Just to clarify, we’re talking about the OP, right?
Yes. Be sure to read the OP aloud word for word. You will find trouble spots.
Have fun. But I don’t want to get sidetracked into thread-shitting. I’m pointing to the weakness of the composition of the post because I have serious doubts about two and a half actually being prepared to teach. He doesn’t write like a teacher. And he doesn’t sound very educated yet. But he’s not stupid – just ignorant and careless.
I’m off for some shuteye. I’m up late rather than up early.
I read it aloud. At the risk of further thread-shitting (disclaimer to follow):
I’d say the first paragraph could be changed around and there are a few things that are incorrect (hear vs. here). I’d prefer a few commas for clarity, but most are author’s choice rather than obligatory. There are some other nitpicky things but let’s not go there.
Disclaimer: I really appreciate the intelligence of these boards. It’s a pleasure to read well-written thoughts from people who know the difference between to/too/two, its and it’s, and so on. Posters raise well-organized arguments, stated succinctly, and defend their positions well.
I’m also a teacher. I empathize with what the OP must be going through and I think the post was written in an emotionally-charged moment where he/she was questioning his/her ability to function as a teacher. So adding the issue of writing ability from a sample taken at a low point seems ill-advised.
One thing I do know about teaching is that everybody brings something different to the table. Some are great at discipline, while others really know how to inspire their students, for instance. Very few do everything well. And the demands for each position are different. Teaching English requires high proficiency in the matter at hand; teaching math does not.
OK, let’s move it along…nothing more to see here. What advice can we give the OP, people?
I just googled it and her name as listed has changed since then. I will send you a link to her web site via PM.
Our local middle and high school have just such a room. It’s like a club for the bad kids They don’t get bored of going there and they don’t want to go to class, they misbehave so they can go to this room. Most of them aren’t stupid, there are just some kids who will never fit into the traditional school routine.
I can understand completely what 2.5" is saying though. I grew up in the Detroit area in the suburbs. My parents were very careful to point out racism to us and make sure we knew it was wrong. We had a few token black people in our schools but they didn’t seem any different than everyone else so we really didn’t see why everyone thought blacks were different.
Once I was an adult and had jobs with more urban area blacks I struggled with the same thing. For a while I was a teachers aid in an adult high school and most of the students were black. Some were there because they wanted to learn, some were there so they didn’t lose their support for their children. I was able to know the students more as individuals and see that despite their outer actions they had the same dreams and desires for their lives as everyone else. Even the drug dealers were nice people when they didn’t have to put on the tough gangster act.
So, is it racism to see the differences within different groups in the community? Is it racist to anticipate, before you know for sure, how people will react? Maybe it is but stereotypes don’t come from nowhere. As long as you realize that people’s behavior comes from their upbringing and peer pressure, not their skin color I don’t think 2.5" is becoming racist.
My emphasis.
I’m a middle-aged white guy. Is there any way at all that I can get away with saying that? It cracks me up.
Yes! A Nice White Lady!
You could take the way of the drill sargeant or martial arts sensei, and immediately establish dominance by demonstrating your own superior skills. Show them who the real master is.
I’m not a teacher, but I noticed this growing up. The default for middle-class white kid is often “bright”. When he or she deviates from this, they are marked as “bright but lazy” or “bright but bored”. But the default for black kid is often less stellar. In order to be marked as intelligent, they have to be extraordinary.
I think this is a big one. AP students do become very cliquish, because not only do they usually have all the same major subjects together, but they’ve been in the same advanced and gifted classes throughout grammar school. As high achievers, they also participate in honor societies and student council–activities that bestow special priviledges. Woe to the late-bloomer who jumps in late in the game.
It also doesn’t help that sometimes teachers go out of their way to perpetuate the system. I only had two black male teachers at my high school who weren’t PE coaches. One of them taught my AP US history class. He was the toughest teacher in the whole school (and probably the most intelligent). Now, you would have thought he would have been sympathetic to the few minorities in his class–particularly the boys–but he was the toughest on us. And not in that “I’m hard on you because I love you” way. He was especially intent on winnowing out all the black guys–all of which were well-behaved and intelligent. The humiliation that he heaped upon us rang throughout the halls of the school. He was my first example of a self-hating black person I’ve ever met. With a climate like that, it’s no wonder that by the end of the year, you with the face and I were the only darkies left in the class.
As to why black people misbehave more than whites and Hispanics, many would attribute it to the loss of the father in black households. I was a “good girl” partly because my dad was a strict disciplinarian who ruled through the belt. He didn’t care if you brought home C’s, but if you got caught “acting a fool”, you were in for it. Maybe I would have been more of a hellion if it weren’t for that constant fear.
Will you send it to me too? I am always looking for highly qualified and successful educators to speak to groups of school district administrators, and your mom sounds great.
I just sent a link via private messaging. She is pretty popular these days and speaks to groups of any size and that may be a good fit for what you are looking for.
Screw it. If multiple people want to know about my mother, I will just give you the link. I am hardly anonymous here anyway. She has done some incredible things in the conditions that the OP describes. It can be done even if you have to use unorthodox techniques.
monstro, I vaguely vaguely remember this episode but only now that you bring it up. Dammit, what’s wrong with my memory! 
I have it on good authority that Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist.
I can relate to the OP- my only form of racism of any kind is aimed at the black teens in my neighborhood- white or Hispanic teens walking or playing in the street when you drive by will immeidately get out of your way- the black ones will take their time, or not move at all, basically daring you to hit them, and if you come within 10 feet of them you can look in the rearview and they’ll be cussing, waving their arms at you, etc. Similarly, if you stop at a red light and have the audacity to glance over at a car with white or Hispanic teens, no problem, but do that to some black teens and you’ll be cursed, challenged to a fight, etc. I don’t get it, especially when all of the black adults in the area are just as nice and cool as they can be. I just don’t get the black teen culture, at all- every action is an affront or challenge to them it seems- not all of course, but quite a few.
Thanks for the link, Shagnasty–your mom sounds pretty cool!
Daniel
I don’t think the OP should be pitted for his racism; I think he should be applauded for what is possibly his best OP to date. In a perfect world, no one would ever develop racist attitudes and take every person they meet as an individual with no preconceived notions, but in the real world, where human beings excel at pattern recognition, you see people doing something a few times, and it is very difficult to not associate “this type of person” equals “this type of behaviour.”
I am sorry about the state of the writing in the OP. I do ever really try to write properly or proofread when I post on the internet or write e-mails. It is a really bad habit that I should break.
I am not so much worried about the pattern recognition part as I am about hearing Chris Rock in my head saying that there are blacks and there are niggers and these kids are niggers. I find this thought disgusting.