Last evening, i enjoyed dinner with a group of young mothers with their middle school daughters following a busy+long day’s activities with the girls. It was a fun day and evening for all. The first gathering for my family anything like this in over a year. It was heartening to see the young ones so happy
together.
The two dining tables, young ones and parents, were close but separate. Different conversations.
Several of the young women shared about why they had chosen not to use their teaching certificates: Boredom.
One said, “i could not teach the same subject 5 times daily, over+over for years.” Others agreed, none contested.
i was interested in this because i’ve wondered if current education problems (esp politicizing all school subjects) isn’t a lot about teachers just being bored with their stated jobs, so they “dress them up” with politics/activism - basically to relieve their own workplace monotony?
This conversation suggests this is a valid question.
Frankly, in many areas, not just public school education, i’m not sure professionalism is emphasized or taught very well.
Part of professionalism IS repitition. Even mind-boggling repitition. The U.S. culture no longer prepares young people for WORK.
The ed system encourages students to excel, to be leaders and directors, bosses, owners, top income earners.
Before they’ve had any job at all. No one is prepared to do grunt work. The daily grind, etc.
No one is prepared to be husband and father, wife and mother, these roles are considered so menial, they aren’t addressed at all. Female students are given continual messages these roles are so meaningless, they must have professional career interests in order to count, at all. (This began when i was a teen. 1960’s.)
Home schools, faith based schools, private schools, all have ways to address these problems and topics.
For one thing, they often require presence+interaction with PARENTS, who model marriage and parenting, who WORK (to pay for education of their children) - and many provide jobs/future jobs, the importance of “plain old work” is demonstrated in real life terms.
They are less likely to have the factory mentality of churning out monotonous subjects year after year. Smaller classes, more personal involvement with students+parents, more motivation and reward for doing the job at hand. The basic job that needs to be done, regardless of entertaining and fulfilling the teachers’ dreams for their careers.
There are options to relay messages of the importance of all jobs in God’s scheme of things. That every job choice can be dedicated to glorify God. The importance and honor of traditional marriage and parenting. The value to society and church.
Now years ago, we had friends, the wife was a registered nurse. Their daughter was in nursing school.
The wife spoke to me in an alarmed way, saying today’s schools are giving students the idea that when they graduate, they should expect to be top leaders in their fields!
She was an experienced nurse.
She was afraid of this fantasy view, knowing how hard she’d worked over years to get where she was.
Frankly, not long after, our daughter graduated from a large state university, a B.S., no spectacular degree, she enjoyed the party aspect of college; we witnessed her expectation to begin as a CEO or some other top-ranked career. She was FAR from any such thing. (She began working part-time at 16, worked p.t. through college.) We counseled her, with her chosen degree, she would likely need another degree or added certification, to find employment she was interested in.
(Many of today’s college degrees pretty much equate to former value of H.S. diplomas in the job market.) “Everyone gets a degree!” devalues degrees. When i was young, H.S. diplomas were valuable, EVERY college degree was respected.
On the Job training was common. Many companies WANTED to train employees to meet their needs.
Today, certifications are often required before employment. OJT could lead to great opportunities.
Our daughter’s attitude about being a wife+mother? - “o. sure. when i’m 40.” This is common among gov educated females.
Her grandmothers and i helped her with the math on that.
It wasn’t easy. “All that glitters” is very seductive.
There are definitely differing expectations and goals about what formal education should be.
The prevailing narrative has been found imperfect. At great expense to students, their families, society.
Thus, this topic about alternatives.
