Oh, Matt Damon

[Biojex]

____ing finally. Matt Damon just got a free pass in my book. It's amazing how many misconceptions there are about teachers, especially when they seemed to be Public Enemy #1 during that whole Wisconsin thing it's refreshing to see him call it like it is. Long hours, ____ty pay, heavy passion. Despite what movies show as farce or what people think, this job is ____ed up.

The kids don't give a ____, they dare you to make them learn for the most part to the point where one or two kids who are actually engaged and love to learn brightens your whole damned day. The parents are clueless and expect you not only to play teacher but psychologist, surrogate caregiver, best friend, big brother and pay full attention to their little hellion and ignore the other 29 kids in the room, not to mention be at their beckon call and on top of it force knowledge into the kid's head by telepathy since they don't want to and aren't forced to do a damn thing.

Don't get me started on the administration who have their heads so far up the district board member's *****, I have to ask one to fart to get an answer from my principal and the board which wants you do to 200% more with 200% less resources and completely believes that the Cost of Living Increase you received 6 years ago should be more than enough to make it in this economy and we should be thankful for it.

It's no hidden agenda that when budget cuts happen they hit the schools first yet we are the first ones to be blamed when ____ goes wrong. Are there bad teachers? Absolutely but in most schools I would imagine you can call out the one or two teachers by name hiding behind tenure and the rest are just fine. There was a time where teachers went through the system and ____ed it up for the rest of us but a lot of those worthless _____es are retired and yet we still pay for sins of the father. The 1999 Standards movement and the NCLB act had a lot of them pulling early pensions and running.

Why do we do it? Because most teachers love it. We get right into the trenches and deal with all this bull____ because those teachers will tell you that the one kid, the one kid who learned something from you and is appreciative really wipes away all the other ____s who make your day a living hell. Trust me, when I stop loving this job and once it stops being fun I'm out, tenure or no tenure.

I was going to say a few words...However you said it better than I would have.

 

[Nuka Cola Kidd]

Yeah, I love his response. But what I left out was the other video of the next reporters questions on the debt crisis and other political stuff, and well with his answer for that I would love to punch him in the face.

 

[karamazov80]

That interviewer is a douche, IMO.

 

[fosing]

That interviewer is a douche, IMO.

about 10% of the interviewers are.

 

[jonny88]

I don't see what's wrong with a single word he says. Teachers, nowadays, are superheroes, for the most part. They have to deal with the byproduct of failed parenting on the daily basis and when you have a lump of ____ who sits in a classroom all day, who's rude and disruptive, with no incentive to learn and parents who don't care if said lump of ____ does any homework, etc, and blame the school because their kid can't be bothered to do any work toward learning, the teachers take the rap for it.

teachers have hard jobs and he is right they get crap pay. right now in the US many schools are under funded and these teachers are having more pressure on them then ever. l agree there are a decent percent of bad teachers. through school l had really good teachers and stupid teachers who couldn't explain how to fry an egg, but he is right a teacher wouldn't do it for crappy pay unless that's what they really wanted to do. kids are lazy today and would rather smoke pot and play video games then doing homework and the parents blame the teachers their kids didn't do their homework.

 

[BuffyGirl]

I don't see what's wrong with a single word he says. Teachers, nowadays, are superheroes, for the most part. They have to deal with the byproduct of failed parenting on the daily basis and when you have a lump of ____ who sits in a classroom all day, who's rude and disruptive, with no incentive to learn and parents who don't care if said lump of ____ does any homework, etc, and blame the school because their kid can't be bothered to do any work toward learning, the teachers take the rap for it.

I honestly couldn't agree with you more Nam.

 

[ChrisCJ99]

Bravo

 

[floppy hat jon]

____ing finally. Matt Damon just got a free pass in my book. It's amazing how many misconceptions there are about teachers, especially when they seemed to be Public Enemy #1 during that whole Wisconsin thing it's refreshing to see him call it like it is. Long hours, ____ty pay, heavy passion. Despite what movies show as farce or what people think, this job is ____ed up.

The kids don't give a ____, they dare you to make them learn for the most part to the point where one or two kids who are actually engaged and love to learn brightens your whole damned day. The parents are clueless and expect you not only to play teacher but psychologist, surrogate caregiver, best friend, big brother and pay full attention to their little hellion and ignore the other 29 kids in the room, not to mention be at their beckon call and on top of it force knowledge into the kid's head by telepathy since they don't want to and aren't forced to do a damn thing.

Don't get me started on the administration who have their heads so far up the district board member's *****, I have to ask one to fart to get an answer from my principal and the board which wants you do to 200% more with 200% less resources and completely believes that the Cost of Living Increase you received 6 years ago should be more than enough to make it in this economy and we should be thankful for it.

It's no hidden agenda that when budget cuts happen they hit the schools first yet we are the first ones to be blamed when ____ goes wrong. Are there bad teachers? Absolutely but in most schools I would imagine you can call out the one or two teachers by name hiding behind tenure and the rest are just fine. There was a time where teachers went through the system and ____ed it up for the rest of us but a lot of those worthless _____es are retired and yet we still pay for sins of the father. The 1999 Standards movement and the NCLB act had a lot of them pulling early pensions and running.

Why do we do it? Because most teachers love it. We get right into the trenches and deal with all this bull____ because those teachers will tell you that the one kid, the one kid who learned something from you and is appreciative really wipes away all the other ____s who make your day a living hell. Trust me, when I stop loving this job and once it stops being fun I'm out, tenure or no tenure.

Yes, here in New Jersey, teachers have also been made into public enemy #1. I'm not a teacher but I have several friends who are and I'm a firm believer in public schools. There are those of us out there that are thankful for what you do.

 

[ArmoredFoe]

Many great valid points here. My wife is a teacher and some of the stories she comes home with beleive me...just listening to her stories get me stressed out. Not to mention consider Florida law that your pay is taken into affect on how many kids pass state tests. So you could have a whole class of losers who dont care do horrible on state exams and they come to her asking why and take it out on her pay check...now thats bull ____. She teaches 2nd grade so its not to bad, but at the same time some of the stories she comes home with about 2nd graders I cant beleive sometimes.

Its funny because shes gotten to a point where she plays a little game and kinda mentally marks the kids she thinks will end up in jail. She says the parents dont care and the kids dont want to be their. So how is she supposed to teach a kid that doesnt want to be there. I consider my wife one of the good ones.

You guys should watch that documentary called Waiting for Superman. Interesting look at the inner workings of public school system and the politics involved...its a mess

 

[Deak Starkiller]

about 10% of the interviewers are.

That's funny.

 

[FQRizzo]

Still loving the 3rd grade honor student comment.

 

[karamazov80]

I work with a school social work researcher who told me recently that some researchers were able to predict kids who would end up incarcerated by the time they reach age 3 with a great deal of accuracy. Sad, but when the deck is stacked against you from the get-go, prospects can be pretty dim.

 

[ProgMatinee]

I think teachers themselves usually have good intentions. Just like doctors do. But the whole system behind them has ruined both institutions.

Matt Damon makes an awesome point about the media, who project whatever their thoughts are on something and presume that the audience must agree with them.

 

[DarthNeil]

Roughly three more weeks and then back at it. Thanks Matt.

 

[jonny88]

schools are going down hill. l heard there was debate in the US or in certain states about shortning the school week to 4 days a week. have'nt heard anything about that for a while but there was talk about that. very bad idea.

 

[karamazov80]

Some school systems already do that.

 

[The Mike]

They could make it 4 days, longer hours, shorten summers, none of that will matter because the structure has so many cracks within it that needs focused attention. You can have the best teachers, best instructors, best intentions if the parents at home don't give a ____ what the kid does and doesn't support the teacher and the learning going on, it doesn't mean crap. They receive top notch instruction that goes in one ear and out the other.

Teachers may need restructuring in the eyes of some but so do the Administration staffs, School Board structures, Parental involvements, Supports for kids who are not performing at grade level and creating a change in public consciousness. Right now the majority of the public treats it like if the kids don't learn it's the teacher's fault but there are so many other factors ignored, it's a kin to sticking your head in the sand to ignore the problem.

There is no way that a sweeping, generalized policy will ever fix the education structure no matter what the politicians want to preach.

 

[jonny88]

Some school systems already do that.

really. why? is there a reason for that. seems like a horrible idea. these kids need as much education a s they can get. taking one day away is kind of going backwards. do they have more hours at school or is everything the same as before, just one day less.

 

[The Mike]

There is research both ways. There are schools in Half Moon Bay (about 60 miles from me) who have tried to do away with homework for grades K-8. Teachers would not be allowed to assign even one page because studies show that kids are becoming too overstressed on a nightly basis. This plan to limit the number of days a week comes from that kind of thinking but their school years are longer because they have to make up the time. In the 7 years of teaching I've heard everything from shortened school days but also shortened summers, to longer school days to longer summers, to less days but longer hours to a mix of plans in between. What happens is that it gets caught up in committee so much that nothing changes. Our school district has had the same hours, holidays and schedule as it has had 20 years ago.

 

[jonny88]

pressure on kids is a good thing. we can't pamper them. then when it comes to getting a real job they will not be able to handle the stresses. when l was in school everyday we had homework. lots or a little depending on the teacher. rarely did l have a night of no homework. l just hope the next generation of kids aren't sorry to say stupid because school was made easy for them and they never learned much. there was a thing on the news not long ago about teachers passing kids on tests even though they didn't pass the exam. that's not good.