shouldn’t even be considered a real job. In my opinion that is ridiculous, have the people that are claiming this probably have no education themselves, and just like everyone in the world are finding someone else to blame, another excuse. Why can’t people just open their eyes are realize that it’s time to stop blaming everyone else and take responsibility for your own actions. 
All over the world teachers are getting “laid-off” and or their salaries are being lowered because of this. The nation is blaming the teachers for the lack of interest in the youth today. Tony Bennett a superintendent of a public instruction in Indiana said, ““This is in no way, shape or form an attack on teachers; it is a comprehensive effort to reform a system.” They yet again are covering up the truth, they try to say they are doing this for the better, this will help the students, whatever they can come up with to take the blame off themselves, which in this case is the economy and technology.
The doctors and the government think they can also help with this lack of interest in school by medicating the kids. over 60% of students are prescribed with a medicine for ADHD. They are diagnosed and prescribed in a matter of no time. It’s like having little zombies running around. This is not the right way to go about it either in my opinion. They need to take a step back and really try to figure out the problem here, really try to fix things. Firing teachers and medicating students obviously isn’t working out to well. 
Sources:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/education/03teacher.html?_r=1&src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB  Proposed Cuts Strike Teachers as Attacks on Their Value to Society- NYTimes.com Teachers Wonder Why the Scorn? 
Trip Gabriel 
RSA Animate- Changing Education Paradigms Sir Ken Robinson

1 comment:

  1. "recent studies" - what studies?

    "So easily enough they automatically went to blaming the teachers." -- who is they?

    "That is just what some people seem to think" -- who is some people?

    "That is just what some people seem to think, but in reality if you are comparing students from 100 years ago to the students in grade school right now." -- not a sentence.......

    and so on.....

    You need to revise your responses before posting them -- clearly state what/whom you are talking about.

    I will allow you to revise this response for credit if you want -- repost it as "revised response #3"

    if you do not you will not receive credit

    ReplyDelete