Sisterhood...

Well, I have been upset by something in the media. I want to talk about these third-graders in Waycross, GA, that were planning to hurt their teacher because she "scolded" one of them for standing on a chair. No, she didn't slap or hit one, she scolded one for standing on a chair! I am sure that she was trying to keep the child from hurting him or herself. And what is her reward for doing her job? A murder plot.

What kind of world do we live in where eight and nine-year-olds come up with something like this? Why didn't their parents notice that they were leaving the house with the family knives and duct tape? I just don't get it. Bush is asking us to leave no child behind. Admirable, yes, but realistic, no. What can teachers (who only have these children after they have been with their parents for a few developmentally important years) do with children like these? What? What? But these are the children that will be sitting next to my baby in class because of inclusion. Don't get me wrong. I know that there are many children that are mislabeled and placed in special education classes, and I am more than willing to help those that are going to do the right thing, but there are some children, God bless them, that wouldn't do the right thing for money. These children have been so corrupted by home, TV, or whatever, that they do not value their own lives much less any one else's. I cannot take a 14 year old that has already decided to drop out and make him love school. I can try to offer incentives, extra credit, unconditional love, and all of the patience in the world, but sometimes that doesn't amount to anything if they have already decided that they don't want or can't get an education. If their parents have been telling them that they are stupid for 14 years, eight months of "you are wonderful" may be too late.

I know that this probably sounds negative to many of you. To that I say, teach ninth graders for nine years and then tell me what you think...