the plan

We have had nine weeks of school.
During this time, I've had different thoughts about the children we teach. I say children because they are far less mature than the teenagers in the United States. At first, I was not fond of them; I didn't like the way they approach school. Now, after trying to get to the bottom of the issue, I just think that they haven't been taught how to do things.

I don't know where they learn it but from a very young age they are "taught", either directly or indirectly, that it's OK to just get the answer, even if it means copying, instead of actually learning the material. I see this in all of my classes, the youngest of which is third grade.

Now, I copied a thing or two when I was in junior high and high school. The difference is that I never failed a class, much less a quiz or test. Every single time I've given a quiz in seventh and eighth grade this year, nearly everyone has gotten below a 70%. About one-third gets below a 50%, half get 50-69%, and the rest are the students that always get good grades.

I find this to be a problem. This probably has something to do with the fact that I grew up in America, but my standards are higher than that. Everyone ought to be getting at least a 70% on a quiz. And I am mortified when I see students get a 6%.
And, I know that the standards here are lower. In the office, we see a piece of paper with the standards. If a student earns a 60-80% they are average, 80-90% is above average, and 90-100% means you are a damn genius.
That's fine. I have to realize that I'm not going to be able to change the system, especially in a year. But, I personally can't sit at my desk and allow these children to not learn anything. It's a waste of my time, their parents money, and the school's money.

Therefore, I have come up with a plan. I am, starting next week, which is the start of the new quarter, going to be teaching a Life Skills class. Here, I will teach these students how to study effectively (...or at least as well as I know how to), how to budget, etc.
The crap part is that I am replacing one day of health with this course. I think that if I choose the most important parts of health (sexual health/reproduction, drugs/alcohol, etc), I won't feel guilty about it. Plus, they must learn how to study or they won't do well when they move on to high school or even college. This is necessary.


It's sometimes difficult to realize that we are here to teach these kids more than just science, math, health, English. We're also here, as teachers, to teach them how to be better students, and that they won't know unless you teach them. How can we fault them for not being taught something that we, as Americans, think is common sense? Additionally, we're here, as humans adults, to teach them how to live; how to treat others; to show them how adults ought to behave; to instill some passion into them.

It's hard being a teacher.