As a teacher, I put part of the blame on the education system, as well as the downfall of the traditional family...not saying ALL problems stem from these two areas but both certainly play a role.
The education system is failing our kids in that we are not allowed to fail and/or discipline (give consequences, not corporal punishment) children without jumping through hoops...and even then it's almost impossible to suspend a child (no suspensions under grade 4 according to my principal)...teachers try their best to help all students be successful, but when we're dealing with constant misbehavior, those that do behave appropriately, get overlooked...parents are slow to acknowledge that there may be issues because they don't want their child labeled, so instead stick their head in the sand and blame the teacher...we pass them from grade to grade without them having actually done any work....parents coddle them and either do everything or nothing for them...single parent homes have a harder time (not all, but most) because they have to focus on work and making ends meet...I'm a Catholic and I do believe a lack of faith (any faith for that matter) is also an issue...we have a group of young people coming up that are pandered to, catered to and very poorly prepared for reality...my two cents worth...
I totally blame the education system but not your part of it. It is my understanding that you have a mandate to teach in a middle of the road band of subjects, basically the three R's.
As I understand it the three R's have been reduced to one R. The computer has eliminated the need to spell, write cursively, and do math.
AI may eventually fix some of the problems but at the moment I have a problem. When I read a well laid out document and the writer puts down "There" instead of "Their" I do get the point, but it's like hitting a speed bump in an otherwise smooth transition of information.
However some parents expect you to teach manners as well. Unless you are teaching at a posh private finishing school that isn't likely on your agenda. You might even be criticized if you did because it could be taken as a stance that non traditional Canadian eating habits are bad. In some cultures loud slurping noises are a compliment to the cook and you are teaching the little one to insult his mother by not slurping.
I just committed a faux pas by assuming the mother was the cook. Maybe there is no mother but two fathers or ????
We could debate about morals, ethics and legalities forever. Morals and ethics are lines drawn in sand while legalities are lines drawn on paper and subject to smudging.
You mentioned being Catholic. Should you go the full blown Sinead O'Connor route and get labeled a radical or work from within and be seen as just another broom sweeping things under the carpet. A rhetorical question we all face, especially as traditional Canadians because we're supposed to be so nice all the time.
The education we are lacking in is in critical thinking and one would think that teaching people to think critically on all things would be good. However we have to consider the effect on the economy.
Coffee. Until the 1960's most coffee was either brewed at home or in a restaurant, not a coffee shop. Now it's a industry with its own culture at $3 a cup or more. Critical thinking would have us making coffee at home and saving $2.50 a cup X 3 times a day = $2700 a year per person.
All for pouring hot water over some inedible plant parts.
I was recently given some dark chocolate covered espresso beans and I don't enjoy sucking on the beans or chewing them so I in essence sucked off the chocolate and spat the beans into the garbage.
Then I got thinking that some people pay premium prices for coffee from beans that have been through the intestinal tract of a civet cat and said beans picked out of its excrement. Why does the thought of coffee made from beans fished out of a spittoon sound so disgusting? Critical thinking?
Most coffee shops are parts of publicly traded corporations. If everyone made their own coffee, numerous corporations would suffer. So what, one might ask, if a bunch of rich investors lose a bundle but our CPP, insurance policies, bank savings are all invested in the stock market as well. Unintended consequences. How much critical thinking can we handle economically?
How's that Pacific rim tee shirt wearing? Is it the $4 one from the dollar place or the $200 one from the exclusive shoppe? Someone has to pay for the 500 foot yacht.
Faith is an interesting subject and when not biased, includes a lot of critical thinking. Short term instant gratification vs long term stability. Faith in it's religious connotation takes me to Kahlil Gibran's comment that men make laws in their own shadows, the lame forbidding dance.
Don't like what you see on the street? Go hide in a church that tells you what you want to hear. I believe in God but not religion. I've had too many control freaks in my life already.
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