It's a Nothing Burger -- Move Forward

 Anyone and everyone who is a teacher these days should relate to this blog. I'll say this, if you are a teacher in Urban, USA, you should relate to this story.  It's not a big huge secret that kids today aren't as on top of things like they were in the past. I have to include myself in the mix as well, because when I was 13 years old I didn't write essays like Theodore Roosevelt's generation did, and he probably didn't do something as spectacular as say, his great grandparents did. He was probably considered privileged and well off, so his parents' ability to provide private tutoring for him no doubt made all the difference in the world when it came to be better educated than the average Joe Student of the 1870s.  That being said, the kids of the 1970s, which would have been my time to shine, certainly had a brighter outlook and more glowing performance ratio than that of our dull and dim-witted students today. I really shouldn't go off on them like this but if I don't do it someone else may do it, and then everyone would think that person was just ranting. No, no, I am probably in step and in agreement with whoever thinks this crop of teens is less than stellar and could use a bit more instructional coaching. (They could use a swift kick in the ass, too)

    Here's another radiant example of how our angst-driven, sugar-fueled, heavier-than-thou students have decided to treat and/or respond to their instructors. I could also reword that by saying here's another luminous example of how subordinates these days react and respond to their superiors, because educationally speaking, that is exactly what the teacher-student relationship is. It is a superior-minded person with years of experience and at least a four-year degree in Education (usually carrying with it 18 or more hours in behavioral science and child psychology) who chooses (chooses) to educate, instruct, coach, teach, and/or tutor the student. You can call it what you want, but I say this is how these CHILDREN are behaving these days and we have to put up with it most of the time because our administrations are simply overwhelmed with the (oftentimes) ancillary parents who either have no clue how to assist with pre-algebra or spell "ancillary", but you know they try to convince our principals that their kid would NEVER do what we have accused them of doing, have video evidence of them doing, or witness accounts of them doing. It's just a mess out there!

    I was called into the principal's office today after school to discuss a situation where a student filed a formal complaint against me.  When that happens the principal has a contractual obligation to contact us (teachers) and let us know we need to meet about the complaint. We have the union to back us up of course, and we typically say we need to be represented, and we wait for a rep. Today I decided to ask the rep if he wanted to show up, and he said he was already scheduled for 3 meetings with three other teachers at two schools, and get this, they were ALL over the same type of thing. We have students running the show in the administration offices, throwing tantrums and being given the time of day when nearly every single time they do this it turns out to be a lie on their part, both an inconvenience and possibly a legal infraction on the part of the administration if they choose to make a formal accusation. This is why they call us into their offices, so we can defend the negative! Since it NEVER happened, we end up saying, "No" and the kid says "Yes" and there you have it. It didn't happen. Unless there is video unless there is film, unless there are witnesses, unless there is evidence, it did not happen, and the administrations need to realize that cameras in the halls could be beneficial to EVERYONE.

    The kid who filed the complaint is 15 years old and in the 8th grade. This means he's either really behind in his academic plan, he's unable to complete his work, or he's not capable of being responsible and was held back at least one year. He has a history of lying, a history of behavioral issues, a history of being sent to the office, a history of being in In-school Suspension, and yes, he's been suspended and sent home more than twice in the past two years. He was home last year for COVID so the district didn't have to put up with his crap, but here he is wearing his hoodie in the school every damn day, every damn hour, and being told every damn time to remove it. Why the administration doesn't just take the hoodie from him is a mystery.  He was told, he was given three chances and yes, I reached up and pulled his hoodie off his head! He turns around and said, "You fucking bitch!" to me, and yes, I was the one called into the principal's office.  He was sent too, and of course, he denied his actions.  Oh, but that's where the cameras could have been helpful. They could have shown that he turned and we could have read his lips.  It is NOT, I repeat NOT, against the rules, standards, or laws to physically remove the hoodie if done so in a reasonable manner.  The boy tried to say I laid hands on him, that I slapped his head, and yes, again, the cameras would have been a great tool.

    Naturally, he was loud enough with his name-calling that other teachers heard him.  Naturally, the teachers came to my defense as we're really sick and tired of these brats thinking they can call the shots. The question was asked of me, did I pull the hoodie with force? The question was answered by me, "No", and of course, without cameras, without film, but with witnesses, the kid was given a warning about filing false claims.  He has been "targeted" according to his parents. Yeah, cry me a river Mommy, because your baby boy is a liar, you know it, I know it, every teacher he's ever had knows it, so it's not really a big surprise.  Funny, you never see kids with great attitudes, good grades, and who are active in Student Council, sports, and even the Library Club, rushing to the office to file a complaint against a teacher doing her job. No, you only see the waste-lands, the would-be, the I'm-too-lazy-to-do-my-work type; and really, to be honest, since they don't do a damn thing in class they may as well stay home and soak up the sun in the afternoons because we don't need them taking up space in our classrooms. There just seems to be far too many of them now. They almost outnumber the good kids these days and that's really kind of scary when you think about it.

    My principal asked me to write up a statement to the effect that I didn't pull the kid's hoodie off his head. I told him I could do that, but in reality, he shouldn't have even given the boy two seconds of his time. It's a bit like the girls we sent to the office early this morning wearing house slippers and short pajama pants. You shake your head, pull out the dress code, read it to them, have them call home, and if someone can't bring them clothes you give them paper sacks to wear and shoes too small; gone are those days, huh?  Momma and Daddy can't be bothered to stop playing their video games long enough to dress and feed their kids now. They can't be bothered to bring clothes up for them if they don't make it to school in proper attire.  God knows they can't put the beer down long enough to go over their homework; so in a very real sense we can't always blame the kids, but there are times, times like this when we can say it was the kid - - and not only was the event a nothing burger, but the future of this particular one will end up being a nothing burger as well.  Too bad, again, there just seems to be too many of them to really get a grip on it. There aren't enough teachers, not enough money for good materials and tools to use, and with all the behavioral issues we have in Urban, USA, there just aren't enough hours in the day to correct all of the problems they have. At age 14 they are 8 or 9 years past the time of correction making much of a difference.

    Some days I ask myself why I am teaching. I ask myself why I care. I ask myself why I'm still trying. The answer is "God expects me to do it" and yeah, I'm really good at it. I do it because it needs to be done. I don't really want to, but I'll keep fighting the fight, and beating my head against that wall because there are 2 or 3 worth the effort. 

Photo Credit: Alamy