Comments for Kennedy: Solons should sub teach at http://www.theind.com , comment 1 to 3 out of 3 comments http://www.theind.com Mon, 20 May 2013 02:00:05 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.theind.com/news/indreporter/9991-kennedy-solons-should-sub-teach#comment-26031 Mr. Kennedy makes several very, very good points, best summed up by the very truthful statement that teachers today are asked to deal with a great deal more idiocy than they should; a trend which has been growing for at least half a century. It is hypocritical to poke at him about where his children go to school; I would frankly mortgage my body if necessary to prevent any child of mine from attending some of the public schools in which my family has been educated and indeed worked over the years. Frankly, the idea of career state officials getting a true idea of what is being provided for our children by actually getting their hands dirty for a change seems a fine idea indeed. Better yet, do not tell the administration that said officials are coming -- now there would be a "reality show" I might actually deign to watch! Don't agree with me? Let me provide an example: My wife has a Folklore M.S. with a Journalism B.A. and is very used to dealing with troublesome people of several ages. She has been praised for "dissertation-worthy thesis work," and actually took more English courses than the average English teacher as well as a certification-worthy set of education courses. Yet she, a very apt teacher who substituted for years and has taught as college-level adjunct faculty pre- and post-thesis, found some schools completely intolerable. There are several anecdotes from which I might draw, but most memorable of those stories, at the moment, was the eight-year-old who flatly told her that he was "Leavin' and goin' whe'evah I want to." and ran out of the class and down the hall, and had to be gathered by administration staff. Teachers ARE often expected to parent, in addition to the counseling that every teacher has given ad infinitum. Yet, I do not think that it is the fault of the teacher in maintaining discipline, but the fault of our community, and indeed our national society, from taking away the tools that teachers have always had for dealing with the worst discipline problems, due to fuzzy-headed foolishness about corporal punishments doing psychological harm. Read Heinlein -- a human being does not have an innate moral compass, but instead, if he or she is lucky, a highly trained conscience. When I was a boy, I would never have thought of doing half of the things that I hear about students doing weekly if not daily. And I guarantee you, I sure in the hell did NOT have to deal with teen pregnancy, drugs gangs or violence beyond a schoolyard brawl, for which we all definitely paid. Why? Because teachers were the ultimate authority, and because my parents were very interested in reinforcing both the rewards and penalties accrued in my educational career. So yes, as one of several generations of teachers, I believe that the blame lies plainly with the foolishness of politics. I do not think that Louisiana children cannot learn -- we are all from a very determined and hard-working community simply full of intelligent and creative people. I think that we need to stop aiming for the lowest common denominator and allowing children, AND PARENTS to get away with doing things that unacceptable, and that our outlook on how this is accomplished MUST CHANGE. I think that partisan squabbling must end, and people like Ms. Landry must offer practical assistance instead of spending their time trying to catch others out. I do agree with Ms Landry of the state about one thing, though -- it all must be remedied, our future depends upon it. - Regan Coussan Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:25:31 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/indreporter/9991-kennedy-solons-should-sub-teach#comment-26030 Nancy, stop the tap dancing & spinning. Do you think the lege's should sub or not? - Michael A. Moss Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:59:07 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/indreporter/9991-kennedy-solons-should-sub-teach#comment-26028 Not a bad idea, but I wonder if Mr. Kennedy's child attends public school. As a legislator and a parent of students in the government run school system, I would like to see the debate focused on the needs of the children rather than on the needs of teachers. We've heard the discipline excuse for too long. I refuse to believe that Louisiana's children behave so badly that they can't be educated. Almost every other state in the nation is able to educate their children better than we manage to educate ours. Are Louisiana kids really that much worse than other U.S. kids or are we just using that as an excuse? Also, I don't know where Mr. Kennedy attended school, but when I was in middle/high school, I observed all of the things mentioned, i.e., drugs, tobacco, teenage pregnancy, violence, and alcohol. Things weren't perfect back then either. Let's stop looking for reasons Louisiana children can't learn and start looking for ways to reach them. Our future depends on it. - Nancy Landry Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:04:14 +0100