Comment Re:Public Schools need to get back into academics (Score 1) 94
I taught for a short time in Canada.
Yes, there are kids from decent parents. I won't even say good parents. You really and truly don't need much from the education system and teachers when you have decent parents. You basically just teach the lesson and grade. It is what it is. There's no magic sauce and you can pretty much leave the education system alone at that point.
The question becomes what do you do with those with troubled upbringing. I literally had a few kids whose parents wouldn't even answer the phone to talk about their kids. Just what exactly do you want a teacher to do in this case? That child is potentially a lost cause.
The answer is you do what you can and YES part of that will overlap with what should be the parents job. You can't magically make parents do their job, but you can certainly empower teachers or at least get out of their way. One of the reasons I left teaching was just being frustrated at being handcuffed. Some of these kids need discipline. Some of these kids just need a good talking to, but as a male teacher, you even fear developing a mentor style role to a female.
One of the worst parts of our education system is that every kid should be given the same opportunities. It all sounds nice, but is really so detrimental to the very kids that need help. Some kids are dealt a really shitty hand in life. What they really need is some structure and basics to get them a decent life. Maybe they can accomplish that and then their kids can do better. In Ontario, Canada there's increasing talk and action about de-streaming (making sure all kids attend the same class. There's no academic stream vs practical stream). People think this is good, but it's so harmful to the very kids who need it.
Yes, there may be bias and racial profiling so a really smart kid gets overlooked and gets placed in a practical stream when they have the potential to be academic and go to university. But that can always be rectified by the child and parent asking for it. But the very kids who are struggling the most don't get the help they need. Life is tough man. Maybe you were dealt a shitty hand in life. Maybe it is best you focus on a trade in high school or practical nursing... just something that YOU CAN do and get you started in life. It's so frustrating when I bring this up in the interest of the kids and all people can talk about in equality and what if there's a kid who could become the next Elon Musk, but they're never given the chance.
Here's what I say. I've yet to see a kid who want to learn and be something not be helped. I honestly haven't seen it. You don't need to worry about 'good' kids. They will find a way. Even if the education is not optimal, they will find a way and be okay in life. But not attending to the kids dealt a really bad hand and pretending they're okay and as capable to be in the same classes as everyone with the same chance of being elon musk is delusional and hurting those very kids.