Rant on the other side...

And now for something completely different, I feel in all fairness I need to focus for a minute on the teachers part in the breakdown of the educational process. Yes, kids, you heard me right. In spite of the fact that you said I would always side with the teacher when you were growing up, I'm here to tell you that there is definitely some criticism due to some teachers out there. So here's a Bronx cheer for those teachers out there who....

• Give students huge stapled packets of busywork so the teacher doesn't have to actually, you know, TEACH!
• Take off work to go to _______ (college reunions, Disney World, Panama City, what have you) and leave huge stapled packets of busywork for their students OR the same tired movie the kids have seen three times this year already when the teacher was off again on some "emergency" leave to Sao Paulo
• Give students firm directions to put all their answers on their own notebook paper rather than write on the old yellowed spirit master ditto they have been handing out since 1969.
• Tell kids that although the textbook IS outdated and there is no longer a USSR, they must answer as if the Soviet Union was still operational on the test because the teacher doesn't want to take the time to make a new test, she'd rather just copy the textbook test. (Yes, this is a true story!)
• Don't actually grade the massive busywork they hand out because that might take them away from hunting up scrapbooking websites while the kids are completing the massive busywork.
• Give students "A's" because they: 1) were good for the sub 2) brought back their signed report card 3) Helped put up the bulletin board or any other mindless, non-academic task
• Flip out if a kid chews gum in class or doesn't walk on the blue side area of the hall. This is the teacher who spends every moment looking to catch kids breaking a rule so she can wale on them.
• Gives mindless homework every night because she thinks that what teachers are supposed to do.
• Take off work for vague reasons even though they know no sub is available so that their colleagues have to take in 4-6 extra kids per class.
• Tell students embarassing or compromising or even erroneous information about another teacher in order to become a confidant of the students

And for the administrative types who...

• Question teachers with above average failing students but not the teachers with above average number of A's. Isn't grade inflation as bad a problem as a teacher with rigorous demands?

Well, there are certainly plenty of teachers out there with high goals and who teach from the heart. It's the ones that I've described above who are doing nothing to improve the public view of teachers, not to mention the ones who succumb to doing lascivious acts with their students.

O.K., I'm done