02/07/2001

Readers Talk about Kids Today

Adult experience with teens varies widely, as do their attitudes. The road to independence is full of potholes. We try to steer clear, but very few of us reach the end of that road without breaking an axle or at least blowing a tire or two! The teachers, parents and teens who can help each other avoid the axle-breakers and patch the blow-outs travel a smoother road in the end.

Reader Comments:

I've been a public school teacher for 28 years and I'm extremely proud of what we do in our schools. As a sixth grade teacher in a middle school, I see kids at what most people would say is their worst age. However, I've got nothing but praise for 99.9 percent of our kids. They're energetic, bright, and eager to please.

In a geography bee we held this week, the 12 winners of classroom competitions faced off on stage while 600 fellow students cheered them on. They answered many questions that would have puzzled me if I didn't have the answers in front of me. In the end a sixth grader (who I teach) beat out the seventh and eighth graders to win the bee.

These kids are also eager to help out any cause. Last Thanksgiving our school collected thousands of food items for baskets for area families. I've run the daffodil sales for the American Cancer Society at our school for the last 6 years. Each year the kids sell bunches of daffodils to family, friends, and neighbors. In that time we've sold over $31,000 of daffodils!

I am proud of our kids and our school. So bring on school vouchers. We're ready!

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I don't want to, but I agree with the first teacher quoted in your article. I'm not a teacher; I'm a self-employed hairdresser. But I deal with and talk to lots of kids who just do whatever they want. Many are in adult relationships, often abusive ones. They dress and wear make-up in more risqué styles than any adult I know; and they talk back to their parents, teachers, and elders in a degrading way. They do not seem to really care.

I know of a parent who always backs up her 14-year-old bully daughter. She's had lawyers in the school, so the teachers cannot even discipline this child when she truly deserves it. She was even thrown out of religion class.

I think parents are too busy making two incomes for that nice house and two cars so they can buy their kids Eddie Bauer and American Eagle, and all those expensive big name clothes. The kids are given too much freedom in their young lives; therefore they feel like they can do whatever they please.

I've started with the discipline early on. I work 25 hours a week, while my kids are in school. I take my family to church on Sundays and try to live an honest life, so they can emulate it. I help my neighbors and friends, and my husband and I love and respect one another so that we provide a united front. And I'm not afraid to tell my daughter, "I will choose your clothes or we'll compromise. I will tell you which kids are not good to be around. And I will censor their music and TV until they can make intelligent choices of their own. It's nice to be your child's friend. But don't they have enough friends and if they're lucky, only two parents? As a result, we have caring, helpful kids that their teachers enjoy and the neighbors don't complain about.

By the way, you couldn't pay me enough to be a teacher in these times! Good work and a pat on the back to all those teachers that deal with the kids all day and still go back for more!

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I retired a year ago after 35 years in education -- one year of high school teaching and 34 years at Southern Connecticut State University.

For the most part I have to agree with the first writer. Students today can not and will not do the amount of work that could be expected of students in the same courses in the 60s. They cannot read as well and they are not willing to put in as much effort. It does not matter if they come from suburban schools or inner city schools.

Some months ago I flew from Tweed to Philadelphia with a woman who teaches law students. She totally agreed.

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I am a high school student and at my high school we have a lot of students who are eager to learn! Yet, we still have cases of the modern teen (rude and loud). But, no matter what, the teachers at my school always stand by their students' sides. Even when we make mistakes the teachers let us fumble through them on our own or with their help.

I have found many wonderful teachers here and many wonderful teenagers, too. I hope the person who wrote all the negatives will take the time to reflect on what the modern teen has to deal with today: violence, gangs, drugs alcohol and domestic abuse. It is not an easy world to live in. That writer should also look into his or her past and remember what it was like to be a teenager!

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It is challenging to motivate students today. I plan to be a high school or junior high school teacher. I have heard that just lecturing to students is not enough; a teacher must appeal to the intelligences of each student. The intelligences, as defined by Thomas Armstrong in his book "Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom" are: Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical , Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal and Naturalist. Not every student learns in the same way.

Teachers must take this into account if they are to reach all the students. Learning must also be episodic. Students will remember better if you put on a demonstration for them or have them actively participate. I believe everyone wants to learn, but so many students today come from broken homes, and many have to work in addition to going to school. It definitely is a challenge.

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Interestingly, C.S. Lewis commented on this same issue in 1960, in his essay "Screwtape Proposes A Toast." It's ominous that the minions of Hell are (according to Lewis' Narrator) encouraging self-esteem as a means to damnation!

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I would like to make a comment about all the wonderful things that you mentioned about the opportunities available in the public school system. The one thing that is not mentioned is that it is extremely difficult to find a school or teacher that will go the extra mile for the student that is excelling in school. It is nearly impossible to get the teachers or the schools to do anything extra for the talented child. It seems that all the additional resources are available only to the children with learning disabilities and those who speak a different language. I think these programs are wonderful for these children, but the gifted and talented children lose out. They tend to be left behind and have to coast through the year, sitting through lessons that they already know. So they get bored. What can be done about this?

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Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.