My DH is a high school auto shop teacher and previously made much more money as a certified auto mechanic. But who is going to mentor those students with talent? So he went back to school and got his teaching degree.
Once in a blue moon he gets a student with talent or the ability to learn a skill. Most years he has 35 - 40 students per class, 5-7 classes per day (depending on the budget). That adds up to 175 - 275 kids per day, every day. Think about your own kids. Would you be able to handle 175 of them every day? Know their needs, likes, dislikes, talents, abilities, weaknesses, strengths? Do you know your own children?
Most of his classes have more special ed kids than a special ed teacher is allowed to have in a class at any one time. But since auto is an elective there are no rules. Counselors think that if the students can't do well with academic subjects then they must be good with their hands. Ever try to read a shop manual for a computer in a car? And most of the special ed kids are behavior problem children that parents choose not to deal with. The parents have figured out that there are accommodations for students with disabilities, including grading policies and graduation requirements. And there are plenty of child psychologists willing to chalk up a score on some list of symptoms to verify a diagnosis qualifying for special ed. Yes, these behavior problems are allowed into a classroon that has two hydraulic lifts (lifts cars 10 feet off the ground), cutting and grinding machinery, and loads of power tools. Now, figure out how to just keep these kids from hurting themselves or others, let alone get any real teaching done.
I looked at the list for Aspergers (a mild form of autism) and my gifted daughter meets the diagnosis. ??? (now don't bash me for the "organically" disabled children, I realize that there are plenty of children that DO need accommodations)
My only rant is for those parents who feel that it is up to the schools to educate their children. No, those children are YOURS. It is up to YOU to educate them. Some of that involves starting early reading and math skills before starting kindergarten. Studies indicate that a child needs 3000 hours of exposure to the written word to be successful in kindergarten. Do you point out signs and labels? Do you read to your children? Do you count things out loud? For those who have children in school do you ensure that your children get at least 9-11 hours of sleep each night, eat healthy meals including breakfast, pack a healthy lunch, check their homework, keep in touch with teachers more than two required conferences per year, bathe them and provide clean clothes, and keep them physically active? If not, then you are sending children that are not capable of absorbing everything that school has to offer.
We found that most children in our area (fairly middle class, even upper-middle class) are not prepared for school most days. Our daughter was wasting away the hours in school just doodling or doing something to fill her days, and still getting all A's. After a few years we decided to homeschool her. She moved swiftly through the material always working above grade level. Whe enrolled in community college at 15 and entered the local university full time at 16 years old. And we have several other friends who have done the same with their children.
So at the very least, out of respect for the low paid teachers who are with your children more waking hours than you are, prepare your kids each and every day for school. Take the time. You took the time to create them (that was fun, huh?). Now take the time to raise them (not always so fun...). My DH shows up at school an hour before his first class and stays for a minimum of two hours after his last class. He answers all of the parent emails, phone calls, personal visits...many of them in the evenings. He does his best to accommodate you and your student no matter how many hours it takes or what time you can come to talk to him aobut your student. Now can't you just do a little bit with your own children to prepare them to learn? Time, that's all it takes.
