Monday, March 10, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
I asked a student, who had not turned in an assignment in more than 10 weeks, "Why do you come to school if you're not going to do the work? If you're not going to work, why be here?" Education is what we do here. Why would a person come to a place of learning and not participate?
If I took my own children to a buffet and they did not eat, I would ask why. We go to a buffet to eat and school to learn. Logic. I just wanted to know the reason for this unusual behavior.
Instead, I learned that the inmates are one step closer to running the asylum. The non-productive, disruptive student can call me names and use profanity in my classroom with out serious consequences, while I am reprimanded for "making inappropriate comments" and not "maintaining a professional demeanor." On the face of it, this is laughably ridiculous. As a part of our current educational problems, it is no laughing matter. It is typical of what's going on in schools all over this country today.
The memo further reminded me that I have the "responsibility and authority to maintain an atmosphere conducive to the learning environment." I am well aware of my responsibilities. I have been carrying them out for more than 30 years. I would disagree that teachers have any authority to alter the environment. If we did, we would be able to remove disruptive students. Our authority has decreased rapidly in the last three decades. This type of situation aids in the erosion of respect for classroom teachers.
I am close enough to retirement to take this sort of farcical situation with a grain of salt. I feel sorry for our younger teachers. And those students who are here to learn.
Paul Yohnka
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