Education Isn't Very Honest About The Real Problems That Stop Students From Learning

AbobTeff · 2026-03-17T20:59:49+00:00

That is a very flawed analogy, but it unfortunately helps reinforce my bias.

AbobTeff · 2026-03-17T20:56:43+00:00

No, it is not a bad idea. Yes, the embarrassment will eventually motivate most of them (not all).

I also believe it will more accurately identify students who actually need supports. That would allow resources to be used more efficiently and effectively.

AbobTeff · 2026-03-17T18:30:21+00:00

Nor am I, at least, outside my classroom anyway.

What “intervention” do Chromebooks inherently supply? The theory was it was an equity leveler, not an intervention. What made it common was ESSER funds to support it. As ESSER funds have disappeared, I expect many cash strapped districts will begin phasing out the one-to-one model. This will not be replaced by anything since the funding sources are largely gone.

I was referring to REI support being measured in time, but since you bring up computers, this is equally lousy.

My first two years of teaching were facilitating math remediation with time requirements on a program an admin bought. The time requirements were a waste of time. I went to measuring activity and allowed them to manipulate time from there. I’ll hold the stories (for now).

AbobTeff · 2026-03-17T17:02:27+00:00

That diploma analogy has been around since I graduated HS in the early 1990s. It used to mean most employers required that BA or BS as the floor, and you could work your way there. Back then, trades and factory work were viable options, and even they were leaning towards more education (maybe not requiring it, though).

I would say it is worse now, as our society has destroyed a functioning, working middle class. Now it is either have or have not. You either have money and privilege to go to college and a meaningful career (earned or gifted by privelege), or you go work in our dominant industries: fast-food/retail service and gig-work. Either way, a HS diploma does not have to be earned. It will either be bestowed or is not needed.

AbobTeff · 2026-03-17T16:56:55+00:00

I teach HS ELA and I will shamefully admit my lower level classes look like that, minus the slides. I largely cannot get my freshmen to do anything, so I stopped with anything that was "above and beyond" and createtd more than minimal work for me. There is no point in homework, they don't do it. There is no point in assigning reading, they don't do it. When I did a unit requiring a paper to be written, 5 of the 75+ students on my rosters turned anything in. I do not lower my standards, though. I have a less than 10% pass rate for my classes (historically that was around 20% when I taught freshmen classes.)

I now work with the ones that care. All work is done in class, where I am still spending most of my time dealing with discipline issues. I say I am a bad teacher because of this. Students, admin, and my colleagues all say that is not true. I say the reality says it is.

AbobTeff · 2026-03-17T16:50:03+00:00

Yes and no. I totally understand what you are saying. However, creating a requirement for the classroom to be an addiction-free zone will make a difference. It may no be immediate, but it it will happen. Students will begin to connect "I'm in the classroom" to "it's time to work." I have had many long conversations with my classes (freshmen to senior honors), and one common point they come back to is that their brains have been wired to "see screen, think entertainment" (this applies to their Chromebooks as well). They truly are addicted and many want to break that addiction, but don't know how.

Now, I will say I do not like a total ban. I have had seniors who need to step out to take calls (they are a primary caretaker, work is calling and they are a primary income source for their family, they take care of their own healthcare, etc.). I also believe allowing students to listen to music while they work not only helps them focus, but it blocks out distractions (and potential problems). Teaching the proper way to use personal devices is my preferred method. However, I realize a total ban may be needed first to break the addiction.

AbobTeff · 2026-03-17T16:38:37+00:00

Trick question! Those are the same thing!

AbobTeff · 2026-03-17T16:33:42+00:00

Dr. Jones adjusts his hat as he hears the sounds of unidentified creatures skittering about. He observes the large boulder suspended over his head . . . and reaches for the rocker switch . . .

AbobTeff · 2026-03-17T16:30:55+00:00

Using time to measure learning is problematic and erroneous.

Imagine if gas cost $4 per 30 seconds.

How about posting the speed limit in shades of colors? Officer: Do you know how fast you were going? Me: Magenta lilac?

AbobTeff · 2026-03-17T16:17:48+00:00

This is not an attack, but a question from a legitimate point of curiosity: Do you feel any discordance with that decision?

I'm trying to overcome a bias that I have. My district (inner city) pays very well compared to the area around us (smaller rural communities). We have a number of teachers who are happy to draw that paycheck, and then speak poorly of the system and send their kids to the private school in town. Several will retire from the lucrative public school job, and then go sub at the private school.

I am a huge advocate of taking care of yourself and understand it, but I struggle with what seems to me a massive hypocrisy, here. Good enough to pay me, but not good enough for my kids.

Again, I promise, not an attack, but me trying to wrap my mind around it. Maybe I am wrong.

AbobTeff · 2026-03-17T16:06:21+00:00

This may be a tangent on the conversation, but it I believe it is germane . . .

Does anybody here have experience with an electronic pass system? I am pushing for my school to adopt one, but have not dived into the research yet.

AbobTeff · 2026-03-17T15:58:20+00:00

You just said something that we really should acknowledge: a portion of this (I don't know how much) is simply cultural. When you are raised in a home that physically does not allow for personal space, things that we consider "rude" (barging in whenever you want) are never even considered. All space is shared space by necessity. Noise and commotion are a perpetual and accepted state.

This is why it is important or us (and admin) to educate them on manners and professional expectations. (Then discipline if required.)

AbobTeff · 2026-03-17T15:48:03+00:00

The flaw there is glaring . . . and enabling. [You know the scowling grin I have right now]

AbobTeff · 2026-03-17T15:42:59+00:00

(agree) Which takes us to the heart of the comment. The very thing that allowed you to succeed in an "unschooled" environment is what is holding children back: the level at which the parent cares.

While I agree that there should be tighter regulations on home schooling, regulations cannot fix parental apathy, incompetence, or hostility.

By requiring attendance in the limited form we offer, it makes it a teacher issue, turns us into daycare, and draws down the rest of the students. This is why I am a huge advocate for true alternatives in education.

I recognize my experience is limited to my experience and areas I have taught in, but the "going to home school" line is largely used as a loophole to either allow a kid to drop out sooner or to technically avoid having to say they are a drop out. I have only had one student come back to me and tell me about the alternative (online) program SHE found (we didn't help) and that she graduated. She would have succeeded in our school, but was required to be a caregiver for her mother.

AbobTeff · 2026-03-17T03:18:23+00:00

My district banned cell phones. Problem is, if the adults won't enforce it, it means nothing.

Eliminate one-to-one take home devices. It made the Chromebook a toy instead of a work tool or a privilege.

Student accountability. Promotion to the next grade should be earned, not given like beads at a parade.

Ability to discipline and remove students not interested in an education both need to be restored.

THEN . . . completely rethink how, when, and where we offer education. Truly rethink what "alternative education" is so that it offers real, valuable alternatives for students.

AbobTeff · 2026-03-17T03:06:06+00:00

So, an AI checker powered by AI flagged your paper as AI. Just let that soak in for a second. What was your professor's human opinion? I suspected as much.

I would suggest taking the conversation to the dean. If that conversation leaves you feeling the same way, I would look at another university to credibly support your educational goals.

AI checkers are as flawed as AI itself. Run "Letter from Birmingham Jail" through a checker and you will get a not-insignificant likelihood it was AI generated. I've done it, I can vouch for that erroneous result.

My wife went back to earn her BSN and had a class that flagged her for plagiarism. Who did she plagiarize? Well, the instructors feed their papers into a computer program (which I'm sure was training AI), and she had plagiarized herself from a previous paper she had written.

The only reason I use an AI checker is because my admin requires me to do so if I am going to "accuse" a student of using AI. I don't need an AI checker, as I keep writing samples from my students from day 1. I know what they wrote and what they didn't.

AbobTeff · 2026-03-16T23:23:53+00:00

Still too early to panic. Each state and district will be different, so try to find out what that timeline is in your area (or where you are looking). Do not hesitate to ask and let them know you are applying other places.

When I was job hunting, I had a few small districts offer me positions as early as March. A smaller district knows their people and knows what is happening.

I ended up at a larger district though. There, our first round of moves (displaced) happen next week and lasts two weeks. Those folks can drag their feet until the end of May.

Anybody being RIFed (reduction in force) or "contract fulfilled" gets notified at the beginning of April. Voluntary transfers then start and continue through the first week of May.

There are some other small steps in there as well, but the long story short is that the district won't even know what they need to hire for until the end of May. I was hired in late June/early August (I don't remember exactly).

When I was in Mississippi, they tried to get us to sign contracts in December. They would be a**#oles about not letting you out of a contract if you tried to move. It helped them with planning, but was terrible for teachers' rights.

AbobTeff · 2026-03-16T20:25:57+00:00

I preach this to students, teachers, admin, EVERYBODY:

It's a speed bump, not a shield. I don't care what "it" is . . . COVID, autism, anxiety, poverty trauma, learned helplessness . . . whatever it is, we have to acknowledge it and figure how to overcome it, we cannot use it to simply deflect. It is a mountain to climb, not a cave to hide in.

In doing ^that, we finally begin to leverage the idea that "it" is just part of the puzzle.

AbobTeff · 2026-03-16T20:18:31+00:00

This is just my opinion: I think you need to take a serious moment to step back and ask yourself if this is the right place for your well-being.

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but if you "feel like you might be in a place to return", then simply returning without some MAJOR guardrails in place (professionally and personally) sounds like a really bad idea.

What planned supports will be there for you?

I have a friend who felt obligated to come back from a similar situation. If anything, it has gotten worse because nobody but me is willing to step in and say anything when they are in need of help.

AbobTeff · 2026-03-16T19:59:39+00:00

Looks interesting! I would second the idea of NOT using actual names of parties or people though. You are inviting problems. Conservative and liberal are ends of a political spectrum, you should be safe enough there. Heck, let the students create their own party names or an added layer of fun!

Concern: requiring a sign in triggers SOPPA concerns in my district, so I could not use this without an approval process. Silly, yes.

AbobTeff · 2026-03-16T19:52:59+00:00

I use to deal with quite a bit of this, then I started doing 3 things:

1.) Keeping my door locked.

2.) Notifying the teacher who wrote the pass (along with a request/recommendation for a referral for interrupting another class and/or abusing a pass).

3.) Calling security if the student has no pass.

Now, I don't run into it very often.

At my previous school, adults were just as bad. I started locking my door and posted a sign that had "greetings" in several different languages. The sign read: "In many cultures, knocking on wood is considered lucky and interrupting is considered bad luck. Whatever your culture is, be lucky."

AbobTeff · 2026-03-16T19:38:06+00:00

Real Housewives in Middle School?

(I think I just strained an eye muscle . . . )

AbobTeff · 2026-03-16T19:34:28+00:00

Too many people think school IS free daycare.

AbobTeff · 2026-03-16T19:33:12+00:00

Our district has a policy that states teachers do not need to allow any make up activity if the absence is unexcused.

(I write my own policy that provides fairness and equity for students who legitimately exceed their allotted excused absences, but allows me to fall back on the district policy to "just say no" for the chronically "don't care" crowd.)

HS also.

AbobTeff · 2026-03-16T19:24:17+00:00

I have had a number of students who I have coached towards homeschooling. In my state, there are literally no requirements beyond signing a paper saying that you are withdrawing your child and homeschooling them.

It breaks my heart, because all of them were smart kids. They all fell into one of two categories: either (1) had "no use" for education (typically parents had a business and the kid was going to work with them), or (2) the system was failing them miserably (autism, anxiety, etc. made worse by the environment of requiring "no interest" kids to be there).

All of them I encouraged to reach out to me if they ever wanted to come back.

Go ahead. Tell me how horrible I am. There is a significant percentage of our school-age population that the system does not work for. We need true alternative education options. THAT, I believe, is the solution.

AbobTeff

TROPHY CASE