Troublemakers
This week we were assigned to read the Preface and Introduction of Troublemakers by Carla Shalaby. In this book, Shalaby begins by discussing the many flaws of our school systems today. How we as a society let too many underprivileged children slip through the cracks at school simply because they do not fit our mold. This is an extreme opinion about our school system that does not apply to every school. Yes, some too many kids are unfortunately left behind in the school system. I do not believe this is because schools have a mold that students cannot fit in. Instead, I believe that students slip through the cracks because they’re are simply too many students and not enough teachers. Many teachers have an overflow of students due to the teacher shortage happening in our country. They have classrooms of 20 or 30 students, which is impossible to handle. In such large classroom settings, you cannot take the time to ensure each child is progressing sufficiently. This unfortunately leads to certain children being left behind.
Another thing Shalaby mentioned was the behavior of certain students and how schools do not handle them well. I believe this to be true, however in a different way. Over our breaks here at RIC, I go back home and help my old middle and high schools as a substitute paraprofessional. In this position, I do have situations where students are not behaving in the way that they are expected to. Many children in school get away with bad behavior now simply because the school has no way of correcting the students behavior. On the off chance the admin or teachers do correct the behavior, it is often met with angry parents who coddle their children at home. I believe that students now are missing that correction in behavior and it is causing them to believe they can get away with said behavior. In my hometown district, it is frowned upon for teachers to give students any sort of detention or to send them to the principal’s office. So, when students misbehave and there is nothing the teacher can do to correct it, it causes teachers to feel as if they’re out of control and frustrated. This is why many teachers leave their careers in education behind.
I love your perspective of this! I agree, teachers are definitely overworked and should have more supports for those behavioral challenges and the teachers mental as well. As someone who works with children from all parts of life, I know how tough classroom management is when there's other complications at hand.
ReplyDeleteI like how you brought up how teachers are often having to work with overflowing classrooms and how this can have a negative impact on student learning. I also liked how you included your observations from your own experience substituting, and how you explained that students are often not receiving appropriate corrections for their behavior.
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine, I totally agree with you that there are just not enough teachers and not enough support behind them!
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine! I really enjoyed reading your reflection. I even based my own reflection off of yours! I completely agree that there are not enough teachers to help less students fall through the cracks. Although I don't think that this is the only reason that students are falling through the cracks, I think that this is definitely a factor that adds to it. With more teachers, we can give students more individualized attention to ensure that they aren't falling behind. However, we as a country just don't have sufficient teachers to do this, and it is at the cost of our children.
ReplyDeleteI really liked you input talking about overflowing classrooms and how not every teacher feels like they have the capacity to try to redirect any misbehavior, so they take the easy way out. I think that is something that needs to be fixed in order for any change to happen.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your perspective on this. I agree with the fact that there are definitely too many students for one teacher. I also like your point on how classroom management is important and sometimes tough love is needed.
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