Last year rant

This is a rant that I wrote by hand a couple of years ago while I was
working at Bremerton High School. I saved it because I have to start
creating snippets of actual students. I think I could collect stories
into a book. This was also written when I thought that the standards
were being too easily glossed over in what seemed an attempt to let
students pass through just to graduate with their cohorts so it doesn't
look bad for the school district.

A high school diploma should not be a "gimmee." A gimmee is what we do
on the golf course for a two-inch putt. The current educational system
is turning a four-year high school degree into a gimmee.

Just yesterday, my principal chose to share with the entire staff his
education over the past year. In his speech, fully equipped with a
Power Point presentation, he talked of how we as teachers have to make
sure the students have learned the material. He quipped that it is no
longer acceptable to say, "I taught it; it's not my fault they didn't
learn it."

I believe in that on a certain level. I believe it is my job to present
material in a meaningful and interesting way. It is my job to walk
along the learning path with the student, helping him turn left or
right and to guide over obstacles along the way.

However, there are times when students jump off the path in spite of my
efforts. Sometimes, even as I hold his educational hand, he pulls away
purposefully, almost wickedly. Learning cannot take place with a closed
mind. It is a two-way path.

In my current position, I teach a total of 60 students; three sections
of regular sophomore English and two sections of regular senior
English. I have several students who have impeded my progress. I have
several students where the paperwork and time to combat failure and
apathy seriously subtracts time from high performance and learning.