Teaching is tough... which is why I am not a teacher.

If you know me, you know I have some issues with what's offered as a formal education in our public schools.

I don't hate schools, I don't hate the people who work there and although I think the whole assembly line education thing does children a disservice, I can't do a whole lot about it.

But there are some children who, to put it simply, are just not cut out for public education. Sitting still at a desk, being quiet, not fidgeting, not speaking out of turn, keeping one's hands off other people... there are some kids who just aren't good at those things.

I usually don't blame the child, although there are some with better manners than others. I blame the environment quite a lot. Children aren't wired to sit still and/or learn according to the current educational model. And I don't know about the school nearest you, but the classrooms in our school are overcrowded and there are simply too many children in each class for the teacher to be effective.

One of the little guys I have in my program is just bored silly in first grade. He's reading far above the level of things being offered to him in his classroom, and doesn't want to fill out phonics worksheets or sound out little words. He certainly doesn't need to do those things, he's already far ahead of most of his age mates.

I have had several conversations with his mom regarding homeschooling (she brought it up first... I'm not trying to subvert people) and she would really like to try homeschooling him. There are many reasons why that will never happen, and I understand them, but he would just be so much better off outside the institution.

I have another little guy who has all kinds of issues. Last week I received a phone call from his teacher at the end of the school day. She wanted me to know that he was staying after school to do SOMETHING, as what he'd done all day long was basically wander around the room and refuse to do anything she assigned to him. She said that he needed some accountability, and wanted to keep him for about 45 minutes to work with him one on one. She had obtained permission from his mom to do so.

He's another one that doesn't belong in school. I'm not qualified to diagnose him, but I am capable of observation. He is possibly on the autism spectrum, socially awkward and not good at picking up on any sort of non-verbal cue. In addition, even when directly spoken to, he usually gives no indication that he's heard what was said. It's almost impossible to change his focus. If he's involved in something, even something that might get him in trouble, just talking to him isn't enough. I have to go over and physically touch him on the shoulder or back to get his attention. I don't mind doing it, which is a good thing, because I'd be yelling across the room a lot for no reason if I didn't. :)

Having a child like that in a classroom with 30 other kids must be a terrible load on a teacher. I happen to know that she has three children in her class that take a large percentage of her attention. It strikes me as unfair to the other kids, the ones who aren't high maintenance. They have to wait for the teacher to have time for them, and she's awfully busy, that's all.

What I do is so easy compared to what a classroom teacher has to do. I am not required to teach the children anything, although we have all sorts of learning opportunities. They're not required to sit and pay attention much, either. We do have the occasional conference time, where we all gather and discuss upcoming events or specific issues, and I expect them to listen/contribute if they want to then. If they want to have a snack at snack time, I expect them to wash their hands. When we sit and read for 20 minutes, I expect them to get a book and at least hold it quietly, but I can't make them read it. It's enough if they're not disrupting everyone else's reading.

Most of the time, though, they have control over how they spend their time with me. I don't have the pressure to make sure they can pass tests, stand in line quietly, do their math/reading/spelling/social studies projects.

It's been a long time since I was stuck in a public school classroom.

I actually considered being a teacher at one time.
I'm glad I didn't.