Only at the Mecca of Education...

[Dollypop]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 9:23pm

I was seated on a Grand Jury through the month of September, so I'm really just getting back into the swing of things at the Mecca.

There's a male student on my roster with the name "Inri". With a name like that I thought he was Pakistani or from India. The boy had been absent for some time and I didn't get to meet him until two days ago. He was rather light-skinned and had hazel eyes. He came into class early today and I was able to chat with him. I asked him about his name, explaining that I have several friends from India with similar names.

The boy said he was from Georgia and that when he was born, there was a crucifix at the foot of his mother's bed. She called him "Inri" because she saw the initials "INRI" above the head of Jesus on the cross.

I really and truly can't believe the names I have to deal with!!!!!!

[shira467]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 9:27pm

Oh, MY.

[artscallion]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 9:27pm

That's too much!

Growing up in RI, I always thought it meant jesus was crucified there.

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 9:28pm

But just wait until you get a student named: Nerdy.


And it's not a nickname.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 9:31pm

"Nerdy"? I didn't know Mr Roxy had any children!

[DG]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 10:13pm

There are so many things to comment on in the original post, that I think I'll just pass.

But HONESTLY, Dolly, you might want to look at the preconceived notions that you're approaching these kids with. They speak volumes. Especially if there's ANY validity to your oft-repeated disdain for the state of your profession.

Posted: 10/19/07 at 11:18pm

I think with a name like Inri he's used to some queries. I had a guy who worked for me who was named "Tinnie" because his mama said he was so "tinnie) (tiny) when he was born. Even if you can spell it, Tiny is a horrible name, especially for a boy.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 8:44pm

Thank you for your input, DG. As always, I'll ignore your comments.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 8:53pm

what's wrong with the public schools? a system that allows sick f*cks like this to keep drawing a paycheck at the public trough.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 9:22pm

"As always, I'll ignore your comments."

Because ignoring the truth, is so much easier than facing it.

[Malice]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 4:42pm

now a student named nerdy I would automatically have to love. My current favorite name is one of the freshmen I have, Sscence, as in Essence without the E. My all time favorite was a name I heard at an interview last spring, a girl named Miami. Just thinking about the future jokes that middle school student was going to hear made me want to say what the heck was the parent(s) thinking?

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 4:52pm

I have a student named Anjana. Try pronouncing that one right! And there's NOTHING wrong with any teacher complaining about the modern state of education. It's pitiful. There's only so much any one person can do, and we're fighting an uphill battle all the time. I've realized now that we're at the point where I have kids (7th and 8th grade) who've spent the majority of their school career in a NCLB world - and trust me - my kids this year are the SLOWEST I've ever had. After spending a week going over parts of speech with them (something they should have known), I had kids get the following question wrong on a quiz: "The 'dog' chased the cat. What part of speech is "dog"? I went back and spent another week re-teaching everything. I had kids do WORSE on the second (easier) quiz. These kids are not taught to think any more. If they are given the definition "A noun is a person, place, thing or idea" and the question isn't "Define noun," they don't have a clue how to deal with it!

Look, I love my job. I enjoy working with the kids. But the gap between the top students (who learn no matter what) and the rest of the class is growing larger every year. The modern state of education as a whole is to blame. Nothing wrong with a teacher, who is on the front lines of a losing battle, complaining.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 5:01pm

i had kids do worse on the second (easier) quiz.

sounds more like an indictment of your teaching than of your students.

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 8:16pm

I'm not going to dignify that with a defense. It's not worth it. Maybe less ignorance on the part of the community at large would help solve problems, rather than placing the blame on teachers who are there fighting it every day.

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 8:29pm

I think this thread is being threadjacked but anyway, I think a lot of the problem is the parents. They expect the teacher to do all the work. If they had interest in their children's education, then the children would have more interest in learning.

Yes, I do think the "modern state of education" sucks. I also think too much pressure is being put on the teachers and they are getting worn out very quickly.
Teachers need cooperation from parents, students and other school personnel- that which they are not getting.

End rant.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 8:34pm

If you've read any of Dolly's post for any length of time. You'd see that he not only has contempt for the education system that he's been part of for 30 odd years, but also for the students he teaches.

"These kids are not taught to think any more. If they are given the definition "A noun is a person, place, thing or idea" and the question isn't "Define noun," they don't have a clue how to deal with it!"

And who's job exactly is it to teach them to think? The education system as a whole, or the teachers in the classroom? You can blame the system all you want, because that's the easiest way out. But that shouldn't let the teachers off the hook who should have been teaching them what a noun is. Yes, there's overcrowding and underfunding, and there are also under-qualified, bored, boring and in Dolly's case hostile teachers, who would rather mock someone's name and bemoan the state of education without ever considering that he just might be part of the problem.

Updated On: 10/21/07 at 08:34 PM

[soapguy17]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 8:40pm

But HONESTLY, Dolly, you might want to look at the preconceived notions that you're approaching these kids with. They speak volumes. Especially if there's ANY validity to your oft-repeated disdain for the state of your profession.

Word.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 8:58pm

i'm not going to dignify that with a defense.

because there isn't one.

[KelRel]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:03pm

I am dealing with a similar situation as Jason's, but at the same time I realize that these kids are a victim of the failings of their previous teachers and though it is a lot more work for me I am determined to get them past this. I have 4th graders who didn't know what the word define means. I was FLOORED. They have no clue how to study or even that the words in bold in their textbooks are keywords that they need to focus on. They have been spoon fed the information that they are to be tested on in the spring for standardized testing.

It is a hard situation, but its one that you deal with and do your best to correct.

[Marlene]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:40pm

Dolly's a douche with his comments at times, but yet I don't completely blame him. Although I sincerely hope he doesn't outwardly channel this in the classroom... if you do, I've already vocally wished your like painful death. :)

You could teach out in Long Island, where you can get an homogenous student body and overbearing parents. Opps…sorry--guess you're not there. Suck it up.

I do feel for you to a lesser extent as many of your comments filled with less contempt aren't too far from the truth...

The public education system is full of flaws. I wish most schools had the ability to have school-based committee voting system for new faculty members and just general up on your ass-ness with the subpar.

Standardized testing is frustrating and I honestly wish it didn't exist on such a frequent and great scale that it currently does with in the NYC and NYS Public School system. It's just a skill you aquire if you become adept at it, and I can't think of how much time has often been wasted to learn formats of how things need to be ridiculously done for these exams to which the mecca of education subjects both student and teachers.

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:53pm

The testing in the education system is absolutely ridiculous. In Florida, they are TEACHING the FCAT (kind of standardized testing). The teachers salary and the grades the school get are based on the FCAT score; thus, the teacher is basically forced to teach the FCAT rather than the 'regular' curriculum.

It's important to realize that testing often does not show intelligence- some kids just cannot test, whether it be test anxiety or anything else.

For me personally, I have a learning disability. When I had one of my first IQ tests, it showed that I was mentally retarded. I am not. I have a learning disability. Obviously this testing did not show my knowledge. I am in college getting grades higher than others-- others who I'm sure got a lot higher IQ score.
*When I was re-tested, it was a different IQ test which did indeed confirm my learning disability and not mental retardation.

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 10:10pm

KelRel - the thing is, you can't blame the previous year's teacher because the blame would trace right on down the grades to kindergarten. There's something in the SYSTEM now that is making these children unable to think, making them unaware of things that seem so obvious to us. Plain and simple, if it's not on standardized tests, it doesn't matter anymore. NCLB has totally screwed up our education system, and all the claptrap and mumbo-jumbo from Rebublicans about it isn't going to do a damn thing. The program doesn't work - forget what politicians say, listen to the educators of the country. The program doesn't work.

[KelRel]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 10:21pm

NCLB is a joke and I was to scream all the time when I think of it. It could go down to the kindergarten teachers, but right now I'm specifically talking about my situation. The third grade teacher is basically phoning it in and she teaches to the test and lets the rest go. It is a horrible situation at my school and because I am trying to shake things up and make these kids think I am getting pressure from the other teachers and from the administration. It is really stressful right now, but I know that it is worth it for the kids.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 10:24pm

no, kel, see blaming a teacher, any teacher, for anything ever is unacceptable. the teacher is never wrong and can do no wrong. you keep that sh*t up and yer ass will be out on the street sister.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 10:25pm

"KelRel - the thing is, you can't blame the previous year's teacher because the blame would trace right on down the grades to kindergarten. There's something in the SYSTEM now that is making these children unable to think, making them unaware of things that seem so obvious to us."

Sorry, Jason, but that doesn't explain the students who do think. Laying the blame at the feet of the SYSTEM, for those who don't, is a cop-out. There are teachers in many classrooms who are able to motivate and educate and make their students think in spite of the SYSTEM. If you just throw you hands in the air and say it's the SYSTEM'S fault and there is nothing YOU can do, then YOU become part of the problem.