On the South Carolina Teacher Shortage- Part 1

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1epKDHAWG4dtgRR3mrjM7zdWpf_Y558a-/view?usp=share_link 

     In the first of several posts (who wants to read a long one, right?), I discuss problems within the school itself.

     Discipline stands as the largest problem. That was not always the case. While I do not advocate corporal punishment, students should have a sense of dread when sent to an administrator. That is not the opportunity for them to rant about the teacher, how boring the class is, and so forth.

     Administrators are told to keep the discipline cases down. Usually, that comes from the district office or building principal. Sometimes it comes from an individual's desire to move up the ladder to something bigger and better. As a result, problems persist and learning is slowed down, perhaps even stopped for a time.

     A parent can call and demand a particular teacher be called on the carpet and made to conform to his or her needs. The student then sits smugly in class and thinks he or she has power. What I wish would happen is that the other parents contact administrators and ask why their child's learning is interrupted by one or two people acting up. 

      Teachers also need to uniformly enforce school policies. At my last school (where I was 12 years, almost half of my career)  students needed to display their IDs. If they did not have one in their first class, they needed to obtain one. When I had a student later in the day without an ID, I told them to get one no matter how many of my colleagues let them slide. At times it got tense, but usually, it did not, Were those lax colleagues told what to do? Likely, but without improvement. 

     I will close by saying that the use of phones has created a raft of problems with respect to discipline. More importantly, students lose opportunities to actually learn. In courses that have several levels *Mathematics and Wolrd languages especially), if there is not a solid basis on which to build, subsequent classes will be harder. That paves the way for remedial classes in college.