Man’s Letter on Struggles of Being a Teacher Goes Viral

WOW, this one really hits home. Being that this is in the state I live in, and city that I grew up close to, this OKC teacher is truly a blessing from above.. As much slack that educators (just as LEO's & poli-trick-ions) get on a daily basis, this man stands out and should be acknowledged!

It is a great story and it is wonderful to see some humanitarian in the humans, albeit probably short lived.

He goes on to write

that the kiddos sometimes dont get enough to eat; they may get home and the parents, (baby daddy, sperm doaner, flavor of the week) have decided to kick them out. They have parents who are drunk and stoned. They sleep on a neighbors back porch. hey go home to physical and verbal abuse. They go home looking for love and acceptance from the people who created them … and too often they don’t find it.

He writes:

I am a teacher. I teach English at the high school of an independent district within Oklahoma City. I love my job. I love your kids. I call them my kids. I keep blankets in my room for when they’re cold. I feed them peanut butter crackers, beef jerky, or Pop Tarts when Michelle Obama’s school breakfast or lunch isn’t enough to fill their bellies. I comfort them when they cry and I praise them when they do well and always I try to make them believe that they are somebody with unlimited potential no matter what they go home to when they leave me.

What do they go home to? Sometimes when they get sick at school they can’t go home because you and the person you’re currently shacking up with are too stoned to figure out it’s your phone ringing. Sometimes they go home to parents who don’t notice them, and those are often the lucky kids. Sometimes they go home to sleep on the neighbor’s back porch because your boyfriend kicked them out of the house and his dog is too mean to let them sleep on their own back porch. They go home to physical and verbal abuse. They go home looking for love and acceptance from the people who created them … and too often they don’t find it.

. . . . Teacher

By reading the letter, it seems like a lot of the struggle lies in being a kid in This district of Oklahoma City.

While I am not a fan of the Teachers Union and public education in general, a lot of the failure is that we are expecting teachers and schools to make up for bad parenting.

Schools reflect the communities they serve. If a school is failing, it is because the students are largely being pulled from broken families who aren't doing their jobs outside of school hours.

There is only so much teachers can do. Teachers can't be a father when one is not in the home. They can't be a mother when the one at home is a hoodrat. Etc, etc...

Until we address the cultural and social dysfunction that has become the norm for these families, we will continue to see failing schools.

a reply to: ReadLeader

People have been calling for more money in the schools for a while, but the crux of it is there are people who refuse to allow it and then the communities are stuck trying to fund it themselves. Why we see great public schools on rich communities and not so great in the poverty stricken.

Oh and I wonder if those kids could even get a breakfast from the school before Michelle's program, which isn't hers but for the sake of argument, was put into affect. Seemed like a usless political jab in there since that program helps the kids he is talking about.

a reply to: Edumakated

But the schools are a great place for those kids that want to change that to go to. Parenting is something we can't ignore.
We should also not ignore the opportunity that the schools can provide for exactly that change you want. You are right, they can only do so much, but they can do alot. Well a good teacher who cares anyway.
The kids are the change we need, and if we just let them fall right back into the cycle then there is no change.

originally posted by: Sremmos80
a reply to: ReadLeader

People have been calling for more money in the schools for a while, but the crux of it is there are people who refuse to allow it and then the communities are stuck trying to fund it themselves. Why we see great public schools on rich communities and not so great in the poverty stricken.

Oh and I wonder if those kids could even get a breakfast from the school before Michelle's program, which isn't hers but for the sake of argument, was put into affect. Seemed like a usless political jab in there since that program helps the kids he is talking about.

Schools have plenty of money. They just aren't spending it efficiently. The problem is there is only so much money can fix if the kid isn't getting the proper attention at home.

I agree, the schools can step in, but I fear they don't have the balls to do what is necessary to ensure the most disadvantaged kids are getting an education.

Any change has to happen at the elementary school level. After that, it is largely too late.

Oklahoma's an economic wreck, I swung through Tulsa just a few years ago and it's like a ghost town, I drove all across the downtown area and would notice another vehicle only every now and again, I think I only saw two people walking on the side walks in a 5 block area. Weird.

It is the same here in the UK, we have a few generations of children that where raised poorly by their parents and then any authority that could set them straight was closed out.. Hence we now have the "you can't do anthing to me anyway mate" society..

I have seen how schooling has become a tick box and the better teacher you are the more you are bullied and dragged down to the level of the status quo.

I have seen a top teacher (My ex girlfriends mum) be brought to the brink of suicide with unbelievable amounts of pressure being put on her and the bottom line was it was to force her out of the job so "cheaper" teachers could be brought in mostly from overseas who where friends of the new head (she also won her tribunal regarding her situation). She has since gone on to emigrate and now works in a private school in the west indies and loves the job again..

The whole school system needs a revamp not just in the USA but also in the UK and no doubt further afield.

I look at the Finnish system for how it should be done and anyone that is interested in this topic would do well to look into how they educate, why other countries have not taken a similar approach is beyond me??..

www.businessinsider.com...

But then it has veen said make them smart enough to just work the machines and scared/stupid enough to never ask any questions..
...

All in, well done to him for being honest and speaking how he feels and raising some keys points, the problem for him now is that "they" do not like people in his position to speak out of turn I just hope he is not forced out of his position with some BS report into his conduct etc..

I have done a lot of sports coaching but full time teaching is a role I would not touch with a very long pole, you are damed if you do and the same if you don't. Reading reports like this makes me even more focused to home school my son when he is older..


RA

a reply to: ReadLeader

This is definitely one of the better open letters I've seen from educators, and I love that he calls out the political critters who have largely created the mess today that we call education... but when educators want to call out parents and place the blame largely at their feet, I want to scream.

Who "educated" these parents to be who they are today???

When society decided to send mom off to work, we told parents that they are not important... that parenting will take care of itself... that any live body who can ensure the child doesn't starve or freeze or run with scissors is good enough... and we doomed ourselves.

When we removed courses that taught genuine life skills and eliminated courses that taught real marketable skills, we doomed ourselves.

When we decided that education was a privilege and not a right, we doomed ourselves.

When we decided that teachers were "professionals" who didn't actually have to get the job done and that going through the motions was good enough, we doomed ourselves.

Our parents are our first and primary teachers throughout our lives. Until the day we die, the influence of our parents will remain with us -- for better and worse, whether we want it to or not. If we want to fix education, we have to fix the parents... and if we want to fix the parents, we have to fix education. It's a vicious circle that feeds on itself.

As we approach this election, there will be countless people all over the country bemoaning the stupidity of the people who will vote for our new leaders. But somehow, many of these same people are vehemently against the education system that could be -- and should be -- giving people the skills and knowhow to be responsible, productive, and valuable members of society -- both in the voting booth and in everyday life.

Pointing fingers doesn't fix anything. There's plenty of blame to go around, and we all have to do better.

a reply to: Atsbhct

OKC is just your typical hollowed out big US city. Its another pit of despair to be avoided at all costs.

a reply to: rexsblues

I had no idea it was that bad. Interesting. Fly-over-country is becoming the same hollowed out disaster that the Rust Belt became and is today. And of course the people left behind are too poor and without the resources necessary to get out. Sad really.

originally posted by: Sremmos80
a reply to: ReadLeader

People have been calling for more money in the schools for a while, but the crux of it is there are people who refuse to allow it and then the communities are stuck trying to fund it themselves. Why we see great public schools on rich communities and not so great in the poverty stricken.

Oh and I wonder if those kids could even get a breakfast from the school before Michelle's program, which isn't hers but for the sake of argument, was put into affect. Seemed like a usless political jab in there since that program helps the kids he is talking about.

Here is the thing.

More money in the schools won't fix this. Money in the school has nothing to do with stoned parents or what happens to a child when he or she leaves school grounds. Money in the schools has nothing to do with the crappy portion sizing or quality of Michelle Obama's school lunches.

Money is nothing to do with any of this.

a reply to: Boadicea

It was partially the Great Society who told many of these people that they didn't need a permanent daddy. You don't get the checks if you have a two parent household. That's why you have so many baby daddies. And it is becoming/is a generational thing.

a reply to: ketsuko

Ah yes your portion size argument where you take what an athlete needs to take in to say that all kids need that intake.
The teacher talks about funds being cut, that isn't just throwing money at it, it is about keeping what they have there. But hey let's keep spending more on our defense budget on killing terrorist.
I am not saying money will fix the patenting, but it sure as heck will give the kids a place to escape it. The kids are the change, we should foster that not try and force them back into the enviorment because the funding isn't there.

a reply to: Edumakated

It really depends on the school, schools in poverty struck areas do not.

I agree, the schools can step in, but I fear they don't have the balls to do what is necessary to ensure the most disadvantaged kids are getting an education.

Well when our teachers aren't getting paid what they should of course not. This teacher is talking about funds getting cut, that isn't about the efficiency it is getting spent. Also how do you come to the conclusion they have plenty and just need to spend it better?

If only a propaganda ad was made to show how to #savetheplanet.
Abstinence

a reply to: Sremmos80

No, I never said that. I did say that not all kids need the same portion size which IS what Michelle Obama's food rules DO say. Some kids need more and this guy's letter also says that some of the kids need more than what they get.

I feed them peanut butter crackers, beef jerky, or Pop Tarts when Michelle Obama’s school breakfast or lunch isn’t enough to fill their bellies.

But I guess this guy's compassion for his hungry students is only great when it comes in a form you approve of? The serfs should just learn how to enjoy their empty bellies because Michelle Obama is wiser than they?

Or are you upset that he is feeding them and sending them off to die early deaths because he is breaking their Michelle Obama-approved dietary restrictions.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Boadicea

It was partially the Great Society who told many of these people that they didn't need a permanent daddy. You don't get the checks if you have a two parent household. That's why you have so many baby daddies. And it is becoming/is a generational thing.

It opened the door (for abuse), but we have compounded the problem exponentially from all sides and in all directions.

At that time there were very very few never-married single mothers. The social stigma was still too great, and most babies born out of wedlock were put up for adoption. So this financial assistance was initially intended to help once-married-now-single moms who had been widowed or abandoned -- hence the one-parent requirement. And it was because we so appreciated the valuable role of the full-time parent that we wanted to maintain and invest in that status quo. Today? Pretty much the opposite.

Sure welfare and all social programs have been abused and exploited and gamed and taken advantage of. Especially by those we have elected to power. The average Joe Conman on the street owes us nothing... The many Tricky Dicks in government owe us everything.... and they are the ones who created the problem and they are the ones who can fix the problems. So who should we expect and demand most from?

originally posted by: Boadicea
a reply to: ReadLeader

This is definitely one of the better open letters I've seen from educators, and I love that he calls out the political critters who have largely created the mess today that we call education... but when educators want to call out parents and place the blame largely at their feet, I want to scream.

Who "educated" these parents to be who they are today???

When society decided to send mom off to work, we told parents that they are not important... that parenting will take care of itself... that any live body who can ensure the child doesn't starve or freeze or run with scissors is good enough... and we doomed ourselves.

When we removed courses that taught genuine life skills and eliminated courses that taught real marketable skills, we doomed ourselves.

When we decided that education was a privilege and not a right, we doomed ourselves.

When we decided that teachers were "professionals" who didn't actually have to get the job done and that going through the motions was good enough, we doomed ourselves.

Our parents are our first and primary teachers throughout our lives. Until the day we die, the influence of our parents will remain with us -- for better and worse, whether we want it to or not. If we want to fix education, we have to fix the parents... and if we want to fix the parents, we have to fix education. It's a vicious circle that feeds on itself.

As we approach this election, there will be countless people all over the country bemoaning the stupidity of the people who will vote for our new leaders. But somehow, many of these same people are vehemently against the education system that could be -- and should be -- giving people the skills and knowhow to be responsible, productive, and valuable members of society -- both in the voting booth and in everyday life.

Pointing fingers doesn't fix anything. There's plenty of blame to go around, and we all have to do better.

Exactly.

Dicipline starts at home and at a very early age. Limits need to be set in toddler years. That isn't always happening. With more mothers going out side of the home to work in low paying jobs leaving behind infants only a few weeks old to be watched by strangers, quality childcare is not available to them due to the high cost, but substandard childcare is because it is affordable. While substandard childcare is not abusive in an outright sense, it has severe consequences seldomly addressed which help create detachment and trouble in the family.

Mothers are going to work. This is seen as awesome because the general concensus is every one needs to work and do their fair shate of it. Yet when that is whittled down, If mom has a low paying job, it becomes unawesome and the general concensus is usually she is at fault she is working in a low paying job. The truth is it is not her fault. She gave birth to a beautiful life and has employment which is to be commended. On that premisis of the lie that disregatds the truth is when the crap of shame, condemnation and so forth begins to permeate the family all from outside influences that fan it in their direction.

Low cost childcare is like any public school that does not have the funds to keep the teacher to child ratio low, but more poverty stricken because it does not recieve funding like a public school. Infants up to the age of 5 are placed with strangers who cannot give them the emotional attention they need to build confidence and feel loved. Low cost childcare usually is an in-home childcare where young children are not seperated by age groups. 5 years to 1 month are developmental years that are very different. These kids are thrown in together. A 2 1/2 year old can be abusive to an 18 month old, hitting them, not sharing, having tantrums. 18 month olds can bite other babies and older kids. Kids traumatize other kids. If a childcare provider's back is turned away for a minute, s can htf in that minute. While this seems trivial it's really not. These are the ages where following rules and sharing need to be taught. Over and over and over. One more time. And over. If a child care provider can't master that, parent/s will suffer and so will their teachers once they get to public school. No low cost child care can provide that with excellence because the low cost child care they offer to the low paid working parent cannot afford to pay another adult to help them with the children. Unlicensed home day cares with just 5 kids under the age of 5, grouped all together, with one person watching, can turn into a mad house easily. The dynamics of a stay at home mom with 5 of her OWN kids is very different with kids made to watch other kids and help work in the home to spanking their children - home child care providers and institution child care centers do not provide that.

So there are masses of children, under 5, who don't see their parent/s 5 days to 7 days a week during their waking hours in daycares where the home day care provider is severely under paid. It usually works out to 2 to 3 dollars an hour in a 9 hour day for 1 child a childcare provider watches. To which this is costly but still affordable to the parent at any where from 100.00 to 150.00 a week. Because obtaining resources has been tied into money, lack of resources has a big effect on job performance. Public school teachers know this and complain they can't do their job because of it or struggle to. The same goes for the child care provider.

With the parent/s now being employed and gone from their home and the kid/s sent to strangers all on the premises of needing to make money to buy and maintain life surviving needs and trying to keep things as cheap as they can...their boss is trying to keep it cheap - low wages...parent tries to keep it cheap - cheap childcare...child care providers, who are workets too, have to undercut the parent's cheap boss with getting way below federal or state standards of minum wage per hour. The cheapened life - the "can't have but the bare minimum" to those who work, all reflected off of every adult and condoned in society, creates generations of detached families who are magnets for other drama like addiction and "baby daddy" gone because the severe lack of money doesn't allow them to cover it up, or make it better.

The kids become detached and the parent/s do. The kids become manipulative like money manipulates quality of life. The older kids can also play a certain role to obtain an advantage. They work the system just like employers work the system, just like teacher's unions work the system. Kids won't eat their wholesome oatmeal at home that mom made and threw the banana in the garbage on their way to school, then tell the teacher they didn't eat breakfast and make a sad face, then get a pop tart from the teacher. They're working it. No one knows how to be sincere or feel whole anymore. No main stream political group will address why people who work are in poverty and why there are not enough jobs for every adult American and why employers refuse to train on the job. If no one knows how to be truthful about problems or has no desire to even if they know the truth, we will keep hearing about addicts and boyfriends who don't like their girlfriend's kid and kids who don't like their parents and teachers who blame parents and parents who blame teachers. On and on.

a reply to: ketsuko

But I guess this guy's compassion for his hungry students is only great when it comes in a form you approve of

Holy twisting batman!
I love that he is feeding kids that say they are hungry, just find his jab with that point to be pointless. The program is not causing kids to go hungry, if anything it is filling the stomachs of kids that other wise would not get anything. If he wants to add to that than awesome, but he is COMPLETELY shifting the blame and making a political point where it couldn't be more off base.
And by all means show how the program isn't giving the kid what they need. I know you didn't say it in your previous post but me and you have been down this road.
They can't make the program an individual based one, they do have to work on a baseline. But this idea that this program is starving kids that would other wise get no food freaking crazy. Guess we should just get rid of it and let those kids rely only on this teacher and others like him.