We’ve officially reached an all time low with respects to American education in our society.
First, my school doesn’t have a librarian. And when we did, the library wasn’t open after school.
How can we expect our students to have a focus on literacy and cultivate a passionate love affair with reading if they can’t even get books to read in the first place?!
Better yet, the power of the parent phone call is no longer an effective tool in assisting to get students to change behavior or complete assignments.
I’ve called some parents, I mean MANY parents as many as THREE times since the school year has started and there has been ZERO change in their children’s work habits and homework completion. Things have gotten so bad that I even asked the principal to come in and address my students.
Today, the day after the principal addressed my students, there was NO CHANGE again. Many students STILL didn’t have their materials and/or homework?!?
Yet again, I spent my only free time in the day designed to prepare materials to TEACH, making phone calls to parents AGAIN.
Where is the parenting?
Where is the support for the classroom teacher?
How can I focus on building curriculum, making my own copies for my FOUR preps, modifying assignments for my special education students, grading papers/projects, hanging work to enhance our classroom environment/celebrate student achievement, catch up the new students being switched into my classes every single day, AND play Dean, parent, AND THEN teacher?!
How am I impart content?
When do I get to TEACH?

Looks we should be taking cues from our pals in South Korea and Finland. But HOW do we make these changes together? All too often I see my fellow colleagues breaking school rules themselves, such as lettings kids into their classes after the tardy bell DESPITE being told not to.
Teachers are disenchanted, burned out, angry, and bitter from years of a system that has broken them down with no pay increases, apathetic leaners, defunct and/or nonexistent parenting, budget cuts, pink slips, and so much more. How do we rebuild? How do renew life into a system with no pulse? Where and how does the change begin? Help me help America before it’s too late. Or is it already too late?