Two ridiculous, atrocious, insulting, and clearly left-wing-radical ideas were put into the media spotlight this week, both on the subject of our dear children.
The first idea is to pay children to go to school.
The second idea is to pay the parents of kids who are injured while committing crimes.
What the hell is wrong with the world?
Poor, poor Sisyphus.
Sisyphus, of Greek mythology fame, was punished by the gods for believing and acting as if his cleverness surpassed that of Zeus. His punishment has to rank among the most frustrating of all time.
Sisyphus was forced to push a giant boulder up a steep hill, but before he could reach the top of the hill, the boulder would always roll back down to the bottom, forcing him to begin the labourious and physically demanding task all over again.
Sisyphus was made to repeat this task for all of eternity.
As frustrating as this is, I would imagine being a public school teacher in Toronto’s 2010 likely surpasses this.
My sister is a high school teacher, and I have no clue how she does it.
“Kids today” get away with almost anything of their choosing, and being a teacher seems to be a thankless, useless, and utterly pointless task.
Much has changed in the education system since many of us last sat in a public school classroom.
I recall being in Grade-10 French class and trying to hand in an assignment that was two days late. We had been given the assignment on a Monday, and since I had soccer practice that evening, I was unable to complete the assignment. Don’t get me wrong – I was a total nerd in high school, and I spent 4-6PM and then 7-10PM in my room every night doing homework but for some reason, this particular French assignment slipped through the cracks.
On the Wednesday, I handed it in to Ms. Clarkson, and she said, “I’m sorry David, but this was due yesterday. You get zero.”
That’s the way things used to work.
Do you know that in today’s Toronto, teachers are not allowed to deduct marks for handing in work late?
What’s to stop a kid from waiting until the assignments are handed back and then copying his friend’s and handing that in?
Nothing.
I have dinner with my sister and my mother every so often; the former is a current teacher and the latter is a retired teacher. As frustrating as it is for me to listen to my sister’s stories about socialism run-amuck, I can’t imagine how frustrating it is to experience all that she does on a daily, weekly, or yearly basis inside a high school.
Last year, a student of hers received a mark of 14% in “Family Studies.”
Yes – 14%. That’s a fail, in case you didn’t know.
But the “guidance counselors” downstairs, who are the kids’ shoulders to cry/complain on, act as the go-between for kids and teachers.
Picture my sister sitting at home one night after a long day of work, and receiving a phone call from “Bob the guidance counselors,” who is likely a raging socialist.
Bob tells my sister, “Ms. Fleming, I notice that Jane received a mark of 14% in your class this semester.”
My sister, already aware of the conversation that is about to take place, replies, “Yes, yes she did.”
Bob then asks, “Ms. Fleming, is there anything that Jane can do to improve her mark to a satisfactory passing grade?”
My sister takes a bite out of her apple a la Brad Pitt in Fight Club, and chewing into the phone says, “Well, why doesn’t Jane try and look up Doc Brown and Marty McFly and see if she can borrow their Delorian – then travel through time and go back to the start of the year, come to my classes, and actually do work!”
The socialist guidance counselor responds, “Ms. Fleming, your response is rather disappointing…”
The guidance counselors ask the teachers to create “extra credit assignments” so that the students can “raise their grades” and pass the class.
I think they’re missing the point.
If students go to class and actually do work then they have a chance to pass the class. But how is it fair (not that anything is fair anymore…) to expect a teacher to “create” more assignments in June/July so a student can pass a class that she never went to in the first place?
This clever practice is called “credit resuscitation.” Apparently, those in charge feel that students should be able to breathe life into their dying chances at passing a course, no matter how bad their marks are. Yes, credit resuscitation.
What kind of system are we running here?
Or rather, I should ask, “What kind of system are the students running here?” Because it’s pretty obvious that the students are running the show.
I’ve been coaching kids baseball for the past five years and many of my former players have gone off to University.
I talked to one kid this past summer who attended University of Western, and I asked him how he liked first-year.
He talked about the parties and the drinking like it was his God-given right, but when he talked about the actual school itself he said,”Man, it’s such bullshit! Like so many goddam rules and stuff! They try and make everything like right down to a point like when everything needs to take place like it’s the army or something!”
To translate from moronic kid-speak, he was complaining about “due dates” and the fact that an assignment “due” on February 12th was expected to be handed in on February 12th.
I pity the legion of kids that get breast-fed through high school only to find that life isn’t the same in University.
Tenured professors aren’t going to subscribe to the same watered-down expectations that guidance counselors have helped instill throughout high school.
Over the past decade, students have been passed through high school without doing any real work.
Reports surfaced last month claiming, “HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT RATES DOWN BY HALF OVER PAST 20 YEARS.”
Of course they are! Why would anybody drop out when they can not go to class, not hand in assignments, not do any work, and still pass after undergoing “credit resuscitation?”
(click HERE for the article)
As shocked and dismayed at the state of our public school system, I never thought I’d see the two articles which were published this week.
How about this idea:
“In a bid to help its neediest students, Toronto’s public school board will examine the idea of paying them to attend school, get good grades, and spend time mentoring others.”
Really?
Is this what my tax dollars are going towards?
Why did I work so hard through high school and university? Why am I working 70 hours per week at thirty-years-old and paying taxes so that we can pay kids to go to school?
When I was in high school, my motivation came from within. I wanted to do well, for a number of reasons.
Fear has long been a great motivator!
Recall your teachers who said, “If you don’t work hard and get good grades, you’ll be flipping burgers!”
That ideology no longer applies. Not when you can skip class and not hand in assignments yet still pass, and certainly not when you are being PAID TO ATTEND SCHOOL.
Yes, thanks for this idea go to bleeding-heart Chris Spence, who also suggested that we should allow kids to chew gum in class and use their cell-phones.
Chris Spence demonstrates the art of enabling at its finest. Nowhere in our society is there a person more ready to enable, coddle, spoon-feed, and cave to the demands of students.
If you think I’m glossing over the finer points of the article about paying kids to attend school, it’s because I am. I don’t need to read any more than what is written above to know this idea is pathetic and insulting. But for those of you that want to see the statistics about kids being paid $2 for each book they read, then click HERE.
Just don’t skip over the part about the Barrie high school principal who banned homework…
The second article to come out this week that shows you how utterly confused we’ve become as a society.
“A Commons committee is recommending Parliament pass a Bloc Quebecois bill that could see parents paid up to two years of leave and one year of employment insurance payments if their children are injured while committing a crime.”
Dear God.
Please tell me that this article appeared in the National Enquirer or something…
(click HERE for the article)
So let me get this straight – if a kid is busy beating an old man in the head with a hammer, and he accidentally hits his own foot with the hammer just before he takes the old man’s wallet and leaves him to die, then that kid’s parents are going to be financially compensated?
That makes PERFECT sense!
The sponsor of the bill argues, “If a child makes a mistake, should the parents be the ones to pay?”
That’s a rhetorical question to which I’m sure she would continue, “No, it’s the tax-payers that should pay!”
But with this idea comes the notion that not only are we letting the child-criminals off the hook, but also their parents. Whatever happened to the idea of “parenting?” How about instilling some values in your kids?
Yesterday afternoon at Tim Hortons, a cute little old lady got her coffee and looked around for some place to sit. She was probably 85-years-old and her only outing of the day is her Tims coffee.
There were kids everywhere, and I noticed a couple kids sitting at two 2-top tables that were pushed together, and had their bags and skateboards on the seats.
I approached the old lady and said, “Excuse me, maam, I’m sure these young men are able-bodied enough to drink their ice-caps at a single table and they’d be more than happy to let you sit down.”
One of these twelve-year-old kids, who likely attends Hodgeson Public School, said, “I ain’t giving up my fucking seat for nobody!”
Rather than point out that his double-negative meant that he would give up his seat, I casually threw his bag and skateboard onto the floor and pulled the table out. I then helped the nice old lady into her chair. The kids had to settle for sharing one of the 2-top tables.
What is wrong with the world?
We’ve allowed “children’s rights” to spiral out of control.
Are parents truly so afraid of seeming “un-cool” that they’ve raised a generation of kids who think it’s their right to skip school to play video games and then complain when they fail?
And what should we expect moving forward now that they’re aware of the idea that we’re going to pay them to go to school!
Kids have no fear, let alone respect.
And we are to blame for the entire mess. We’re the ones who put the system in place, and we’re the ones who “parent.”
Of course, I’m not. I’m 30-years-old and I have no kids.
But I’d like to think that my child won’t take up two tables in Tim Hortons so an old lady can’t sit down.
I’d like to think that my child won’t get a mark of 14% in his class and then hustle a guidance counselor to get him a passing grade.
I’d like to think that my child will want to succeed because he’s motivated and interested in learning.
And for the love of God – if my child ever robs a bank and hurts his hand in the process, you won’t see me lining up for financial compensation.
The two articles that surfaced this week have taken away whatever hope I had left of an eventual return to some sort of normalcy.
Although in a complete twist of irony, what if BOTH these ideas applied in the same case?
What if a child was on his way to school to pick up his cheque for $20 (that he was paid to read Lord of the Flies), and along the way he injures himself while robbing a convenience store. Will he get the $20 AND some money for being hurt while committing a crime?
What a terrible, terrible week to be a part of society…
Danimal
at 9:41 am
“Kids these days – with their portable music machines and baggy dungarees…using the lord’s name in vain and putting god knows what who knows where”
“Why back in my day we used to write our exams while plowing a field and churning butter…and we had to carve our own pencils…out of the thickest oak…from trees we chopped ourselves…on the coldest day of winter…without a coat on”
Princess Clara
at 1:23 pm
Sisyphus hm? Breeding existentialism on the toronto realty blog now? 😉
While I don’t agree with the news articles about paying children to go
to school, I don’t agree with you either. You compared the job of the
teacher to Sisyphus, now try comparing it to the students.
Your entire argument is that kids are so spoon fed and lazy that they
don’t have a desire to learn anymore because they can just sit at home
and play video games instead. Sorry David, but when did you finish
high school? ..Maybe when you were in high school everyone was eager to
learn when they showed up at 8:30 but nowadays your right, they arnt.
But it’s not because of the new Call of duty game that came out last
week.. It’s because of the teachers and the school system.
I understand that children have to do their part, which in this case
is showing up to class and doing homework. But what’s the teachers part?
The teacher holds the responsibility of motivating the class with
interesting work, promoting creativity and logical thought, while helping
students learn new skills and become more knowledgeable. How many
teachers successfully do this? In my experience, I had 3 teachers in
high school that did this. Only 3.
Which brings me back to Sisyphus.. Sisyphus is the fundamental
principal of existentialism. He pushes the rock up the hill, it rolls
down, he starts over… sort of like the view point of an
existentialist on life. Why do anything if your just gonna die? Why continue pushing the rock just to have it roll back down the hill… Nowadays this is how school is for a child. In
high school, I can’t even count the amount of assignments I handed in
that were lost by teachers, the amount that they thought were
plagurised due to the fact that unlike my classmates, I could form a
coherant sentence, or the amount of assignments that I did that I never
received back from the teacher because they were too lazy to mark them.
You wanna talk about rolling rocks up hills… What about those of us
who do put in the time and effort, only to have it mean nothing
because of a drunk English teacher who consistantly misplaces assignments? Under your terms about the “good ol days” when school was lollypops and rainbows, in this scenario, the student would receive a zero for the teachers mistake. Is that ethical? Is that right? Would that satisfy you?
When it comes to school – its something everyone has to complete.. and the obvious reason that keeps students from going all exestentialist and quitting at the age of 12 is pride, and dignity. You have to live with yourself. And do you really want to be “that guy” that couldnt get through school?
Like I said, paying students to go to school isnt the answer. But just think for a moment. You brought up that you didnt want your tax dollars going towards something like that. Well – consider that your tax dollars are being used to hire teachers that have no pride in what they do and just dont care enough to come in every morning and TEACH something.. for once. And I know what your gonna say.. teachers dont teach because students are unmotivated.. etc etc.. circular argument.. but considering that teachers are the ones being paid to do this, and not students.. they should be the motivating force, and they should be the ones driving students to do their best. Not the other way around.
How about instead of paying students, they take that money and hire
competant teachers, vice principals, etc. I think that would have a better effect on the students than paying them to go out and buy a new video game that they can skip school to play…
Kyle
at 1:50 pm
Back in the day they also had a saying that could be applied in these situations, ” You’re only hurting yourself”. At the end of the day school is about learning, not about grades. Smart kids will realize that taking easy outs and exploiting flaws in the system in the end only hurts them. The lazy kids…Well there’s a real world out there waiting for them.
hard working parent
at 1:55 pm
to Princess Clara –
Did school let out early today? Or did you just stay home to play video games? You’re clearly showing your age with your immature comment. Blaming teachers is just about as lame an excuse as there is. It’s not the responsibilty of the teachers to make the class “interesting.” If you don’t like it, don’t come to school, and just accept your role in society sweeping the streets.
Princess Clara
at 2:16 pm
But it is the responsibility of the teacher to TEACH. Hence their job title.. TEACHer.
Losing assignments and coming to class drunk isnt teaching. And when I was in high school, I had both happen.. on numerous occasions. If paying students to come to class is so horribly wrong (again, not saying I think this is a solution either).. what about paying teachers to not do their job properly? Whats right about that?
Sure, teachers arnt 100% to blame, but neither are students. If the kid doesnt do their part, its their own fault, I agree with you there.. But if its alright for you to point fingers at kids saying they are lazy etc.. how is that any different than saying that teachers need to actually TEACH?
And yeah – I get it.. students have to complete school regardless of how horrible the teachers are, or like you said.. accept their place in society. Again, I agree with you. But I still dont think its right that teachers get away with alot of the things they do. It doesnt justify students not coming to class, but it still isnt right.
MattO
at 3:09 pm
@Princess Clara
“How about instead of paying students, they take that money and hire
competant teachers, vice principals, etc. I think that would have a better effect on the students than paying them to go out and buy a new video game that they can skip school to play…”
……so I guess you believe that the hiring mandate of the TDSB is to go out and find incompetent teachers, vice principals, etc…
Sounds like you had some bad experiences with a few of your high school teachers, but I’d venture to say that they’re in the minority when compared across the TDSB.
Sure, it’s not right for a FEW teachers to be doing this, but your view of kids blaming teachers, in general, for their reasons for not doing their work or coming to school? I’m 100% against that.
Princess Clara
at 3:40 pm
I agree with you. Im not promoting laziness, and im definitely not blaming it 100% on teachers.
There are lazy students, yes. But generalizing the entire student population saying everyone who doesnt finish high school in 4 years is lazy and will be sweeping streets because they are clearly dont go to class or do anything.. is ridiculous, and alot of the time isnt the case.
Obviously not all teachers are bad – im not saying that either.. but the fact that some of them are as awful as they are, why do they still have jobs? Theres tons of capable teachers who are unemployed while these people do a half assed job every day watching the clock until they retire and receive a nice fat pension.
If teachers are with kids for 6 hrs a day “teaching” them, and shaping them as people. How can you expect any different out of the kids that what you see now? Teachers get paid to do a crappy job.. so why cant i get thru school by doing a crappy job too?
Is this really a good thing to teach children?
Burying your head in the sand and saying that the youth are hopeless and lazy and that you wish everything goes back to the way it was wont help.. but finding the root of the problem and trying to change it will. And there are many issues that cause this problem.. Obviously babying children and spoon feeding them, letting them be lazy, defending them every time they have to do something “hard” is one of them. Like David said. But refusing to acknowledge that the school system, in many cases, is also part of the problem.. is just being ignorant.
Adam
at 4:19 pm
Don’t forget the parents in this whole process. It’s easy to say kids are being spoon fed, and some teachers are lazy, but at the the end of the day, it’s the parents responsibility to take care of their child’s upbringing and progress through school.
In every point in a kid’s life, they’ll come across a teacher who isn’t quite suitable, but for any employed person out there, they’ve likely run into a co-worker that wasn’t quite ‘suitable’ either.
Kids need to learn to deal with tough situations, and parents need to stay on top of their kids.
LC
at 4:26 pm
@ Princess Clara – There have always been good teachers and bad teachers, and good students and bad students. I had bad teachers but was a good student and while I believe some did not do their jobs, it didn’t stop me from studying hard and moving on with academic career.
The point of this particular blog is that there is a whole generation that is being spoon fed til they’re 18, given all sorts of unwarranted leeway, and basically being told that you don’t have to follow any rules if you so choose.
@Dave – you know, these kids will be wreaking havoc in the condo market in about 3-8 years when they occupy the condos mommy and daddy bought for them pre-con, only they won’t be able to afford them for long with the work ethic, or lack thereof, being instilled in them today. I’m already seeing it happen.
GK
at 4:42 pm
What does this have to do with real estate?
moonbeam!
at 5:22 pm
@GK — this is the Friday rant– and note that LC
has indeed brought condos into the discussion…
@Princess Clara– teachers are not entertainers or clowns, students shouldn’t expect to be entertained, and this is a major problem in schools today.
David Fleming
at 5:24 pm
@ GK
This has nothing to do with real estate.
I guess I should ‘finally’ change the name of this website from “Toronto Realty Blog” to “David Fleming’s Universe.”
This web site is about real estate, but also economics, politics, world issues, and of course anything that affects the city of Toronto and its residents.
MattO
at 5:32 pm
@Princess Clara
LC nailed it – There have always been good and bad teachers.
Yes, the school system may be a part of the issue, but is only a small part of it. The much larger part is that society is now spoonfeeding these kids and allowing them to run amok, which was the whole point of David’s post.
So to say that the bad teachers that are out there now (that were also out there before) is the cause of these kids’ behaviour all of a sudden, well, that’s also just being ignorant.
mcmaster.girl
at 6:07 pm
This is the most bang-on comment on the ridiculous “ideas” proposed by some school boards that I have yet to read. David, you are very astute in your observations. Hopefully the TDSB will come to their senses, but I’m not holding my breath. Princess Clara probably reads the Toronto Star and NOW magazine, votes left with her NDP/socialist pals, and is clearly a member of our “enabling” and “bleeding heart” culture. I bet she thinks if we just had more breakfast clubs and sports facilities, then there would be no more youth violence…..
LM
at 6:19 pm
This ridiculous pandering, litigious, paranoid culture started when that old woman spilled hot coffee on herself and sued MacDonalds because “it was too hot”. It depresses the hell out of me reading this stuff- and every day there is something in the paper that demonstrates just how unaccountable society has become. It usually masquerades under the guise of “political correctness.”
I am delighted that Mr. Bernanke managed to throw so much stimulus at the economy that we avoided the 2nd Great Depression- I have a few assets I’d rather not see decline in price by 50%. But part of me wonders if the upside of economic armageddon might have been no more of this PC bullsh*t. If people had something to really worry about, perhaps we wouldn’t be living in this insane victim-centric world where every Big Brother couch potato thinks it is their God-given right to contribute 0% effort and receive maximum reward. AARGH!!! I feel much better now….
Kyle
at 9:59 pm
The student is the ultimate winner or loser in his or her own education, not the parents, not the guidance counsellors, and certainly not the teachers, so the onus is entirely on the student to get the most that he or she can from school. It may not be fair that some teachers are better than others – but hey neither are bosses so you’d better learn to get use it. Successful people don’t focus on excuses for why they failed, they figure out what their goals are and instead focus on how to make them happen. And when one is well into their working years, the difference between making 20K a year and 200K a year will have nothing to do with that English teacher that lost your homework, it’s going to come down to attitude, work ethic and making good decisions.
David Fleming
at 10:19 pm
@ Kyle
Well said.
“Successful people don’t focus on excuses for why they failed.”
Try telling that to a 16-year-old with a sense of entitlement and a poor work ethic.
Elena
at 8:13 am
Kids have to have their own minds. It’s wrong to force children to go class.
Clever Mind guesses what to do still high school.
At least i wanna that it will be.
P.S. Message from ukrainian blogger
Sorry for my english. Correct if i were wrong
Kopi Luwak
at 1:59 am
I am not at all surprised with what is going on with how these modern kids show no interest in school and no respect with the elder ones. This is partly the fault of the government. Having a law that punishes those parents who try to discipline their kids only gives these spoiled kids power to disobey their parents. And if they disobey their parents, how else can you expect them to obey the school’s rules and regulations? To obey their hard-working teachers? To show respect to those elderly ones who tries to enjoy a nice cup of coffee? Of course, I’m speaking in general here. There are some who actually has values in their homes. But sadly, there is a great percentage of the society that has been passed on with this so-called ‘credit resuscitation’. It only scares me now that in the future, this generation will out-grow the values that are supposedly taught at home by sound parents. In addition, technologies nowadays also build up credit resuscitation. By using high-end tech gadgets, kids seem to distract themselves from proper education at school. They fondle themselves with these gadgets instead cause they think that they’re so smart by using these gadgets so they no longer need to go to class, only to find out that they become dumber and naive with life’s true philosophies. Don’t get me wrong here though, I am not against these technologies. I mean, they’re great! But people should use them wisely. It is supposed to help us make our lives easier, not the other way around. And in my own opinion, they shouldn’t be given to high school students. Not even to those who are in grade school! I see kids owning these gadgets at grade school and they are pretty spoiled and dumb. Parents should be able to discern what things to give to their children. It all starts at home.
David Fleming
at 12:28 pm
http://www.nationalpost.com/Cash+schoolwork+makes+sense/3853532/story.html