Middle School Student Behavior

I gave up hope for the Education system in 8th grade after I was exiled from class, and shunned by fellow students and even future teachers because I spoke up during the 9/11 incident about how I thought the attack looked like a 'controlled demolition'. My classmates looked at me like I was the Devil.

Your system is rigged and needs to be dismantled.

Ya know, I can relate in more than one way to this. The problem isn't entirely with the children, it's also with the school system itself. It's geared much like television programming: towards the lowest common denominator. Those who excel in academia find the material quite boring, and can rebel against the system as a result. I was put in honors programs and still couldn't be bothered to listen to the teachers idiocies. I skipped class more than anyone I knew, and still made high marks on the majority of the work I completed.

I think the problem is multifactorial. It's partially a product of a demoralized society, partly a trashy culture, but also the fact that people can readily learn from the internet ... it sort of makes conventional schools obsolete, or at the very least highly inefficient with their traditional approaches. The whole process needs to be revamped and streamlined, imo.

reply to post by aero56

Well, we've raised a generation of kids to never experiences consequences for their bad behavior like spanking or punishment because we want to not do anything to hurt their "self esteem." Clearly their parents have failed them--they are coddled and spoiled. But educational system has also failed these kids and I feel for you working with those out of control kids but the reality is that the approach to teaching today just is a disaster. How can I say that?

We've promoted these kids right through the grades because even though they can't read, do math or think critically, we didn't want to hold them back and repeat a grade because we didn't want to hurt their "self esteem."

So now we have illiterate and defiant kids who know nothing and listen to no one. Great! can't wait to see what this country's going to be like when they hit the workforce. Is there something LOWER than 3rd world status? I think we'll soon find out.

I will ask you what they asked, "Are you serious?" well, are you?

It was a cartwheel. How dangerous is that? You make it sound like a knife fight or something. Damn. I remember teachers like you - fortunately I remember other teachers that knew how to reach out.

When did you become the evil old lady that doesn't understand? Obviously these kids are stuck in homes too often with nothing but TVs and parents forced to both work OT or only 1 parent. They do not do enough physical work or burn enough physical energy. They are even boding while doing it.

When a child knows that they are doing something that builds bonds, and something that releases tension they understand it to be more important than a self-appointed authoritarian. Instead of scholding them you could tell them they are reall good at it, and offer them information about after school activities like cheerleading.

You need to learn from them. Understand their level and not be so judgemental. You act like they should have college level attention just because you had to go through college. They are children, not peers to compare yourself too (if you even can accurately remember your feelings at that age.) You are the aggressor. They will not learn under a regement. You need inclusion and patience to reach these children. Unfortunately teachers feel like they only need to work as hard as their textbooks and unions tell them too.

This happens because no one takes the belt off anymore. As a child I would get my @$$ beat if I behaved the way some of these kids do these days. ( I still shutter at the thought of ever addressing an elder without sir or ma'am lol) At times I go out to public places and I see children "running" their parents and I want to hurt them. I don't mean with a belt, I mean with my fist....I want to break their little faces and stand over them and say "YOU ARE A FKN KID STAY IN A KID'S PLACE!!" ......maybe I am mentally ill because I feel this way ....I'll seek help now lol

Originally posted by Tayesin
I've been observing these changes over the past 30 years.

It's not just poor parenting to blame. It's what the entire culture has been reduced to over time, especially once children became targets for advertising. From there on Media has usurped the family and just about any concept of Respect that had existed.

Each of us played our part by not standing up and speaking loudly on how we don't want our kids brainwashed with the ever-increasing graphic violence, sexual themes, the rise of "Image" as what a person is, the push toward children owning technology they don't need, and the all encompassing empowerment over their parents.

During this time we gave them adult rights and expected them to handle it when they are kids. We sexualized our daughters and taught our sons to be soldiers.. and when they asked us for more we gave it to them without asking anything in return. We allowed them to fall into an Instant Gratification world of experience.

We did that because many of us went without in our childhood, so we over-compensate with our kids. And, we don't want our kids to be "Sad"... the very thing they have all learned to use against their parents.

Over those years the young kids grew to be less efficient parents and more self-centered, their kids copied and took it to another level.. and so their kids are the troublesome ones we see today in the 9 to 19 age-group.

It can't be blamed on any one thing, it is a lot of things over a long period of time that has brought us to this Experience.

edit on 15-1-2011 by Tayesin because: spelling

i agree with you, the me generation has a better. The son of me...

Yeah OP, i really hate the little sh*ts that people call children these days.

someone in charge of of society at large has done this de-evolution very slick.

I hear the way my god-son talks to his parents and my instinct to smack the teeth out of his mouth is barely containabale.

neither parent thinks this behaviour is wrong, the acting out, the sex talk, the swears. they think it its cute.

im horrified, and i for one refuse to have kids go to public schools if i have any kids at all.

the kids fall victim to the the helpless parents need to give love in the form of stuff to own and be occupied with.

I actualy tell any parent who sacrifices, because they want their kids to have what they did not, that they(parents) are fools and the kids will not appreciate the well-water until the wells dry. then they (kids) will assume it was a right to have that well-water in the first place. the endless stuff kids get without earning it, is atrocious.

we are going to have a huge BOOMing prison-based economy soon thanks to the amount new criminals being bred, and indoctrinated by media and undereducated parents.

Originally posted by WeRpeons
reply to post by Anttyk47

 

What makes you think I don't respect my students? The last thing I want to do is have a confrontation with a student. I have enough stress breaking up fights and trying to motivate students to take their education seriously on a daily basis. Teachers are human, and depending on the stress of the day may not exactly come across the way you would like them to. People become stressed out at work, police may become stressed because they just finished breaking up a fight. Have you ever taken into consideration that maybe when someone doesn't come across politely they may be having a bad day? Part of being mature, is understanding that sometimes people aren't polite as we would like them to be. Not every person has the same personality. I had teachers that were really friendly and complete blow offs. I had teachers that were really tough and some that I hated. When I attended college, I realized it was the tough teachers who took the time to teach me and push me to do better, were the teachers that prepared me the best for college courses. You can't look at teachers like it's a personality contest. It comes down to how well do they prepare you to become successful after graduation.

Don't compare College and Middle school.
What kind of 18-20ish year old in college is compared to a 12-14 year old middle schooler?
Don't say that these aged kids SHOULD understand that people become stressed and that not everyones gonna be nice everyday.
What kind of 13 year old is going to understand STRESS FROM WORK?
Do teachers learn to teach AND learn to deal with young teenagers? Surely preschoolers have some nursing degree of some sort.
My opinion. No.
They are given the guns of knowledge but none of which to handle the audience.

I have a ten year old and a sixteen year old in public school and the daily compaint is, "I'm bored." They are both highly intelligent kids and my sixteen year old has and is on the A Honor Roll. I wonder if the "No Kids Left Behind" bill has anything to do with their boredom. Teachers now teach to "The Test" and yeah, I could see how that could be boring. My ten year old begs me to be homeschooled. The art and music programs have been cut due to budget issues. If you're only there to make the school district look good for the administrators to pay their big salaries and have to perform like a trained seal, I don't know, I think kids these days are smart enough to know when they're being played. It's all about the money. Stop playing the kids and start teaching them.

and further more.

this generation of children are products of an increasingly sociopathic, self-serving narcism, made popular by a rebound of political correctness from the late 80's and 90's.

it was cool to be culturally sensitive, and since it was shoved down throats, this is the natural equal and opposite force.

and im getting slizzard by sober girls "ackin" like they drunk, in their g6. (know the quote anyone?)

nuff said, and thanks seth mcfarland family guy is funny, but kids see cartoons as safe and so dont the parents nowadays. but has anyone actually wondered what that humor as satire does to kids if no-one explains what satire is?

When I was in school I hated teachers and despised the whole schooling system. I hated that a stranger that I didn't know had some sort of power over me. So, I can relate to such behaviors.

Most teachers treated the students as sub-humans. Even if you are young, you need to be treated with some sort of respect.

You'd think they could separate the children who want to learn from the one's that don't. Then the kids that want to learn get to do so and the one's that don't can go to military school. Oh yeah, that wouldn't float well with No Child Left Behind, would it?

reply to post by aero56


It seems to me that despite the best parenting, these kids are feral!

My nephew is one of these kids. Now that he is going to be 19 and given a court order to get his GED, he now realizes how much he has screwed off. He has such little education, that he is struggling with basic math and science.

This is our future. Personally, I think they could all stand a good spanking!

reply to post by aero56


Well, I was once a deviant little hell child (I'm nothing like that now), so perhaps I can provide some insight.

These behaviors range anywhere from constant talking, to getting up out of their seats to talk to another student without permission, throwing things across the room; tipping desks, talking out of turn, laughing, yelling, arguing, throwing temper tantrums, name calling, to hitting another student. Some of this behavior is labeled ADHD.

Tipping desks, now that's out of line, but every other thing you mention there is to be expected in a classroom at one point or another, and it was a lot worse than that at the school I went to. Also, a child with ADHD will have excessive amounts of energy and stand out from all the other children. I highly doubt you have a class full of ADHD children. I think your first and foremost problem is over exaggerating the severity of this problem. You start freaking out and the kids will sense that you are weakening, until they lose all respect for you.

There is protocol to follow for misbehavior. They are given verbal warnings. Sometimes the teachers change student seating to break up the "talkers".

And I think your second problem is treating the children like freaking robots. "Oh that one is acting up, it must have a glitch (aka ADHD). Oh, and this pair of best friend at the back will never shut up, now implementing verbal command #243...command failed, they shall have to be split up,"

My only piece of advice: try to remember they are humans with feelings and emotions. Not every problem has some rule or text book answer for solving it, especially when it comes to human beings. Try to see things from their perspective more often - that doesn't mean they've beaten you in some way. The most respected teacher at my old school was a very stern man who could keep a class working as quiet as a mouse. He was also the only teacher in the entire school who would give students a mid-class break to talk and have a snack and basically relax for 5 to 10 minutes.

Just yesterday, two young ladies thought it cute to do cartwheels down the hallway. A teacher gave a verbal warning. Both girls looked directly at the teacher, and did another cartwheel. This was captured on video. The girls were "written up". This behavior took place during a "passing period" which means that the entire grade was in the hallway, making this behavior very dangerous. When written up, the girls thought it was "stupid" and were also laughing about it, stating "are you serious?" This is just an example of the oppositional defiance that we see everyday.

So you got those cartwheeling criminals on video? You know...I can't help but find myself asking "are you serious?". Enforcing an unnecessary degree of authority also results in the psychological impulse to rebel.

Can you understand what I'm trying to get at here?

reply to post by unityemissions


And why is the education geared to the "lowest common denominator"? It's called "No Child Left Behind". One size does not fit all. In order for all students to be given a chance at passing, the standards are set lower. This isn't the fault of the teachers, but our government had a lot to do with this, what was his name?

Originally posted by starwarsisreal
generally as a 16 year old I would say that even charter high schools are a bit #ty. In my high school despite strict rules students generally are disruptive. One time the kids even made a teacher run out and cry.

I've seen this happen more than once. And then, they have the audacity to laugh about it.

reply to post by WhizPhiz


Yes, I am serious. Cartwheels in a crowded hallway is very dangerous. Someone could have been hurt. The classroom behaviors I mentioned are out of control. The behavior I speak of is not expected in any classroom. Yes, of course, there is some talking, but not to the caliber of which I speak. When you have veteran teachers at their wits end, there is a serious problem. Unfortunately, people who think we are exaggerating the issue can be more of the problem as opposed to being part of the solution. Thank you for your response.

reply to post by WeRpeons


I have broken up many fights. That puts me in danger! I teach in an urban school. Sure, these students struggle with many home issues, no question about it. Broken homes, no dad, no food, no one to watch over them.At my school we feed these students two meals a day, and provide after school programs, as many of them have no one at home at 3:00pm.. We provide clothes for them as well. However, the behavioral issues are simply out of control. I've not seen it this bad before.

reply to post by aero56


The school system is broken. It is a governmental work force indoctrination camp. Students should rebel against it. They are wasting the students time teaching them how to be good slaves. If schools tried to teach students important things, like they did prior to the 60's, things would be very different.

I am glad that middle school kids are defiant, and are not putting up with the BS anymore.

reply to post by Anttyk47