I'm a Middle School Teacher in the Hood Who's Losing Hope For our Future AMA

[ignorethis]

Bad parents = bad kids
Absent parents = bad kids
single parents = bad kids

Add a terrible education system and you have a recipe for disaster. I feel for you homie

Normally I would say some shyt like don't abandon them kids, but you got to do what's best for you and you're sanity playboy.

This is what I told my girl that's currently working as a teacher at a Charter School in the hood.

She's got there thinking that she was gonna be a positive influence in the kid's lives and the other (black female) teachers weren't trying hard enough to help them (and she felt they were lowkey abusive). She was trying to report them and possibly get them fired.

From the jump I told her it's not as simple as that and a lot of those older women probably thought the same thing coming in. I don't think this job will be a good fit for you mentally, you're not tough enough. She got offended.

One month later today, she's already burnt out and I basically have to mentally support as she goes through her work day every fukking day. She's already leaving in two weeks.

 

[Verbal Kint]

While I agree with you, on the other side, I know my oldest is a problem and me and his dad stay on him, the problem is none of his teachers tell us anything and when you call and send emails only 2 teachers returned them. Teachers are t proactive anymore. They assume this the new normal. I want to know if my son isn’t doing his work and acting an ass. If you don’t tell me I don’t know. Also why y’all don’t give homework anymore?

In my years (1 year, lol) of experience, only a small number of parents have even emailed me about their kids. When they have I respond. But from a teachers perspective, when everyone is wilding, and you're used to getting no response from parents, you just don't feel like wasting your time anymore. I was calling/emailing parents for the 1st 2 months with almost no responses you stop having the energy to do it all the time. I'd say you need to make it a point to stay on the teachers and be consistent. Your kid may be 1 of 70 not doing what he's supposed to do. AND when you hear that these same kids are wildin in every other class you figure the parents have to either know or not care that their kid ain't doing what he's supposed to.

 

[Henri Christophe]

My Mom spend a lot of money on education(tutoring and private school for a few years) but she couldnt offer me consistency, a balanced lifestyle and patriarchal discipline.

I used to coast and procrastinate because I was scared of failing which meant I didnt even try.

I failed her but I’m trying to right my wrongs and get back.

My pops easily spent over $100k just from kindergarten to the end of high school.

Not even including that year & a half of college before I proceeded to drop out.

My folks tried everything when I was fukking up in school.. Grounding me.. Beating my ass.. Taking shyt away from me.... Isolation.... Lectures for days on the value of education.

I failed them.

If I didn't have success with my own business.... I would've been the family failure, easily.

I always maintained a C+ average, sometimes B.

My folks tried everything to mold me into a potential ivy league student but it didnt work.

I value education now & I recommend it for everybody but me personally - it just wasnt for me. I've always had a problem with authority and following instruction. I've always wanted to do my own thing....

Thats why my pops had to beat my ass so much when I was a kid... To humble me.

 

[Nicole0416_718_929_646212]

And the girls are worse than the boys easily in terms of the fighting and disrespect.

. whoa.... what???!! Do you know the reason why that is?? I thought girls would be more composed?? I must be oblivious. my daughter is more quiet and reserved like I was at her age, she's never been around fighting or mouthing off in the class like that; that's why I'm kind of hesitant about her going when she does. Now that you say the girls are worse..sheeesh.

 

[ignorethis]

I've got 8th graders that haven't handed in an assignment all year. And I'm told (its my first year) some of them havent done a thing in 3 years. But they're all getting passed on to HS.

I've been punched in the chest by a kid (still in school) and pushed by 2 others. All still here. These kids literally run the school and get to do whatever they want and face no consequences. A kid can curse you out and the only discipline may be (MAY BE, not guaranteed) ISS for a day. And BTW, kids walk out of ISS all the time and clown in the hallway. These kids are being set up for failure. And I got waaayyy more examples

My girl works with grade schoolers and she cries every day about the kids cuss her out, punch her, throw chairs at her, one little girl grabbed her nipple piercing and tried to pull it out maliciously.

And all she can do it take it because they're children and their parents aren't shyt/don't give a fukk.

. whoa.... what???!! Do you know the reason why that is?? I thought girls would be more composed?? I must be oblivious. my daughter is more quiet and reserved like I was at her age, she's never been around fighting or mouthing off in the class like that; that's why I'm kind of hesitant about her going when she does. Now that you say the girls are worse..sheeesh.

She also said the same thing about the girls. I said black childhood in lower income communities is "Lord of the Flies" especially for young black boys, and she quickly responded "The girls are worst!"

 

[Verbal Kint]

Don't put all the blame on the parents because some kids, like myself, had parents that were on them consistently but we just didn't take School seriously

we were just more interested in sports or hanging out with the Bros or trying to chop it up with some girls or some other non productive stuff that kids do

Its not always parents failing the children... Sometimes children fail their parents.

My issue with most of these parents is that they're simply not involved at all.

I started the year tracking all the times I reached out to parents. Quit after a few months because it was a waste of time. This is a quick screenshot from 1 day. Notice how only a few have later dates on them? That's because none of these parents ever responded. If my kid gets a note home or if a teacher calls me I'm on it. These parents aren't. I'm empathetic to the macro issues we deal with and I know most of these parents are likely products of the same education system, but it's still an issue

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• Verbal Kint
• May 21, 2018

sheet

 

[Barnett114]

Unfortunately, among lower class blacks, there is an anti-education stigma.

People don't want to go to college or get a trade

 

[Gold]

when the parents don't care, you can't expect the kids to either.

/thread

I would say 90% of why I was a near-perfect student and got into a great college was because my mom was sitting on my head about every single lesson/assignment/test score
Yeah it felt good to achieve, but that few children have that solo drive where they can achiever in-spite-of apathetic parenting.

If my parents didn't care, I would have been playing Donkey Kong Country 2 everyday instead of doing HW

 

[Verbal Kint]

I don’t have these issues because I don’t play. I let them know, I’ll patch their asses up and if they want beef, it won’t end in school. I’m cool, curse at them and they love me for it.

I’m real and sincere. Can’t be scared. They’re like sharks and can smell blood.

props to you. Here's the thing. I don't take the noise from them either in my room. But I also don't fight/argue with them. I lay the ground rules and act if they don't follow. Problem is when there's no back up. I still kick kids out of class but if they don't want to leave, there's no way I can make them. There's also no way to actually force kids to do work. So basically you have to try to reason with or demand that kids do what they're supposed to but there's literally nothing I have to back it up

 

[Eternally Jaded]

I grew up in a school that was basically 50/50 black and white. In the south, in the black belt . 94% of the students graduate. It's possible.

Not coming for your school breh but like dude said in the opening post, they could be pushing kids through without meeting standards.

Cold game.

I don't have kids, only a 9 yo niece but whenever i get her after school, im on her about her homework(they get way less than i think we did) n i check it too. She's got hella structure in terms of extracurriculars but we gotta stay on them.

No breaks, even if you're tired

 

[Verbal Kint]

. whoa.... what???!! Do you know the reason why that is?? I thought girls would be more composed?? I must be oblivious. my daughter is more quiet and reserved like I was at her age, she's never been around fighting or mouthing off in the class like that; that's why I'm kind of hesitant about her going when she does. Now that you say the girls are worse..sheeesh.

Girls will curse everyone out then be like 'fukk you shut up talking to me' when you intervene. They fighting in the hallway every other day. They're so bad that like 8 7th grade girls got actually expelled all out of one crew and like I said it's almost impossible to get expelled around here. The boys typically respect me to be honest. Most of them. There's a few that just don't respect nothing and others that choose to leave rather than be forced to work. The girls will sit in the room and talk crazy and threaten each other all day.

 

[Ruckfonnie]

not sure if its been asked since I haven't read the comments yet but you smash any of your fellow teachers? I know they some freaks. what about any of your students moms?

 

[Black Trash!]

Kids raising kids

 

[@OffHalsted]

I still believe in separating bad kids from those who ain't ....

 

[Gold]

While I agree with you, on the other side, I know my oldest is a problem and me and his dad stay on him, the problem is none of his teachers tell us anything and when you call and send emails only 2 teachers returned them. Teachers are t proactive anymore. They assume this the new normal. I want to know if my son isn’t doing his work and acting an ass. If you don’t tell me I don’t know. Also why y’all don’t give homework anymore?

My parents had access to check my grades whenever they wanted.
Imo this should be standard in high school.

But then again I also went to a highschool where your GPA was posted on your dorm for the world to see so they clearly didn't give a fukk about "privacy" and "feelings"