When Did Teachers Stop Teaching

When I was in school they taught us the basics to get ready for college.  There was arithmetic, your basics and as complicated as it got was only touching on Algebra.  No details really just, again, basics.  And still I never learned that until my high school years.  Reading, of course, and you didn't even need to go any further with that in high school unless you signed up for High School Reading, which I did.  You had English, which they call Language Arts now.  A science class, a geography class or social studies..and no less then 2 study halls.

Children in today's schools have so much more to do then we had as kids.  Here is my son's day:
Math
Science
Language Arts
A computer class
Social Studies
Gym

Each semester the computer class changes.  First it was a cooking class, then Health, and next semester it will be Art.

Notice there is no Study Hall, for one.  I remember that if it wasn't for Study Hall, most of my afternoon homework wouldn't have gotten done.  Notice there is only, ONLY, 6 classes a day.  When I was in school I had no less then 8 a day.  Each of his classes are 90 minutes each.  When I was in school, I believe they were only 45.  And in those 45 minutes they taught us each lesson and we would even do classroom work.  Then we would get assigned a homework lesson and go on about our next class.

My son is smart, now I am not only saying this cause he is my son, but because it is true.  He blows my mind.  His vocabulary is that of a dictionary and he can talk me under the table using words I don't even know.  But, in Math class, you may as well be teaching him in a different language.  According to him and his teacher, she goes over the lesson, does some class work and then gives them homework.  Good deal, right.

My son comes home from school and he pulls out his Math homework, and it never fails for me to hear, "Mom, I need help with this."

I ask him if the teacher taught him the lesson.  He always says yes, but with, "but she goes so fast I don't ever get it."  I ask, do you ever ask questions.  His reply, yes but she always says she don't have time to go back over it, watch the video.

WATCH THE VIDEO...excuse me...A VIDEO!  I am sorry but are you not the one in my son's classroom and are you not the one that TEACHES him, as your name is called TEACHER.  You Teacher that is getting a paycheck each week to TEACH my son.

Example of how this pisses me off.  My son comes home the other day with Algebra that I myself have never seen before.  I told him I would try to help him but I don't know how to do it myself.  He and I sit for hours working together, and I with my simple mind, don't get it.  I just don't get it.  Didn't get it in college, don't get it now.  So I write his teacher a note.  I explained to her that I don't have the skills to teach him, for I don't understand it.  I further explain that he needs help and ask if she could go over it again with him during lunch or gym.  She writes me a kind letter back and tells me her time is limited, which I understand, and that she can't do as I ask.  She gave me a web site that goes over the lesson that the Math book has in it. 

This is fantastic, I think.  I can go to the Math book website and I can learn it myself, cause this is the man that wrote the book.  I go to the website all settled into my chair and I am excited.  I go to the lesson he is on...and there before me..is a man with a marker and a white board.  He goes over the exact, I do mean the EXACT wording the book has.  Same work, same words, I learn nothing new that the book already said.  How disappointing this is to me.  I am heart broken because I can't help my son.  I begin to cry.

My crying turns to anger.  That is when i realized, this isn't my fault.  It is his teacher's fault, and I will go further then that, it is the Governments fault.  Every night my son and daughter have their share of homework.  I was always told, never do homework for more then an hour, and teachers have even told me all their homework should only take about 15 minutes.  LIE!  My son leaves for school at 6:20am and gets home at 4:00 pm every day.  When he gets home he has a snack and gets started on homework at least by 5 but no later then 6:00.  He is on his homework until at least 9:00, no lie! 

Now, I understand that the laws of No Child Left Behind is that they are turning up the notches at school and they are learning more.  My 7th grader is learning things now that my 8th grader hasn't even learned yet.  So I know they are demanding more from kids today.  But here is my argument.  DON'T ADD LESSONS THAT THE TEACHER DON'T HAVE TIME TO TEACH THE KIDS.  Simple.  If a teacher don't have time to teach the children, and more importantly, make sure they understand it...then don't add it.  And by hell, don't send them home to the parents and tell them to watch a video.  I will help my child in any way shape or form that I can.  I have helped every night with homework.  But now, the homework is getting too hard for me, the parent.  If I wanted to do your job, I would have went to school for it.  I don't mind helping but I do mind teaching.  I have so many other things to teach my child that is nobody's responsibility but mine.  That is why I am called MOTHER, not TEACHER.

When my child tells he teacher he still don't understand, he is a class clown, he don't pay attention and blames him.  Them not stopping to think for one moment, that my son is not just not paying attention, he has lost interest because he don't understand.  And no matter how many ways he asks for help, it is always the same answer.  When did the teacher stop teaching, when did teachers stop caring if the child is having trouble.  Most importantly, when did THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND, start leaving children behind.