Students, Teachers, Parents. . .hear me out?

Question

I am in high school and take mostly College Prep classes. The name itself means to prepare you for college. But over the years, I have noticed that in my school, the new, inexperienced goof off teachers get the college prep classes. While the Honors and AP classes get the good teachers that have been teaching for twenty years.

My freshman year was a perfect example of the injust ways. My English teacher spent class time talking about dating and hormones and how she needed to find a boyfriend instead of discussing Romeo and Juliet.

My history teacher goofed off and had no clue how to teach. He wrote terrible notes that didn't even have the main idea and gave no handouts of homework to study from.

So education is going down in my opinion. Kids do so bad on standaraized tests because they aren't taught the way they should be. And it's not fair that the Honors and AP students get the better teachers. Kids today are getting stupider and stupider because they are not being taught the proper way.

Have you as a student or teacher or parent noticed this?

Answer 1

What your saying coincides what the FCAT testing. Schools who get high grades on the FCAT get more money. but wouldnt you assume that the school's who did not do so well really need the extra money and attention?

Most teachers like what you describe probably assume that they are teaching kids who do not really want to learn and who really just cant wait for the bell to ring, so they probably dont want to waste their energy trying to teach and their time making lesson plans. Next time your sitting in your class, notice your surroundings. Are these kids talking with each other, playing on their cell phones, doing other classes homework? Do they look like they actually want to learn?!  

Answer 2

You probably already know this but you are truly one of a kind. I'm the same way but we are getting fewer and farther between. Kids now a days don't seem to want to learn, its "what can i do to get by" and the teachers arent challenging that enough and i hate to tell ya but it's the same way in college. i graduated in '07, H.S. stunk for me. If you werent some hot shot or had "vast potential" written on ur forehead they didnt waste thier time w/you. Now im in college to become a teacher and my "professors" (some of which dont have the credentials) just want to be your friend. its okay if you hardly ever come to class or just scrounge your homework from someone else or not do it at all. The way they support the various activities of the students completely undermines the efforts of those who truely want to be there. I wish that people wouldnt just take up air and space on college campus, if you want the education, get it if not, get a job! Todays education is not geared towards the student learning, its focused on the students ability to regurgitate the answers they are spoon feed for the standardized tests. It completely disgusts me but that's what it takes to get some of the kids through the classes but at the cost of wasting the others time. I dont think it fair but no body asked me.

What I did was grip and complain until they saw that things were not going the way that they should but they didnt change it so I just got together with a couple of friends and another teacher offered to assist us with any questions we had and we taught ourselves and we really learned it. You need to take a stand on the issue and atleast try to get something done about it. That's why I want to teach, though it may be a small part, it goes with the old theory, "If you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem."

I hope things change for you'r sake or you'll have a bad taste in your mouth about public education   atleast until someone changes it.

Answer 3

I have noticed that as well i am in pre ap and there are still bad teachers! there are some great teachers out there but there are too many bad ones and i too believe that the education here is going down hill! we need some good teachers in the usa school system!

Answer 4

As a college student this is how I look back on high school: Other than a few basics I don't see high school as the fountain of knowledge. Everybody has a mixture of good and bad teachers, but there are too many topics to cover for an individual's interests. I see high school as a platform to handle responsibility as well as learn the basics of life. Talking about dating, the the right context, can be beneficial to a class of students who may lack respect toward women, or not understand concepts of being faithful, or many other important topics that they would other not get from parents. Romeo and Juliet is a classic and I am sure everybody will the know the story before they finish school, but its up to the student to take what he or she can from it. I personally love learning, but my interests are far from English class and wouldn't consider myself stupid for discussing important ideas regarding my life over a novel. Because isn't the point of a great novel to express these ideas? The difference is that some people can see these ideas in books better than others, they go into honors programs to give them the opportunity to learn as much as they can. Others stay in basic classes where ideas from books sometimes need to be supported and paralleled with life for them to make sense to some. As you will learn in college you will get a lot of intense on topic lectures mixed in with off topic commentary. This is because students learn more when they can connect with their teachers and find the classes fun and inspirational. I had a physics professor who would stop every half hour to talk about how great halle berry is just to help us refresh our focus. So don't blame everything on bad teachers, it takes normal people to teacher normal people.

Answer 5

YES, I am a 31 year old professional artist going back to school to become a teacher.  I also notice the "quality" teachers coming back to get there masters.  Its like they failed at everything else and said- well, teaching is easy enough.  I even had one girl in my class so lazy she won't do anything... found out she is currently a teacher and the school is sending her back for free so that's why she is going.  But she refuses to do homework and tries to weasel out of group projects and everything!

Your comments and statements are 1 of the reason I believe that teacher need to be retested every year if not every couple of years.  This would stop a lot of this nonsense.

I think Teachers should have to take the same standardize test- if they can't pass it- they shouldn't be teaching it.

I would go to your principle and tell him or her that this teacher talking about their personal life is making you and your class very comfortable- that will nip that right in the bud.

Answer 6

That is given! You know the teachers with tenure and the most years of experience get to teach the cream of the crop students. The new fresh out of college or 2nd career teachers always end up with the lower achieving students with behavior problems. That is why  the teacher turnover rate is so bad. I have seen my self teachers who have been teaching since the 1970s get the honors, AP, and DE students while the new teachers get the unmotivated freshmen who have never been to high school before.

Answer 7

If there are other students in your classes who feel the same way you do, organize a "committee" to visit the teachers in question and express your preference for a serious class that will truly prepare you for college. Sometimes teachers might be assuming that their behavior is what students want. While you are at it, the group could go and talk to the principal about the problem. In many cases, those might just be inexperienced teachers rather than bad teachers. For best results, put your emphasis on wanting more serious work rather than on criticizing the teachers. Offer solutions, not just complaints. There may also be extracurricular activities such as debate and drama that would help to supplement the college prep classes.

Alternatively, all of you who feel that way could start signing up for more AP and Honors classes. It still wouldn't be fair to the rest of the students, but it might open the teachers' and principal's eyes.