When did you become ENTITLED?

I teach. And in the midst of that, I try to inspire people to like (or at least appreciate) what it is they're learning. And yet bundled into this package deal of teacher-student reciprocity, I find that there are areas where I am at a complete loss of understanding. There's a disconnect between how I interpreted school as a teenager and how they view it today. In high school, it was never a student vs. teacher mentality - at least not in my mind. I was made to feel like ownership of my education rested in the hands of many different stakeholders, but more specifically, me, my family, my teachers, and my community members.

In a recent conversation with a student, I felt like this disconnect became more apparent than ever. The student seemed to blame me for grades he had earned and thought there was some unfairness there. The reality of the situation is that he failed quizzes connected to reading assignments because he failed to prepare appropriately. Completely his fault. (I never once received a phone call, email or text seeking help but he did text to complain.) In quiet prayer and reflection, I had an epiphany that worries me tremendously. See, when that student spoke, he wasn't just representing himself. No, not at all. But what he did represent was any and everybody who has ever shown signs of staggered growth. It inspired me so much that I sought to observe individuals in my life who showed signs of staggered growth - I, myself, was included in this.

Some interesting re-occurrences started to show face as I took that quiet step back.

Accountability. I worry about this area the most. Because I always felt connected to my school work along with my teachers, there was never a time that my poor performance was not connected to a reason I wasn't ready to fully accept and correct. My students rarely read their text books or seek extra help and yet they are not ready to accept that these bad study habits are not conducive to high performance in my class. Rigor becomes an alien concept. Blame is tossed around. And artificial guilt is imposed as a mechanism that will get students grades to magically change. But who changes the student? How can we draw the invisible line that connects student habit to performance. Reading before class is NOT enough. Looking only at the bold words is a basic study skill. I often times ask myself how will they respond to professors in college. [troubled thoughts]

Attitude. One's disposition toward school can no longer be flight or fight - some contrived survival mechanism where students just want to get out. Was there some change in the last 8-10 years that makes students believe that teachers are enemies and not accomplices. I was taught the importance of connecting with your stakeholders. Some students today simply separate themselves from their teachers. When will education be demystified? I guess this is why when students see teachers outside of school it is any experience similar to an alien sighting.

Use of Resources. Is it a societal mentality or one particular to procrastinating students that causes them to ONLY access tutoring, study sessions, review materials, etc. within days of an assessment? Whatever happened to spreading your work out. Or seeking the internet and other mediums of assistance to help you uncover the challenges one has with content? I keep my phone number on my board along with my email address and I can guarantee that I only get phone calls or texts from 2% of my students - and those are usually the night before an assessment.

These were the top three areas of concern. Parents and community members need to be concerned. These are the individuals who will be applying for jobs on the local and national front. These are the individuals who will be applying to colleges in a very short amount of time. Interestingly enough, these are the adults you work with today. I applied these situations to the work place and we can all identify with people who suffer from a lack of these important 3 qualities on the job. Usually they are not with the company very long.

I am doing what I can and getting the backlash from it. I guess a part of me is worried that I could potentially raise a child who gets sucked into this attitude of entitlement. I suffer from it at times but I am at least conscious of areas I need to improve upon.

I think this was just a venting blog. hmm... any suggestions?