Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s recent comments that appeared in The Advocate are absolutely correct; teachers are leaving Louisiana because of violence and a lack of discipline in Louisiana’s public schools. Southern Media & Opinion Research released a public opinion survey in July 2002 with the following results: the main problems facing classroom teachers was discipline; next was parental involvement and guess what problem finished fifth,- low salaries. Who gave us these answers? Louisiana classroom teachers! Blaming teachers for Louisiana’s poor educational attainment statistics is simplistic and wrong. Discussing the physical and verbal abuse classroom teachers face each and every day is necessary and long overdue. Good for Bobby Jindal! Very few of us can learn anything in an environment of disruption just as no business or any organization can be successful when the manager and employees are subject to verbal and physical abuse by one or more employees. A lack of money is not the problem in these failing schools but a lack of parental involvement and discipline is certainly a problem! The teachers in these failing schools are certainly not the problem; students who are disruptive day after day are definitely a problem.
Recently East Baton Rouge Parish School Board hired a firm to help in the selection of the new superintendent. They proclaim that EBR Schools needs a person with strong leadership qualities – NEWS FLASH for the EBR School Board and your consultants: what about someone who can restore discipline and respect for your teachers. Teachers are and have been leaving Louisiana for other states because they are tired of being physically and verbally abused by their students. Few whites still send their kids to public schools in EBR. East Baton Rouge Parish does have a very good school system; it is called private and parochial. Unfortunately these schools are not free, so parents have to scrimp and save for their kids to attend these schools. Good luck on getting lots of companies to move to EBR. These companies have to pay their employees the extra 15 thousand dollars a year per kid to attend a private school. The parishes surrounding East baton Parish are growing as young married couples move out of EBR for the better public schools in the surrounding parishes that are free. Does this scenario remind you of Orleans 20 years ago?
In the seventies Kelly Nix was elected Superintendent of Education (we use to elect our superintendent back then) because of his great campaign slogan; a teacher cannot teach and a child cannot learn in an environment of disruption! Today the disruption is much worse and the verbal and physical abuse is horrendous. Ten years ago students cursed their high school teachers with the MF word. Today, teachers are cursed with the MF word by first and second graders. What progress! Latest bad idea being proposed at the state level; these kids are never going to graduate based on today’s curriculum requirements, so let’s dumb down the passing requirements. What about this solution; kick these disruptive malcontent creeps out of school so teachers can educate those that are in school to get an education. WHAT – You say they will end up in prison! My response to you- of course they will, so what! Your way or my way, it makes zero difference,these malcontents will still end up quitting school before they graduate and yes they will spend lots of time in and out of our jails. At least teachers can restore order and respect in their class rooms where learning is at least possible. Then and only then will we see enrollment in Louisiana’s public schools began to increase.
In case anyone missed this statistical fact: the number of students in our private and parochial schools are increasing every year while our public school enrollment is decreasing every year. Public school enrollment is down by the tens of thousands; however the money we spend on public schools in Louisiana is increasing big time. When the EBR School Board hired the last Superintendent of schools, Baton Rouge’s so called leaders hailed her as the panacea for improvement and progress. WRONG! FACT-- as long as it is acceptable to curse our teachers and disruptclassrooms so learning is next to impossible – hiring a new superintendent is not going to make any difference what so ever. So the exodus to surrounding parishes will continue. No one has uttered one word about the lack of discipline and the abuse of these teachers during this so called search. Jindal wants to pass a law to protect our teachers from lawsuits when our teachers try and enforce order in their class rooms. Here in EBR our education officials and leaders are probably asking themselves, why is Jindal talking about discipline in the class rooms?Or maybe this question - Why do we need laws to protect out teachers? Gee, I wonder why these parents could care less who the EBR school board hires next!
I attended both Holy Cross and East Jefferson from 69-73. My last year at EJ was a joke. No discipline. Very little learning. Any student could dispupt the class, mouth off to the teacher at will, and many did. Not a good environment for learning. I've never taught, but my experience as a student is that discipline is needed in public schools. Having laws that require disruptive students to not be expelled is one problem. Written by kpf
on 12/6/2008
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