The death knell

Read this and this about the death of public education. I am watching promising young people turned into mindless children. And I am culpable of helping. NOT why I went into teaching.

What I do

Last year, when one of the teachers chose to be unprofessional and left us with a mess of students, half of whom she had failed. A group of us offered to work with the failed ones to bring them to passing and a small number did what was required.

It occurred to me this week that 4 of the students in my repeater class were among these students from last year. So I asked them and got this response. "Yes, we came to you for help. You gave us work." I know we explained and I know these students don;t work now.

It is going to be a long semester.

decisions

I was called into a meeting on Monday and told I would be teaching the 9th grade repeater class next year. Then I had dinner with old friends, one of whom offered me a job teaching in an elite private school in the fall.

The decision came down to age. I am not vested in retirement and the retirement at the private school is just ok. But, I am old enough that it makes a difference so 9th grade repeaters it is. On the other hand, they are why I went into teaching.

Question authority

"Question authority" was one of the things I remember learning as I was growing up. I read the consequences of not questioning when I read about the Eichman trial, My Lai, Watergate, others.

I try to teach that as I teach math. Just because I say something is true, if I cannot defend it, do you believe it?

In other words, think for yourself.

I have more trouble with this than with anything else.

I sometimes feel like I am teaching lemmings.

Apparently others feel the same.