They are all God's Children

Despite the fact that I am a teacher in a secondary public school, does not stop the reality that each of these students, aged 14, 15 and 16 sitting in my classroom are on earth, and in my presence because of God's plan. I must remind myself often of this fact, as I often take sass, rudeness, disrespect many times during a class, and have to turn the other cheek. Today I had a student sitting in my desk chair, like a little king, when I walked in the room, and couldn't understand why I didn't find his stunt humorous, and told him to immediately remove himself from my desk area. Next he accused me for the 4th or 5th time that I have his English reader. He has been issued two of these readers, and I never hold on to them, after checking them, normally done in the student's presence.

Students know not what they do. Parents have no clue what they do.

Discipline in the secondary school, and with this generation of student is out of control! These kids find it funny & entertaining to talk when I talk, interrupt instruction, stray from their work, copy the work of others, cheat on tests, and all because they "want" higher marks, or say they are bored. So many of them do not realize how I cannot trust them, and they receive no reward for their transgressions.

In my 20 years in the classroom, there has been a steady decline in the discipline and behavior of the students. In my state, a program called "School Wide Positive Behavior System" has put our school in control of a way to "positively" affect student behavior. One plan is to reward "positive behavior." I see nothing working, and it got worse over the past two years of implementing. Here's an example. Teachers are expected to "train" students to come to class on time. You have got to be kidding me! What student does not know about getting to a class on time? What student hasn't been told about being late to class or heard when someone else was? It goes back to respect. Students do not have the admiration and respect for their teachers, and show this with the simple disregard by walking to the class late, and empty-handed. A failing grade does not matter.

The biggest problem is that I am expected to reward students for the "above & beyond" behavior from students, while I'm still searching for consistent "expected behavior."