I Fear the Future

This post isn't (overtly) going for humor (humour, if you're British...or an ass), so I will be peppering in funny pictures that may or may not related to anything going on with what's being written.

Adorable as it may be, there's nothing funny about zombabies.

When I say I fear the future, I don't mean I'm worried about the fallout from the ever-present gas and financial crises. I'm not talking about the looming threat of all out nuclear war. The rise of a Skynet-like entity (Google & Apple, please don't ever, ever merge) is not the issue. Heck, I'm not even talking about the harsh reality of the Zombie Apocalypse (or Zombpocalypse, for those of us "in the know"). And trust me, it's bound to happen...

That's good advice kids.

No, what I fear about the future is the children. And not just the kids that are in school today, but the students of tomorrow. Their content knowledge is atrocious, and their (lack of) physical fitness is painful to see.

It's like we're breeding generations of Ralph Wiggums.

Wiggumses? Wiggi? I digress, as per usual...

As a substitute teacher, I see students at every grade level, and as the years pass, I see the (ahem) progression of these children. It would be easy (and so horribly wrong) to blame the teachers that these children have for their sorely lacking skills. It isn't their fault. Well, it mostly isn't their fault. Some teachers aren't good, and they really have no right being in front of impressionable minds and "educating" them.

Looks like Miss Bliss is teaching them

how to be whorish today.

I'm sitting here, monitoring ISS (in-school suspension), or ISI (in-school instruction, so the district doesn't have to report the suspension to the state), and there are two days of school left. And kids are in suspension! Behavioral issues start at home. Dear parents, the television IS NOT a babysitter. It will very much NOT help mold your child into a productive and valuable member of society.

Oh hush. I'm not going to make french fries myself.

But I don't feel that behavior issues are the biggest problem. It's the fact that parents don't make an effort to help educate their children. They don't know how to socialize, other than what they learn on television. They feel that as long as their is the internet, they don't have to worry about knowing anything. Their spelling is atrocious. A small fraction can write (or read) cursive. Most have trouble writing anything of substance. BUt what crushes my soul each and every time I see it, and it happens way too much, is that kids don't know how to read. They just don't.

For shame!

There was a time when students actually had to learn the proper skills and content knowledge to move to the next grade level. Now? Not so much. Students are being moved to the next grade, regardless of the fact that they are, essentially (and pardon the cold reality), idiots. Here's a fun/true/sad fact: There are (now current) 6th graders that read at an alleged 3rd grade level. And aren't exactly passing their current year. But, next year, they will be in 7th grade. Idiocy begets idiocy. To pass somebody clearly lacking in the basic skills that are needed to function in everyday life to the next, allegedly, more difficult level, is a blatant failure in a teacher/administrator/board of education's duty to promote learning and instill an education to the hundreds or thousands of children that they see in their respective careers. It pains me to see this happen. But I can't (just) blame administrators. The US Government's No Child Left Behind Act was one of these catalysts for idiocy. If no child gets left behind, no child can excel and reach as high as they can/should. Now, Obama has recently said (in his 2011 State of the Union Address) that he has a plan to replace NCLB. Joy. As we've seen with ObamaCare (and his willingness to let states basically strip the bones of teachers who don't make enough money as it is), his plans are just top notch. Aces, really.

"...and Spider-Man & Ford are working on

creating a truly green, affordable means of

transportation for everybody." - Obama

But, I'm "just a sub" (and if you say that to me, there's a chance that I will karate chop you, quite viciously, in the throat), so what do I know. Besides being engrained in the education system the past few years. And the fact that I went to a public school. And a state college. And I'm a shockingly keen observer of my surroundings. And I'm not an idiot. That's why I try to not be complacent when I'm working. I don't just hand out some work sheets and say good luck. I'm always wiling to help them, to explain things in a way that the students might understand. I tell them fun facts about things that they won't learn in the books. I actively try to advance their knowledge and usage of the English language. And I get nothing for it, except the hope that maybe I'm contributing to a better tomorrow (and a truly paltry daily sum). I'm kind of like a woefully underpaid educational mercenary. I find a job each day, and do what I can to better the educational experience of children. But, sadly, it seems like a losing battle.

How do I reach these kids?

Complacency in parents that think that all the responsibilities for educating their children really burns these teachers out. The fact that administrations and the government seem like they don't have a real problem with the proven fact that there is an insanely large portion of students in public schools don't know the fundamentals that (most) people take for granted is astonishing. They seem okay with letting these television & video game brainwashed masses just skim through their education. These are the people who will be in charge one day. These are the people that I might have to call "boss." These are the people who'll be taking care of me if my Still's Disease goes to hell when I'm older. And that's what I fear.