Having read a lot about the struggles of inner city teachers trying to control disruptive students with little support from mostly black school administrators it seems to me that it would be possible to greatly improve the teaching environment by simply removing (expelling) those causing the most disruption. This would send a strong message about acceptable behavior and make it possible for most students to actually learn. Kids will quickly understand the consequences of disruptive behavior and change accordingly so relatively few would actually have to be removed. As with crimes like shoplifting it appears that society has given up on enforcing standards of accountability and thus its deterrent effect. A self fulfilling prophecy.
I completely agree, unfortunately, I doubt that will happen because of institutional capture. "tracking" or grouping other kids by their respective aptitudes is seen as taboo in the teaching profession.
I was a HS science teacher 2015-2023 in an impoverished rural town in VT. Didn’t go to school to be a teacher, left a science career and went through the peer review process to get licensed. At first I put my struggles on the students and the family life, then it was the school administration, and finally the bureaucrats at the state level. The state only cared about graduation rates, and no about what they actually learned. I had students miss over 80 days of school and show up the last week of school to do a couple assignments with substantial help, and they would get moved along. Around 10% of these students were proficient or better at math and reading by the age of 15. The teachers are an easy target, but it’s the states vision and the administrations willful ignorance that allows this to happen.
Thanks for your comment, Chris. I agree, the entire system is flawed, and good teachers like yourself were fighting an uphill battle. You may have been a diamond in the rough based on your background and lack of formal teaching education, but based on my experience, many teachers are a lost cause before they even come in, and the state failures just exacerbate it.
Man, this one hits close to home. I have two little kids and it makes me sick that they are in line for this. I’m from a small town in so cal, got a couple of bachelor degrees from UC Berkeley, but am now in New Mexico, which is ranked last in the nation in education. I don’t see how I could possibly in good conscience send my kids to public schools here, so it’s either private Catholic school or homeschool for them. I don’t want them to be indoctrinated and need to control the “open minded” thinkers they get subjected to at such an early, vulnerable age
Having read a lot about the struggles of inner city teachers trying to control disruptive students with little support from mostly black school administrators it seems to me that it would be possible to greatly improve the teaching environment by simply removing (expelling) those causing the most disruption. This would send a strong message about acceptable behavior and make it possible for most students to actually learn. Kids will quickly understand the consequences of disruptive behavior and change accordingly so relatively few would actually have to be removed. As with crimes like shoplifting it appears that society has given up on enforcing standards of accountability and thus its deterrent effect. A self fulfilling prophecy.
I completely agree, unfortunately, I doubt that will happen because of institutional capture. "tracking" or grouping other kids by their respective aptitudes is seen as taboo in the teaching profession.
Those who can’t do, teach.
Education scores of American children have dropped at a staggering rate since the creation of the Department of Education.
I was a HS science teacher 2015-2023 in an impoverished rural town in VT. Didn’t go to school to be a teacher, left a science career and went through the peer review process to get licensed. At first I put my struggles on the students and the family life, then it was the school administration, and finally the bureaucrats at the state level. The state only cared about graduation rates, and no about what they actually learned. I had students miss over 80 days of school and show up the last week of school to do a couple assignments with substantial help, and they would get moved along. Around 10% of these students were proficient or better at math and reading by the age of 15. The teachers are an easy target, but it’s the states vision and the administrations willful ignorance that allows this to happen.
Thanks for your comment, Chris. I agree, the entire system is flawed, and good teachers like yourself were fighting an uphill battle. You may have been a diamond in the rough based on your background and lack of formal teaching education, but based on my experience, many teachers are a lost cause before they even come in, and the state failures just exacerbate it.
Man, this one hits close to home. I have two little kids and it makes me sick that they are in line for this. I’m from a small town in so cal, got a couple of bachelor degrees from UC Berkeley, but am now in New Mexico, which is ranked last in the nation in education. I don’t see how I could possibly in good conscience send my kids to public schools here, so it’s either private Catholic school or homeschool for them. I don’t want them to be indoctrinated and need to control the “open minded” thinkers they get subjected to at such an early, vulnerable age