Is it just me or have teachers gone crazy? Do you things are worse than in the past?
337697
they are definently crazy. one teacher at my school dressed up as a bat (wings and all) for no apparant reason and "flew" down the hall way. she even made whooshing noises
787058
I one hundred percent think the stress is crazy!  I worked in Texas for just one year in a large urban district, and what I saw was really distressing.  This was BEFORE  No Child Left Behind, so I can only imagine that things have gone from bad to worse.  At that time, everyone was terrified of not getting an Excellent rating, and children in my buildings were repeatedly referred to Special Education because they didn't do well on the benchmarks, not even the TASS itself!  Never mind test anxiety, the fact the kid may have been sick, or that the student made straight A's.  So frustrating.\n\nWhat's more frustrating is that with NCLB every school is now falling into that same mess of teaching to the test.  What you discuss in your question, learning process and not just rules, is one of the pitfalls.  There's no time to apply logic when you have so much time to fill in a bubble and move on to the next question.  Following rules is quicker but in no way is better for the student!  \n\nOne other issue I have is how does the state education board decide what should be on the test and why!  And is it developmentally appropriate?  Some of the people aren't even educators!
151785
Great question!  As a former teacher, and a student for a long time!!! I would say, yes it does affect students.  Maybe on an unconscious level, but yes.  Students look up to teachers-- what's inside the teacher matters more than what's outside, but you see the outside first. . .
598215
I am still in school! What is that shit! Anyway, there are nice teachers who do their job well and try not to show favoritism, just as there are teachers who do not. High school teachers are generally not as open as Middle school teachers.
733559
I just read some research about a week ago from a study that showed teachers who choose or felt they had a gift for teaching had students who performed 50 percent better than those who did not.  That is not just a drop in the bucket.\n\nBut....here is the reality in America.  The schools are underfunded, the president's program has left education in a shambles, classrooms are too full, no one wants to pay anymore taxes for new schools or even expansions.  Teachers are having to be parents, guardians, police and counselors.  Their pay stinks. Under those conditions, teachers, even those who are truly gifted become disillusioned pretty fast.\n\nThink about it...it seems a lot of you are still in high school...what goes on in your classroom, is the teacher given any respect, do they have any time to teach or do they have to spend all their time disciplining students and trying to control the class.  Your teachers are not dumb, they just do not know what to try anymore.\n\nI expect they are as frustrated as you are as students.  Maybe you guys (teachers and students) need to pull together and start telling the people who can make a difference what needs to be done for our schools.
243822
If it's not the worst, it's certainly in the running.\n\nUnder-funded???  Beth, you are mad!  There is more money wasted on public education in this country than is spent altogether in most other countries.\n\nThe problem seems to be the extent to which two basic entities have taken over control of what was traditionally a very locally-controlled institution.  The first is the teacher's union, which turns upside-down every value that made those great old teachers I had as a child so worthwhile.  They stayed in their jobs because they were good at them, got good results.  Nowadays the union protects the marginal, makes war on the superior teacher (makes the rest look bad, you know), and makes seniority virtually the only criterion they will consider valid.\n\nThe other thing that happened was the federal government getting involved in funding programs that they then control.  This means the local school board has less and less control over what goes on in their school, because they don't dare risk losing that federal money.  So the textbooks are all Politically Correct, even if they don't teach the kids anything useful at all.  The teachers are actually disciplined for creativity, because they can't get any creative program approved if it cannot be used "for everyone."  They are ordered to teach for the purpose of preparation for the exit exams, and discipline is nothing but a game they play with the students.\n\nI do not envy any kid going to a public school these days, but one:  the one who had a black tee shirt that read "School prepares you for the real world, which also s**ks."
499346
I really do sympathize with you.  I teach sophomore English to very low level, at-risk students.  My kids are straight out of that old TV show, "Welcome Back Kotter," however, the attitudes and ambivilence are often laced with a home-grown coating of physical abuse, drugs, alcohol, etc. etc.  I have a student right now who was exactly like those you are describing. He'd been in jail, alternative school, ISS, you name it, and simply didn't seem to care. He often said, "I'm going to fail anyway, so what's the point?"  He'd dig his heels in and sit in his desk staring into space and refusing to even attempt the most trivial task.  It frustrated me to no end, but rather than let it aggravate me further, I told myself that I was going to make a conscious effort to say something nice to this child, or to acknowledge him in a special way every single day even if I had to draw down the sun, moon, and stars to find something positive to say.  First I just said things like, "Hey Fernando, that's a pretty fine shirt you got on," or "Did you get a haircut?  It looks good."   Next thing I knew he was picking up a pencil and writing a few words, answering 1 or 2 questions on a worksheet.  So I kept at it, and he started doing another 2 or 3 questions and guess what?  Today, Fernando completed 3 entire pages of a 6 page packet featuring VERBS! :-)\nHe hides behind my door every morning as the kids are filing in and I say "Gee, I think there's a big bug in this hallway---I think I heard it behind my door--I better get some RAID!"  For the past week and a half or so he's actually been coming into class smiling.   \nI don't know if this helps you or not---I know that all of our students are unique, but even when they're in high-school--15, 16 years old, I've found that there are those that so badly crave our attention much like that of a little kid.\nHang in there---persistence and patience are blessings bigger than we could ever know!  (hug)
188636
Too me yes and no. When i was in Middle school i was looking forward to high school as a new start. I thought it was going to be great! That's when all the teachers came in and started stating that high school is so hard and that people don't care about you there and its just one big place with a bunch of bad people doing bad things. These where the teachers that were suppose to be supporting me! So i was so worried going to high school and when i got there i noticed it was great! it was just like middle school but there was a whole lot of more people and you get a bit more Independence homework and school wise. So i guess high school is different in some ways but its a whole lot better then middle school. There are a lot more people that you get to know and you classes will have different people in them but it just opens the door to new friends.
391773
I assume your teacher wants to know whether or not YOU agree.  So think....  When you or people around you see bad things happening throughout the world as reported on the news, how do you (or the other people) feel?  If you see earthquakes, floods, war, etc. reported for someplace else, does it ever worry you that maybe the same thing could happen where YOU live, and affect you personally?? If things like that stress you out, maybe they stress other people out too, causing "desperation".  Good luck!
1097873
I was waiting for you to ask this question.\n\nYou've been having problems, both with school and your personal life, haven't you?
239365
yes, it happened once when i did not finish my work and techer asked me the reason! dumest thing to ask! guess when would be my answer?\n \ni said i did not finish my work coz i was stuck up in the bathroom for 8 hours! the teacher started laughing and i said it was not funny coz i was crying then she said "Zip up your fly." and the whole class stated laughing! my zip was open in front of the whole class!!!!! i was so emmbrassed that i did not go to school for a whole week!
341432
I've dealt with a lot of mean teachers and I know they can't get fired for that. My Freshman science teacher was mean to only Freshman. Now, whenever she sees me, she's always extremely nice. Some teachers are just mean because they don't like their jobs. Nonetheless, if your teacher wasn't teaching properly or was beating the kids, that would be a good ticket out of there. But just "being mean" could be a  matter of perspective and I don't think there's anything you can do.
889880
power goes to their head !!!!! we had a chemistry teacher in our very last semester of nursing school,who made it so hard (more than u ever use in actual nursing) that everyones average grade fell,most of us barely passed her class- and i had been on high honour roll for 4 years !!! she laughingly told us she liked to take everyone down a peg or two before we graduated.i got by,as my other grades were gr8,but for some,it put them in real jeapordy. i thought that was just plain mean and spiteful.she was a drinker,maybe that had something to do with it.amazing what u can get away with,once u have tenure !!!!
1036144
It has been a disaster.\n\nWhat has happened is: a lot of schools have been trying to push out the problem kids because they need their success rate to increase. My nephew went through this and ended up dropping out as soon as he turned 16.
639613
Yes.\nThe problem is that we are all scared as children, and now that I am an adult I see how wrong and rude some teachers were/are.\nTell your Principal exactly how rude she is and what she said. Tell her that this is a valid complaint and if she doesn't rectify this kind of behavior that you have no choice but to speak to the Principal's Superintendent!\n\nDon't be afraid, nothing can happen to you. But do not attempt this if you are a trouble maker and have a documented history of your behavior as it will backfire on you.
704123
Teachers are not hard to get along with if you follow their rules. Treat them with respect, and complete your assignments on time. They are there to help you. In college I found that when I got to know my professors and asked for help when I needed it that I usally had a pleasant experience. When I didnt do so I tended to struggle more then normal. Teachers jobs are about building strong moral character, and providing a stepping stone for the student to be successful in the world. They are not there to destroy your future or make you suffer. Most of the time when you are having problems with a teacher its because you are not getting the lessons that they feel you need to learn, talk to them and they will address the issues that they feel you need to improve on. The more you listen the better off you are, that shows a willingness to learn, the more you ask questions the better off you are, that shows the desire to increase your knowledge.
1010700
Many teachers say that they're just there to teach, and they are not paid enough to have to put up with abuse from students; however, many teachers are not taking time to really get to "know" their students, some teachers are not "cut out" for teaching, and many do not advance themselves to learn recent brain research to really understand why some students are the way they "really" are. Many teachers do not understand many reasons such as environmental, prenatal, brain development, etc, so they don't understand different types of students' negative behavior.  Because of not understanding these factors, many teachers see the "kids" as "bad," so the teachers become mean. And, most importantly, if there is too much class disruption because of negativism, from both teacher and student, much instructional time is lost. And that's a major reason that teachers become more annoyed or meaner! Also, many students are afraid to tell their parents about the abuse, so nothing gets done, and many bad teachers get away with "being extremely mean."  Also, some students come in with personal problems, they don't tell the teacher, and therefore, some teachers go with what they have, and you can figure out the rest for yourself. One of the best books to read about why we have such negative discipline in the schools is Jane Healey's "Endangered Minds." Also, many teachers should be required to attend conferences/workshops on "Conflict Management." There are many pros and cons about this topic, and one of the best solutions is to have the teacher, the student, and the parent/s involved in a peaceful conference to discuss negative issues and how to deal with the student. To put it bluntly, teaching in today's society, with all the factors (which we didn't have many years ago) is a tough job, but somebody has to do it. And, many of us, who are teachers, know the factors, so we stay in the teaching job because we love to teach, plus we love and understand kids. Those who can't understand this, need to get out of education and find another field to work in.