"We don't need no education..."

First, let me preface this post by saying I LOVE my job. I LOVE my students, and care for them deeply. I work HARD everyday, even when I don't want to and want the best for every sweet little face that walks through my door. (Even when they are not so sweet...lol) Now, I'm going to complain a bit.
We, as educators are in desperate need of help...I'm not talking about money from the government, or better salaries (the good Lord knows that an educator doesn't walk in to this field because 'it's all about the Benjamins, baby), or even a better school building. All those things could help out, they could increase student achievement, student and teacher morale, and have a positive affect on the whole outlook of education....but what we need are so vital to the process, to the education of young impressionable minds...we need parents to STEP UP. I'm not calling every parent out. I commend parents who come to conferences, who reinforce expected behavior at home and consequences on the negative and I know that there are 1,001 things that could affect that child. I appreciate just a parent who tries. There is not an easy solution for everything and if we (teachers) can work together with parents, then REALLY the whole outlook on education could change. And maybe, you are thinking that 'Hey, I'm not a teacher and I don't have kids so this doesn't affect me', WRONG. If you are a citizen of the United States, it does affect you and concern you. It's not just parents that need to be involved, it's city council, it's members of any board, it's taxpayers, because let's face it....this place we call Earth ain't gettin' any better unless we get smarter. Plain and simple. Education is where you can curb the unemployment rate by creating jobs accessible to students right out of high school, or jobs that cooperate with community colleges. Education is where you can teach people to be better than the last generation. Education is where it starts. And when students feel like teachers, parents, and the general population really doesn't care--well they will develop the same attitude towards it. When students feel like they can just scoot by and aren't held to a higher standard, then they will. There needs to be some major reform in schools, in teaching itself! But we, the educators, cannot do it by ourselves. This has to be a complete group effort from all sides because we cannot do it alone.




"Give a man a fish, and you will feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you will feed him for a lifetime." -Chinese Proverb