wanderinggardener12 said:I find myself viewing this through two distinct lenses: that of a parent—with one child aged 4 and another at 20—and that of an educator. When my eldest was navigating the school system, I experienced the trials of being a parent of a student, and now, after twenty years in the classroom, I carry the weight of professional experience as well.
Backpacks
In my school, every student is assigned their own locker, yet they rarely utilize them in any meaningful way; more often than not, those lockers become catch-alls for everything except actual school supplies. Their backpacks are just as burdensome. In the English classes I teach, the students generally know what they need for the upcoming period, though about 80% of them still end up lugging everything to class regardless. For instance, if I tell them they’ll need their notebooks and workbooks for the next session, they’ll show up with the textbook and a reader as well.
On numerous occasions, I have looked into a child's bag only to find books for subjects they aren't even studying that day, alongside a chaotic assortment of other items: notebooks, toys, reading assignments from three months ago, geometry sets they haven't touched in weeks, old food and juice boxes, and crumpled, dirty gym clothes sitting right next to a perfectly clean set waiting to be worn.
Creative Pedagogy and Education
In a classroom of thirty students, it is nearly impossible to fully individualize every activity, yet many educators at my school strive to reach every single student, designing lessons where children actually *do* things rather than just sit there.
However, despite the presence of various NGOs, the national plan and program, and the national curriculum, the syllabus remains incredibly bloated. A teacher is constantly racing against the clock just to cover what is mandated.
The issue isn't necessarily the methods themselves, but the sheer lack of time. In an English curriculum, one should ideally focus on honing language competencies—speaking, listening, reading, and writing—not to mention developing functional literacy. Instead, a fifth grader is expected to master nine different parts of speech within the language block alone!
If a teacher insists on assigning projects, encouraging research, or incorporating game-based learning, there is simply no way they will meet the requirements set by the Department of Education and the school administration. The luxury of breaking the rules can only be afforded by someone eccentric enough to ignore the consequences or financially independent enough to not care about their career. If you don't follow the Department of Education's mandates, you're failing; if you do, you're also failing, because in the rush to finish the material, the children inevitably miss out on much more vital learning.
Political Influence
Neither parents nor teachers possess any real influence over the government, even though both parties care deeply about the outcome.
Education is often treated as the last priority in the budget. It seems this society is only interested in money—and specifically, fast money with minimal investment. Education doesn't offer quick returns; it takes ten or twenty years for a generation to truly mature, so investing in schooling cannot be presented as an immediate profit in today's currency.
Parents
There will be no progress until parents realize that school isn't just a daycare center where they can drop off their kids while they work—hoping to avoid dealing with them both during the workday and at home. There will be no change until they understand that, much like any other business, you have to invest if you want results; for example, supporting smaller class sizes to ensure better outcomes. It won't happen until it becomes clear that $400 the annual cost for textbooks amounts to $33 per month—money some people blow on cigarettes in five days—or until they recognize that teachers who educate and raise their children work eight hours or more, not just the five hours spent inside the classroom.
Furthermore, the relationship between parents and schools won't improve until some realize that the school isn't solely responsible for raising a child. Many parents aren't willing to take accountability for their own upbringing of their children. It is far easier to blame the school for failures in parenting: if the child is aggressive, it’s the school's fault; if they are anti-social, it’s the school; if the child is unhappy, no one thinks to spend a few weeks actually playing with them or ensuring the parents aren't constantly at each other's throats at home. If a child is "lazy," spoiled, or combative, they'll claim it's the school's doing, rather than admitting it's the result of parents who are absent until 7:00 PM every night.
Teachers
They work for a paycheck, and after 20 years on the job—$1933. It’s a mistake to assume they only put in five hours a day. Making an assumption like that would be no different than trying to calculate the hourly rate of a judge or a lawyer by only counting the time they spend sitting in a courtroom.
A proper assessment of a teacher's workload should be conducted by people who actually possess the necessary competence and qualifications to understand what they're looking at. As for standardized testing—well, sure, if they decide to implement rigorous testing for every single public servant, and if I were given the chance to test everyone working in healthcare, law enforcement, administration, or the arts, then perhaps we could have a conversation.
Has any educator actually taken the time to explain to these kids how lockers work and how to actually stay organized? Or did everyone just point at them once, turn their backs, and think, "Whatever, not my problem, onto the next one"?
Also, expecting a bunch of teenagers to keep their lockers tidy isn't exactly high-level professional expectation for an educator. 🤷
Parents
Until parents realize that school isn't just a daycare where they can drop their kids off while they work (and hopefully not worry about them at home either), nothing changes. It’s like any other business—you have to invest if you want results, like funding smaller class sizes. Until they see that $400 a year's worth of textbooks costs roughly $33 a month—which some people blow through in five days on cigarettes—or until they understand that teachers who educate and mentor these kids are working 8+ hours, not just the 5 hours spent in the classroom, there won't be any progress.
There won't be any shift in the parent-school relationship until some folks realize the school isn't solely responsible for raising their child. A lot of parents just aren't ready to take ownership of their parenting. It’s way easier to blame the school for everything: the kid is aggressive? School's fault. The kid is anti-social? School's fault. If the kid is unhappy, nobody thinks to spend a few weeks actually playing with them or fixing the constant fighting between parents at home. If a kid is "lazy," spoiled, or combative, it’s always the school's issue, never the job of the parent who’s out of the house until 7 PM every night.
The vast majority of parents who are gone for 14 hours a day because of work aren't doing it to avoid their kids; they’re forced to by necessity. An educator who can't or won't look objectively at the reality of our society—which is reflected directly in the family unit—probably picked the wrong profession.
Teachers
They work for a paycheck, maybe 20 years in the field— $1933. They don't just work 5 hours a day. Judging them like that is like judging a judge or a lawyer based only on the hours they spend in a courtroom.
I think teacher evaluations would be totally fine if they were actually handled by people who know what they’re doing. As for testing? Sure, maybe, once they start testing all public servants. I'd love to see them test everyone in healthcare, the police, local government, or even the arts departments.
Look, teachers are working in a country where a ton of parents are basically pulling half-pay shifts just to get by. Until educators realize they aren't going to see a raise unless those working parents actually have more money to contribute to the federal budget, we’re never going to see a healthy economic balance.
If we’re going to evaluate everyone's performance, it needs to be done by qualified experts—not just colleagues who are all part of the same circle trying to protect their own interests. Evaluation has to be competent, sure, but it also has to be objective. All that other stuff you're bringing up, comparing this group to that group... honestly, it just sounds like political noise to me. 🤷