Tuesday, April 30, 2013

TRUST

I was visiting my friend's blog, GeeeeeZ . She had a post about trusting government and it made me think about my evolution as a person.  Over the years I have become more and more distrustful of government.  I began to think about how this happened.  I don't consider myself to be a conspiracy theorist but as I thought it hit me that my experiences have greatly influenced me.  Let me explain.

When I was 18 I graduated from high school.  I went to Catholic schools all my life and I felt imbued with a spirit of responsibility for myself and my fellow man.  So I joined the military because I genuinely felt it was the right thing to do.  I wanted to serve my country and keep our country safe.  When I went through basic training I learned all the things I needed to know to protect myself and my fellow airmen, including an advanced course in killing.  I never thought I would use it but I bought into the need to protect my country from the enemy.  Who was the enemy?  I didn't give it a lot of thought. 

When I went to SE Asia I was ready to do what was necessary to fulfill the mission.  Whatever it took.  As I spent time there I was kind of surprised to find out that nobody really knew why we were there.  It then became a matter of survival.  That was the first time my trust was in question.

I came back and became a police officer.  Why?  To serve and protect my fellow citizens.  As I graduated from the police academy I was fired up and instilled with the spirit of service.  Sound like BS?  To me and my fellow graduates it wasn't.  As my career rolled on I began to think that this wasn't what I thought it was.  I found that the police were nothing but political pawns of the city's politicians.  Their career was much more important than the welfare of the citizens.  It was all about them.  I lost more trust throughout my career.

Then I retired and fulfilled a lifelong ambition to be a teacher.  On a personal level I love my job.  I look forward to going to work everyday and I often say it's the best job I've ever had.  The interaction with the students is what is the most important.  But I've seen over the years that politicians and government slugs really don't care about the kids, they care about their phony, baloney jobs.  It's all about self-aggrandizement.  It's disheartening to see the crap that's passed down from on high for teachers to do in class.  The union is a major piece in the charade that is played on the citizens on a daily basis.  It cares nothing about the teachers in the classroom because it's all about the dues.  What a sick joke the whole system is. 

Why doesn't any one of the groups ask us what works.  We're taking care of business everyday in the classroom.  We engage kids who don't care, we make their stupid rules work, and we teach the kids to pass their stupid tests.  I read some of the questions and I know that any classroom teacher could write a more relevant question on these tests.  Instead, no one asks us.  I don't have a problem with testing.  I have a problem with bureaucrats who write tests that don't have any connection to what the kids need to know in their daily lives.

I teach Advanced Placement US history.  My kids learn at a very high level and pass the AP test which is hard as hell.  Not because I'm a great teacher, but because I care about them and I know them enough to get them to learn.  It's about what happens in the classroom, not about all the government jazz that politicians spit out. 

Do I trust government?  To do so would go against everything I've learned and experienced over many years.

The government forfeited my trust $17 trillion ago.

Watch this video.  Taylor Mali is a great spokesman for teachers.  If you like "slam poetry," and I do, you"ll like this.     

 
    

3 comments:

Z said...

Hi, and thanks for the mention...

Excellent post.
I have to say I adore the kids at my high school, too. I thought I'd be very tough when I started being around high schoolers but they have me eating out of their hands. it's hard to be tough with discipline but I usually manage :-)

I'm glad American kids have you...you should clone yourself many times.
And our school requires an AP PRACTICE EXAM. Do you do those?

Z said...

and, talk about TRUST: When kids can TRUST, they're so much happier and more productive and easier to handle, right? You make it so your kids trust you because they can feel you care, I just know it.

Anonymous said...

Z,
Yes. I just gave it Friday. Most students were above the level needed to pass the test. They were relieved and so was I.