If I had money, I woudl right now walk out of my classroom. My students are the most disrespectful

[greenbriar]

rude don't care students



I have had enough

[Dora]

1. You're supposed to be teaching right now?

Yikes.

[greenbriar]

6. its my plan time...but it has been an aweful day

I teach 7th graders

social studies

[TornadoTN]

13. I understand the sentiment

My wife teaches 7th grade English & Reading so I hear this a lot. With the lack of administrative support from the people that run the show, teachers hands are effectively tied.

Hang in there though. Just remember what brought you to the profession in the first place - and then the good thoughts will start to come back to you.

[OKNancy]

19. I used to teach 7th grade Social Studies

It's a rough age... and I didn't last long. I quit more because I got no support from the administation, and also because the school I was in was backward ( no pants for teachers, etc)

On of the things I got in trouble for was on a day like you are having... I let the kids listen to the radio during the last part of the class while they had reading/study time. It sure did calm them down.

[Der Blaue Engel]

25. No pants???

:rofl:

I'm sorry; I know what you meant, but that just struck me funny! :D

[seabeyond]

27. you should have my son. he would make you feel better about your job

and he loves the subject. a language teacher told me a month ago that edmund has such enthusiasm it effects the class. very appreciative. he is a good kid. but i have never had a teacher express it that way

7th is tough. and kids today are tough. and today just may be tough.

breath in, breath out.

[Dora]

29. Sigh. I remember that age.

Only two months until spring break, and then summer is right around the corner.

Hang in there. :hug:

[Kerrytravelers]

14. Sometimes, you just gotta take a breather away from the situation.

Even a moment of adult interaction can be enough.

Trust me. I taught K, 2/3 and 3, RSP/Special Ed Inclusion in my career. I craved adult conversation by 10 am.

[Unperson]

48. Wow, judgemental much?

[Ian David]

2. Sounds like they need a pop-quiz. n/t

[BonnieJW]

3. What grade do you teach?

How old are they? What subject do you teach? Where do you teach?

[in_cog_ni_to]

4. What happened? I've volunteered in my son's classes many, many times and I know how

kids can be. What happened? What grade do you teach?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. Disrespectful students?

That's unpossible!

[kstewart33]

7. More information please.

What grade do you teach? How large is the class? What's the school-level performance like?

[pdrichards114]

8. How long have you been a teacher?

[Ian David]

9. Here's an idea.

Pick the worst one of the bunch and make him or her teach some material for most of a class period.

Tell the class that they will be quizzed on everything the kid is supposed to cover.

If they run out of time to cover it all, they will be quizzed on it anyway.

Then, tell the kid doing the "teaching," that his grade will be based upon the average score of the rest of the class when they take the quiz.

[greenbriar]

17. I have been teaching for 10 years

I have called parents,

I have done quizzes

I have had principals come in...really makes my day when that happens

I have had them write paragraphs

I have weeded out the worst ones

I have rewarded the best ones

I have been quiet

I have been loud

I have done just about all I can think of


Kagan structures

Cooperative groups

differnet seating arrangement

individual assignments

Labs

games

united streaming


NOTHING WORKS

even when the students are getting disciplined, they continue to do what they were doing to get in trouble in the first place


I have had it...I have lost my touch.

in the 10 years I have taught...I HAVE NEVER HAD A DISCIPLINE PROBLEM

I AM READY TO QUIT

IF i DIDN'T HAVE BILLS, I WOULD ALREADY BE GONE

[yardwork]

36. Hang in there. Hold on. Take a deep breath.

It's not your fault. Seventh graders are just sometimes....impossible. Literally. I know this as a parent. I have two boys - one in the 10th grade and one in the 8th grade. The years they were each in 7th grade....I can't describe the horror.

There's just something about that age. I totally, completely, admire any teacher who keeps them simply alive and breathing and not attacking one another too badly through the year.

You are a hero.

[Ian David]

40. Seventh and eigth graders are THE WORST kids on the planet

You know what's really fun?

Second graders.

Second grade is the best.

[Pithlet]

43. I had to watch my niece and nephew, aged 11 and 12, for one day.

And I was insane by the end of the day. I don't know what it is about that age, but man, was it a loooooong day.

[ChickMagic]

38. I hear ya

You're way stronger than I am. I couldn't stomach the parents.
Or the "no homework because kids have after school jobs to pay
for their cars that are way better than yours", or the stupid
creationism nonsense that I refused to do. One year - I was
gone. One day, I overheard a girl in my advanced bio class say,
"I watched Nova last night and it's the first time I
understood it." That has stayed with me and if I were made
of sterner stuff, it would have kept me there.

[XemaSab]

51. That's child abuse!

:rofl:

[WI_DEM]

10. Sorry to hear it. It's a shame what our teachers have to go thru at times

and the lack of support they get from many parents.

[Danieljay]

11. have you met their parents? Thats usually the source of the problem.

I work with kids, middle schoool. Most of the problems can be traced to the parents.

Time and time again, if I actually do ever see the parents, when I do I say to myself:

"oh, now it all makes sense"

Don't you know every thing is the teachers fault now?

It can't be MY kid.

[Kerrytravelers]

12. Been there. Done that. My sympathies.

:hug:

[iconoclastic cat]

15. I left the profession at the end of the '04-'05 school year,

and I've never been happier with a career decision than I have been with that one. Life itself is brighter now that I'm no longer in that hellhole. I encourage you to look at your options.

[WinkyDink]

24. I second your advice! Life is too short!

[iconoclastic cat]

34. What sounds like a service to humanity is really just the jaws of

an abusive, self-perpetuating farce. Avoid it at all costs. There are better ways to directly impact the lives of young people.

[kwyjibo]

16. I'm sorry, I was one of those.

I remember seventh grade. I only cared about what my friends thought of me, and I had no respect for authority. I hated all of my teachers because it was cool to hate your teachers and it was cool to get in trouble. Kinda fucked up, huh?

I think if we had been talked to like adults and not children, it would have been better

[hfojvt]

18. "Hell is other people" Sartre

"So is heaven" Greeley

"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." Dickens

[WinkyDink]

20. I hear you. That's why I retired "early" (30 years!), at 52, and will take the hit when my

benefits run out when I'm 59.

I. Had. HAD. it.

P.S. I taught senior English, but I student-taught 7th grade. Almost made me drop the Major; in retrospect, wish I would have. Summers were good, though; saw lots of Europe.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

21. When I started teaching, my parents (both ex-teachers) gave me this advice:

1. Be real strict at the beginning to establish your authority. You can lighten up later, but it doesn't work the opposite way.

2. If your class is troublesome, figure out who the ringleaders are. There are always one or two socially powerful kids who egg the others on to cause trouble. Earn their respect, and you're unlikely to have any further trouble.

3. Know in your own mind that you have the right to tell the students what to do. Radiate self-confidence.

[greyl]

37. That's good stuff. When I told my Mom who had taught for 35 years

that I was going to school to become a teacher, she said "Oh, no! Please tell me you aren't going to do that! I love being a teacher, but it's horrible!" Dissonance, like an unhealthy relationship.

The early years were great for her, but teaching just ain't the same as it used to be.
She retired a few years ago, and has never been happier.
I never did finish that degree. The more I learned about being a teacher today, the less attractive it became. I've never been happier, either. ;)

[SoyCat]

49. Yep. I got a different degree, as well. I'll never complete the 12 credits I need in order

to complete the Ed. degree--ever!

[BreweryYardRat]

22. Middle-schoolers are the WORST little shits.

Do you have a Master's or Ph.D? That would let you try finding a position at a college. At least college students are generally respectful.

[WinkyDink]

26. Even Ph.D's can't find good jobs. They get "adjunct" (Read: part-time, several different colleges,

too much travelling, NO TENURE TRACK) status IF they can find the work.

And the lack of respect is still there, but it then comes with being RATED by the students.

[BreweryYardRat]

28. That bad?

Whoa, I knew the state of education was bad, but I didn't know it was this bad. Is it worse in your part of the country, or is it like this all over?

[Reverend_Smitty]

35. Many state schools are facing major cutbacks...

I know in NJ funding for higher education has been cut back to minuscule proportions to help get the state out of financial trouble so schools like to hire adjuncts because they pay the profs barely anything and don't have to worry about tenure and benefits. Graduate programs are being hit even harder here, they can't afford to pay graduate assistants much (any) money so they are having a really difficult time finding people to fill the positions.

[WinkyDink]

45. I'm in PA. Maybe it's the area.

One acquaintance Ph.D./English commutes among three colleges. And even then, who needs a Ph.D to teach freshmen comp? I was better off with a Master's teaching h.s. seniors---one building, benefits, and Shakespeare.

[onecent]

23. My hat is off to you. I have 15 grandchildren (between my husband

and I)...and I am Horrified at many of the things that go on with these children/and/or the parents.

We have a grandaughter who is a senior and on the A Honor roll. She's the most horrid, mean, rude, mixed up child I have ever seen. She needs alot more than therapy and she looks like Lindsay Lohan. Go figure. She's so fricken' ANGRY.. I feel sorry for her, because NO ONE can do anything with her.

She'll be pushin' french fries most of her life, I'd say. And we really do try to love her...she makes it most difficult.

[CC]

30. Sorry you are having a bad

day. I have always said middle school teachers deserve combat pay for dealing with that stage of child development and that is before you add in the hassles with parents and administrators.

[mike_c]

31. use the electro-shock punishment electrodes....

Seriously. It's in their best interests in the long run. If they make it to college without changing that attitude I dart 'em with the rhino stun gun and us them for rectal probe experiments.

[greenbriar]

32. I feel like using it on myself

sigh



sadly I make pretty good money and can not afford to leave

[pdrichards114]

39. If you feel like leaving, to quote "The Joker"

If you gotta go, go with smile.

Start looking for another job, when you find one, let all that bottled up frustration come out in a positive and constructive, blow your hair back, where the f(*& did that come from, grand finale.

In the mean time, it sounds like you have tenure, so short of committing a crime they probably can't fire you, start treating them like college students. If they are disrespectful, kick 'em out to see the VP, if they don't do their homework, flunk 'em. Become their most feared teacher, those who tow the line are worth it, the rest will be pumping gas or flipping burgers. We probably aren't losing a cancer cure from flunking some wannabe punk. If parents give you shit, tell them too bad but their kid's a fuck up.

Or don't, it's up to you. In any case, good luck :) on the road you choose to take.

[HEyHEY]

33. Then it's time to start fucking with their minds

[Oeditpus Rex]

41. I guest-taught journalism to seventh-graders

once a week for 50 minutes, for six weeks.

A few of 'em were adorable, like the girl who asked me, "Will you come back and teach us next year?" with eyes the size of Pluto.

But, heebus — I was freaking amazed at how undisciplined most of them were. I have no idea how teachers of kids that age do it every day for six hours. I can totally understand teacher burnout.

:patriot:

[Little Wing]

42. I don't blame you, many kids I encounter today are spoiled shits

but only when they're in packs. Unfortunately, school means they're in packs.

[rug]

44. Duck!

[wildhorses]

46. a lot of teachers in my family--so, first off--

:hug:

and i suppose you know what the differnce between a 7th grade girl and a bulldog is?

























































lipstick:P

[LuckyLib]

47. Take a mental health day. Or two. Or three. Come back with the full

belief that you're the boss. Ramp up your expecttions for behavior, and state clearly what is and what is not acceptable behavior. Follow through on everything you say you will do, each and every time. And be very very good to yourself. These kids can learn from you. You just may have to adjust your agenda, and declare your classroom a quiet, mellow, sacred space of meaningful interaction. It will be one of the few they get find their middle school. Hang in there!

[WritingIsMyReligion]

50. LOL. We all are, always, except to those who can hold us.

I can't explain why we listen to some teachers and not to others--some people just instinctively put both the fear of Dog and a deep respect in our hearts. Not necessarily young teachers, either, just those who, we can sense, respect us. (This, by the way, is a very, very small number of teachers, just by the nature of things; most teachers I've had were either ridiculously cold and removed from modern culture, totally naive, bland, or some combination of the above. Not saying that you are any of these things, of course.)

Of course, some kids are just assholes no matter what, but don't let them get you down. 7th graders are especially numb. I was just one 3 years ago; I remember, and it seems so idiotic now.

Luck.

:)