I'm a substitute teacher; not in the least am I immune to the idea that I will essentially be incapable of establishing a rapport with a given group of students. It's a constant battle between that, and the fact that the regular classroom teacher still wants things to get done. Comes with the territory, I'm not stupid. Which is probably why today was such a noxious experience. I won't mention which district's program it is, or the name of the school, but essentially, this is the place in the district for the most incorrigible students; the ones who believe themselves to be too tough, too cool or simply not interested enough to make a regular high school or middle school of even the remotest benefit. The ones who probably spent more time in the Principal's office than they ever did in class. It's not openly identified as a special education/special needs environment, if it was I suppose I could have dealt with it easier. As such, the only thing I really saw was a group of students who were motivationally impaired. And what was the response? What was being done about it? From everything I witnessed today, zip. Nada. The lunatics were essentially running the asylum, in a manner more blatant than I could have ever imagined. In most schools now, hats, hoods, any variety of headgear is strictly verboten, and the students know it. Same with openly-displayed cell phones, mp3s, etc. Here? To borrow from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, "the rules are, there ain't no rules!" The student just doesn't feel like doing the assignment? They're about as blatant about expressing that as any place I've ever witnessed. OK, then I'm supposed to help them how as a teacher? And we have the nerve to wonder why America as a nation is in the shape it's in?! What memo did I miss?! Anyway, of course, as a sub, at that point, I'm nothing so much as a glorified (and how so, I'm not sure,) Warden. And it dawned on me that my interest in actually teaching, in the students getting something out of my time with them, probably explains why I get so many calls to work in elementary schools; outside of ELLs, elementary students are the ones who still have the most willingness to learn, even if they are hard to handle at times. And believe me, they can be. Regular classroom teachers, take note, if you haven't already; the standard rules do not apply when a sub is taking your place, at least in the minds of your students. I don't have the same rapport with your students as you do, I don't have the time to do so, so if you want things to get done, expect that my conduct rules as a sub will in all likelihood apply. And I throw down. Students have frequently lost some of their little "party points" when I was in charge, and I have made entire rooms full of students "flip their cards." All this and more, and I've still gone home hoarse many a day. Which is not to say I'm a total ogre, I've had fun with students, when I figured they warranted such consideration, but all in all, in a lot of cases, we have to make the school experience in America more about being able to compete globally!

If you want my prescription, the solution to the educational crisis in America has to do with adopting a system like the Japanese, Koreans, Germans and almost every other society worldwide uses, with variations; by middle school age, get them ready to take the test; the one that will determine the fate of the rest of their working lives. Pass, and the world is your oyster, fail, and.....well, that's just the risk you run. But we as an educational system are pretty much done with you, if that's the case. If it sounds tough, I still guarantee that it would get students off the fence, and playing like they meant it, instead of playing billiards in gym class.

In other news, Sydne was evaluated, and identified as ADHD. Minimally, I can't say I don't know where it came from, I know that. And if I had my choice, that's not the way I would choose for my daughter to be like me. But it's identified in her when she's 10, not pushing 40, so comaparitively speaking, it's not a death sentence. But, of course, it's not an excuse either. I know her talents, I know she's go to adapt to the world, and I know the world is going to have to adapt to her as an individual. It doesn't make me any less proud of her accomplishments than I have ever been. But overall, I know what she's in for, and it's gonna be one helluva ride, in any event. None the less, I have the utmost faith in the capacity for success from both of my daughters.