We are supposed to call poison medicine and we wonder why we're always sick.
Education is an operation of indoctrination. An apparatus of profit. If a teacher was given free rein to educate students, then the exploitative factions of commerce in the United States couldn't exist.
As a teacher, no matter what grade level, no matter how hard you try to engage the entire class or implement the suggestions above, you will still encounter “that one kid” who will get under your skin: the class clown, the smart-ass, the student who acts like you are pulling his teeth every time you ask him to do something, the kid who always has to say “this is stupid.” They are just part of the clientele base we serve and they can drive us to drinking (figuratively speaking…and sometimes literally). Please remember that you are the adult. The negativity or resistance “that one kid” radiates can be handled in a way that does not disturb the class structure.
A poorly made car, sofa, or meal can be easily returned or discarded. A poorly educated child cannot; factory recalls are not an option in education. There will never be a day when the evening newscaster announces, 'Scottsdale High School issued a product recall on the graduating class of 2012. If you currently employ a member of the class of ‘12, please return him or her to the district office for a class of ‘17 upgrade.
I went to public school up until junior high.
I like Public School and En Noir.