Thursday, August 10, 2006

Welcome to the 21st Century Teachers

After being interviewed by the school administration, the eager teaching prospect said:Let me see if I've got this right. You want me to go into that room with all those kids, and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning, and I'm supposed to instill a sense of pride in their ethnicity, modify their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse and even censor their T-shirt messages and dress habits.
You want me to wage a war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check their backpacks for weapons of mass destruction, and raise their self-esteem. You want me to teach them patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship, fair play, how to register to vote, how to balance a checkbook, and how to apply for a job.
I am to check their heads for lice, maintain a safe environment, recognize signs of anti-social behavior, make sure all students pass the state exams, even those who don't come to school regularly or complete any of their assignments.
Plus, I am to make sure that all of the students with handicaps get an equal education regardless of the extent of their mental or physical handicap. I am to communicate regularly with the parents by letter, telephone, newsletter and report card.
All of this I am to do with just a piece of chalk, a computer, a few books, a bulletin board, a big smile AND on a starting salary that qualifies my family for food stamps! You want me to do all of this and then you tell me ...........................
I CAN'T PRAY ???? YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING.
I am so excited for the new year to start. This short little blurb is what I deal with daily, yet I do say my prayers before I go to school and at the days end. I ask the Lord in the morning to give me patience to make it through the day and at night I thank him for not letting any of them kill me or my love of teaching.

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