Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Hi Jackie:
The kids not only know about it, but know how to use it at the high
school level. In fact a lot of the teachers will lock the door to the
classroom when they are in there alone now, because they don't want to
be caught in a compromising situation, either real or otherwise, with a
student. These kids are smart, believe me. A lot more street wise than
we ever were. :(
Friday afternoon, Ron was coming back to his classroom from the office,
during his lesson planning period, when he caught one of the kids
putting graffiti on the door to one of the classrooms. He told the kid
to stop, and to come with him to the office. The kid told him to go to
hell, and started walking off campus. Ron followed the kid until he saw
a campus aide, who took the kid by the arm and took him to the office.
The kid denied ever doing what he was caught doing, accusing Ron of
lying. Of course the evidence was there, and there was never any doubt
at to what he did, or who was telling the truth, and the kid was
suspended for two days.
This isn't just one incidence of this sort of thing happening, it
happens all the time. Not just to Ron, but to all of the teachers.
There just doesn't seem to be any respect for authority at all any
more. And it is sad. Because these are the same kids who will, if they
haven't already, be the ones who will show this disrespect to the police
and court systems. :( And IMO it all starts at home. :(
Sue
> Hi Sue
>
> And now teachers have sexual harassment to contend with. Believe me, some of the
>students
> (ones that really don't want to study, it seems) are aware of this and try to use it
>to
> their advantage at the college level. Probably is true at high school level too.
>
> Part of the talking back may be the result of the shift in teaching to developing an
>active
> student in classroom rather than a passive student. What is intended to be a good
>thing has
> its negative consequences when students feel they can use this to be spiteful and
>nasty
> rather than becoming active learners. Also there is the trend to have the power
> relationship more equal so students are encouraged not to use titles (college) etc.
>Most
> students call me by my first name--this automatically leads to a more open feeling
>of saying
> what you want, rather than being more tactful because of the authority disparity.
>For some
> of us, it is not a problem because we are able to work with it to our advantage most
>of the
> time--but for others it is really difficult. The biggest problem is how to achieve a
> balance between respect for our position and our person vrs establishing a good
>mentoring
> relationship. Anyone who figures out how to do that should get the Nobel prize.
>
> jackief
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