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Teachers in the 21st Century
"Let me see if I've got this right. You want me to go into that room with all those
kids and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning.
Not only that, I'm to instill a sense of pride in their ethnicity, behaviorally modify
disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse and T-shirt messages."
"I am to fight the war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check their
backpacks for guns and raise their self-esteem. I'm to teach them patriotism, good
citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, how and where to register to vote, how to
balance a checkbook and how to apply for a job."
"I am to check their heads occasionally for lice, maintain a safe environment,
recognize signs of potential anti-social behavior, offer advice, write letters of
recommendation for student employment and scholarships, encourage respect for the cultural
diversity ofothers, and, oh yeah, always make sure that I give the girls in my class 50
percent of my attention."
"I'm required by my contract to be working on my own time summer and evenings at my
own expense toward advance certification and a master's degree; and after school, I am to
attend committee and faculty meetings and participate in staff development training to
maintain my employment status."
"I am to be a paragon of virtue larger than life, such that my very presence will awe
my students into being obedient and respectful of authority. I am to pledge allegiance to
supporting family values, a return to the basics, and to my current administration. I am
to incorporate technology into the learning, and monitor all Web sites while providing a
personal relationship with each student."
"I am to decide who might be potentially dangerous and/or liable to commit
crimes in school or who is possibly being abused, and I can be sent to jail for not
mentioning these suspicions."
"I am to make sure all students pass the state and federally mandated testing and all
classes, whether or not they attend school on a regular basis or complete any of the work
assigned. Plus, I am expected to make sure that all of the students with handicaps are
guaranteed a free and equal education, regardless of their mental or physical
handicap."
"I am to communicate frequently with each student's parent by letter, phone,
newsletter and grade card. I'm to do all of this with just a piece of chalk, a computer, a
few books, a bulletin board, a 45 minute more-or-less plan time and a big smile, all on a
starting salary that qualifies my family for food stamps in many states. Is that
all?"
"And you want me to do all of this and expect me not to pray?"
Printed in THE MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL On March 26, 2000 and written by Rev. Nelson
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