It's a mad, mad world.

It didn't take me but an hour after my high school graduation to realize that my teachers, all of them, had been the most influential people in my life. Aside from Mama and Jesus, they were consistent and dependable. They opened my small little world. And overall, they cared, a lot more than they were paid to.

So this is gonna be a crazy/random post. I'm enamoured of education, I love to learn. One of my biggest goals in life is to be a teacher, a good one. Since I had the opportunity last year to work in an Elementary school, I've trying to get myself on a one way track to getting my own classroom. As a parapro for an ELL program, I got to see 70% of our students past the Arizona English Language Learner Assessment test. Twenty eight of our students scored proficient, ten scored intermediate, and the only two who scored Basic were a sibling pair that just moved to the U.S. Since it was my first time teaching these students I had no idea of what measurement they category they fell under. Upon getting our results, the actual ELL teacher was floored. She was so happy and in disbelief of the progress that the children had made in only a year. I was pretty proud too... but I summed it up to her being a great teacher, which she most definitely was. She later got teacher of the year her hard work!

Pics from my time at MRK-8

 I know... card theme in an elementary school? Kinda tacky. Lo Siento.

If I never had the experience of working in a classroom I would have never know how difficult it is to be an educator. Its not just the planning and teaching and keeping attention. Its also the 'flip-floppin' of the THREE principals, communication, school district and state inconsistencies that they some times have. Oh and the paper work, my oh my. Not everyone knows that once a child is put in ELL or SPED they are then tracked by the government to spend X amount of years in the program and they are evaluated individually a couple of times a year. Yes, it is hard work.

     People are so used to hearing that U.S. schools are horrible, and they are pretty bad compared to most schools world wide. But they are quick to blame a teacher, then they are quick to blame a school, then the D. of E. It goes on and on. I have no idea where the 'root' of the problem is. I wouldn't even know how to begin research to find out what exactly is going on. My most significant feelings on the matter is that educators are not 100% responsible for the outcome of a child's life. Hell yeah, there are teachers out there willing to give their hearts, (because they already gave their money) to children to improve reading or math. But the teacher is only apart of their lives for 35 hours out of the week. I have witnessed first hand that those 35 hours might be the most structured of the 168 hours in a total week. The other 133 hours are spend with...OMG .. Parents! Guardians! Parents must take some responsibility. Its Developmental Psychology 101. Children are wet cement, and teachers can't be the only one's scribbling hope and future's initials in the dampness with a stick. 

The point of this whole blog was to tell you about a Los Angeles school teacher that committed suicide on Sunday. According to reports, he had been stressed and depressed after the LA Times  ramked him and his teaching performance. On two of the categories he scored below average. His school did not receieve good scores either. Rigoberto Ruelas requested a sub for his 5th grade classroom for two days last week and on the third day he did not return to the school. He was 39. He was found in a ravine after his care was discovered.

I was gonna post an entire article but I decided not to. Here is the link to Pasadena Star.

 

Read more: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_16180072#ixzz10iAjHLcG

L.A. Times - It's short and vague and does not mention their review of the victim's teaching performance.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/09/teachers-body-found-in-angeles-national-forest.html

And here is the review of Ruelas posted on the LA Times website.

I don't understand how LA Times was allowed to basically put thousands of teachers on front street like this. I know teachers in small-town USA that give so much to education and students. Test scores can't grade the heart and generosity of a teacher. And when someone gives their everything, and devotes their life time career to something, to publicly critque their performance is dangerously hurtful. 

And finally, The trailer to the upcoming Waiting for Superman documentary. It basically calls out America's education system. I'm sure that its gonna be pretty eye opening, people just aren't aware of how the education system works. Unfortunately, just by viewing the trailer, it is easy to guess that there is plain finger points, sometimes at teachers, most of the time at the government. Hopefully this documentary is the end of finger pointing, and the start of something good for our schools and our children.