Teacher's Plight
Let me see if I've got this right. You want me to go
into that room
with all those kids, and
fill their every waking moment
with a love
for learning. Not only that, I'm to instill a sense
of pride in their ethnicity, behaviorally modify disruptive
behavior,
and observe them for signs of
abuse, drugs, and T-shirt messages.
I am to fight the war on drugs and sexually
transmitted diseases,
check their
backpacks for guns and raise their self-esteem.
I'm to teach them patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship and
fair play,
how and where to register
to vote, how to balance a checkbook and how to apply
for a job, but I am never to ask if they are in this country
illegally.
I am to check their heads occasionally for lice,
maintain a
safe environment,
recognize signs of potential antisocial behavior, offer
advice, write letters of recommendation for student employment
and
scholarships, encourage respect for
the cultural diversity of others, and
oh
yeah, teach, always making sure that I give the girls in my class
fifty percent of my attention.
I'm required by my contract to be working, on my own
time,
summer and evenings and at my own
expense towards additional
certification,
advance certification and a master's degree, to sponsor the
cheerleaders or the sophomore class and after school
I am to attend committee and
faculty
meetings and participate in staff development training to
maintain my current certification and
employment status.
I am to collect data and maintain all records to
support and
document our building's
progress in the selected state mandated
program to "assess and upgrade educational excellence in the
public schools."
I am to be a paragon of
virtue larger than life, such that my
very presence will awe my students into being obedient and
respectful of authority.
I am to pledge allegiance to supporting family
values, a return to
the basics, and
my current administration.
I am to
incorporate technology into the learning, but monitor
all web sites for appropriateness while providing a
personal
one-on-one relationship
with each student. I am to decide who might be potentially
dangerous and/or liable to commit crimes in
school or who is possibly being
abused
and I can be sent to jail for not mentioning these suspicions
to
those in authority.
I am to make sure ALL students pass the state and
federally
mandated testing and all
classes, whether or not they attend school on
a regular basis or complete any of the work assigned. I am
to communicate
frequently with each
student's parent by letter, phone, newsletter, and grade
card. I'm to do all of this with just a piece of chalk, a
computer, a few
books, a bulletin board, a
45 minute or less plan time, and a big
smile on a starting salary that qualifies my family
for food stamps in many
states... Is that
all? And you want me to do all of this and expect me to do it WITHOUT
PRAYING? 
If you have enjoyed these messages, poems
and songs and found them meaningful to you,
A donation will help me with the
expense of maintaining the web site.
By clicking the donation button it will
lead you to PayPal.com, a secure site
Your support and any amount is
very much appreciated!
Many Thanks... Susie
Page by SusieA1114@aol.com
