Other Teachers' Biggest Problems

Some of the teachers* in my grad program:

"My biggest problem? Well, these kids!! They are all farm kids and sometimes they come to school with cow manure on their boots. And they NEVER have pencils. It is soooooooo irritating. I mean, how do you not have a pencil! Bring a pencil! Unbelievable."

"I did my action research on kids who have too much homework. Studies show that students have too much homework get stressed, their health levels decrease, and they are more prone to cheating just to keep up. At the all-girls college prep I work at, students have on average do 2 hours of homework a night, plus 3 hours of extra-curriculars, and they are only getting about 6 hours of sleep a night which is just too little. This is a huge problem."

"I have 27 kids in my classroom which includes 7 special ed students in self-contained 5th grade. How am I supposed to meet all of their needs? Some are gifted, some are, I guess you'd say your average students, and then the special education students. They all read at different levels, they all do math at different levels...and the ones who need to do the homework the MOST never do."


After this.... my professor called on me. I guess I was making incredulous faces and she wanted to know my perspective....All I kept thinking was "How do I say what I have to say and NOT sound like a bitch?"

*Some of these people are doing their student teaching after having a career in something else....