that vision thang

I apologize to those of you who have no interest in the topic of teaching- I promise to post some more fan-fic soon. For now:

TOPIC ONE
After reading that blog that I ranted about earlier today- I went back into my files to find something I wrote in reply to a series of posts on a Yahoo Group a couple years ago. A parent was complaining that her daughter had been corrected for reading a book during English class because she had not brought her assigned materials, and assigned detention. The parent could not believe that 1) a teacher would correct a student for reading (even though it was not the assigned work and the girl was ignoring what was going on in class), 2) the teacher would not allow the student to go to her locker to get her assigned materials, and 3) the girl was assigned detention for this behavior. The parent told her daughter to ignore the teacher's detention and went right to the principal instead of the teacher. This was also part of an ongoing "issue" with the teacher and the student's IEP.

This is a prime example of what teachers deal with everyday, in both suburban and urban districts. (Every where has its problems. I've only experienced urban, though, so that's all I can speak about.) And this was my response (sorry for the odd spacing; it was saved from the Group):


> I just finished reading some other replies to the original post,
and
> I have to vent from the teacher's perspective. Be offended if you
> want, but at least calmly think about what I'm stating. No one side
> is 100% right- but teachers always seemed to be blamed, and its
just
> ridiculous. Its a symptom of a greater problem in society, but its
> the one I deal with every day. I'm not saying that every teacher is
> great or can follow an IEP, BUT-
>
> 1) Your child is not automatically exempt from general rules of the
> class just because he/she has an IEP. Rules can be bent, ammended,
> accommodated- but not forgotten. Your child must still follow them.
>
> 2) Never assume your child actually told you everything or told it
> accurately. You need to check with the teacher.
>
> 3) Teachers ARE allowed to have bad days. We are human. It is
> important that children learn that, as well as learn from us how to
> handle the world when you have a bad day- even if its how NOT to
> act. School is social learning, not just subject, and no one is
> perfect. What is important is learning from everything you
> experience, not just the "good stuff." No one- NO ONE- is perfect.
>
> 4) The teacher was perfectly right in telling the student never to
> read a book in class again. You got the student's version of that,
> not the teacher's. See #2 as to the phrasing of the teacher's
> statement. Having corrected many students for doing just that- the
> first correction was always prefaced with "It's great that you want
> to read, but right now is simply not acceptable," although the
> student usually ignored that part, and I will not keep repeating it
> by the third time I have to say it.
>
> 5) Students, especially high school students, need to learn
> responsibility. That means bringing supplies to class, among other
> things. Letting a student leave the room to retrieve a forgotten
> item teaches them absolutely nothing and is highly disruptive, both
> to that particular class and to the rules in general.
>
> 6A) Parents who insist their rules always win out over school
rules,
> home school your kid(s). We handle hundreds of children everyday,
in
> every circumstance, and the rules- whatever the rules are- are
there
> for a reason. We are highly educated and experienced. What parent
> has handled thousands of kids? How dare you presume to tell us how
> to run a school or a classroom, unless you yourself are an
> administrator or teacher in a similar situation.
>
> 6B) It doesn't matter if you agree with the rules or not, it is
> still necessary for you to support them in words and actions.
> Because if you don't, you are setting the example that it is okay
to
> ignore rules. Explain to kids that they can disagree with the
rules,
> but the rules still have to be followed, and that there is are
> appropriate and inappropriate ways to address those issues. The
only
> acceptable reason to outright ignore a rule or openly challenge it
> is because you have a deeply held, ethical difference of opinion.
No
> such ethical difference applies in 99.9% of school rule situations.
>
> 7) Always talk to the teacher first, no matter how wrong you think
> they are, and do it with an open mind. See #2 and #6A. Think about
> yourself. How would you feel if someone had an easily resolvable
> issue with how you do your job, but he/she goes right to the head
of
> the company instead? You would resent it. Especially because it
> doesn't matter if you were wrong- your name has already been
> wrongfully tarnished.
>
> 8) By arguing with the teacher- over the need for a detention, how
> many detentions, if the detentions can be reduced- all you are
> teaching your child is to complain and whine in the hopes that
> he/she will get what he/she wants. It does not address the child's
> role in this mess, or what the child did or didn't do wrong. This
> child learns no personal responsibility. If he/she doesn't learn it
> now, he/she will never learn it.
>
> 9) No one who is mean, petty, or a generally bad person chooses to
> become a teacher, no matter what you think. Teachers are caring
> individuals who give up a great deal to help make our world better.
> We choose to take less money and work more hours in the hopes that
> what we do will make a difference sometime in the future. None of
us
> realistically expects to be thanked, but it sure would be nice if
> you all (meaning the world in general, not the members of this
> group) would make it a little easier for us and act like parents,
> not another set of students to deal with. Our job is difficult
> enough.
>
> Sorry if this offended you, but I feel that the teacher's
> perspective is just too often overlooked and that the focus on
> education (its purpose as well as manner) gets lost in the emotions.
>
> PTB


TOPIC TWO
Some articles I found interesting that I read on-line today...
Safety officers denied on-duty death benefits
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17704748/
Everyone who knows, has benefited from the efforts of, or appreciated the efforts expended on the anonymous public’s behalf by those brave enough to take on these jobs should write to your senators and congressmen/women to protest this terrible tragedy.

9 firefighters killed in S.C. furniture store blaze
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19301684/?GT1=10056
My heart goes out to the families of these brave men. They died saving others. It does not make it easier, I know, but we appreciate their bravery and sacrifice all the same.

Cloak of invisibility: Fact or fiction?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15329396/
This is old, but I don’t remember it getting much press. Us sci-fi nuts were excited, though. Hopefully, the next thing after this is transporter technology.