Why are there so many angry and non-attentive children in our classrooms in 2018?
Enjoy these photos of Monarch butterflies and flowers while I tell you about my experiences with substituting and tutoring in my city in Texas over the last 15 years.
2002 was the year I first substituted in the schools. I had a math college degree and had been a computer programmer before staying home after the birth of my first child. I had plenty of experience with groups of children - from babysitting, to being a Sunday School teacher, to being a Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader and on to raising my 2 children. (8 and 11 years old at the time).
With a little trepidation I walked into a 4th grade classroom as my first Sub job in the fall of 2002. Well, long story short I followed the teacher's lesson plans and I enjoyed the experience! I let out a sigh of relief. I could do this!
I subbed almost everyday, in different classrooms. I appreciated the inquisitive child, unsure child, loud child or shy child. I was pleased to see them learning new concepts. I relished reading the lesson material to them. I enjoyed their questions and I was even learning some new information along the way! I subbed for the Art Teacher, Music Teacher, Physical Education Teacher - nothing was off limits! It was an enjoyable experience.
I eventually subbed in grades Kindergarten through 8th grade(5-13 years old) over the next 12 years. I did encounter some children that were not cooperative. I saw some behavior issues and yes even some students displayed blatant disrespect for me. But that was not the norm; for the most part I could look into a child's eyes and talk with them privately and figure out how to encourage them to do their classwork and let me teach the lesson.
So @violetmed, why are you telling us all of this?
Let me continue on with my experience in the schools. During the fall of 2013-2014, I was an instructional assistant full time at an elementary school(Kindergarten through 6th grade). I worked with small groups of children helping them with reading and math. Yes, there were some behavior problems once in awhile, but I knew the students, I was there to teach them and most of them appreciated the small group atmosphere. We could even have fun while they were learning!
From 2014 through 2017, I took a break from substituting and became self employed and began private math and reading tutoring in student's homes. It has been a great experience! Once again, I was having fun and enjoying working with these students. They looked me in the eye and listened to me. We talked and I was able to figure out how to help them!
So once again, @violetmed, what is the point to this post?
After 3 years of not substituting, I returned to the classroom as a substitute a few days a week in the fall of 2017 while still continuing my private tutoring.
The students have changed that are being sent to classrooms between 2002 and 2017!
There is a definite difference and it's not good!
In the classrooms where I am encountering problems, there seems to be at least one third of the students who don't know how to control themselves. They don't make eye contact with me. They hit other children in the classroom and on the playground and they don't know how to sit still in their chair or on the carpet. They don't know how to listen quietly to the directions for the lesson on the next activity. They don't listen to their peers when it is another child's turn to talk. This is not unique behavior for me as a substitute teacher. I have friends and a sister who are full time teachers who have all witnessed these changes.
I adore children and I have a few thoughts about what possibly might be responsible for this change.
I'll share my thoughts in my next post.
Meanwhile, what do you think?
Have you been around children and noticed behavior changes
now that you didn't see 15 years ago?
What do you think could be the causes?
February 23, 2018
All photos are my original photos.
We were just having this discussion. I think it’s the false sense of entitlement and lack of discipline nowadays
Yes, lack of discipline and the children are lacking other things which I'm going to discuss in my next post!
First off, gorgeous images, @violetmed! Thank you, for sharing this Beauty. Interesting balancing act to pair it with the unfortunate subject of inattention/anger of children in our classrooms...
I, too, adore children (and have 19 nieces and nephews) so very curious to learn what you consider to be behind this change of behavior. Meantime, I have my own theories.
I think their lack of attention is due partly to a lack of attention paid to the children, by busy or inattentive or stressed parents.
This is part of it. Another related part is the exposure to machines and all the unprocessed, deluge of information and distraction that they emit.
As a writer, for example, I've noticed that due to our shortened attention spans we are reading and thinking, differently, less profoundly/critically.
Lastly, I regret to say that I believe there is a Violence in the air, that the children --pure and sensitive vessels that they are--- are picking up on. Children, as you know, learn from adults not what they say, but what they do.
Living in Florida and witnessing coverage of latest high school shooting, I can't help but think that there is a kind of spiritual malady in our society and we are infecting the children -- who are taking the 'war' to schools.
I hope I've not strayed too far off topic and that you don't mind this extended response (nor regard it as a rant). Thanks, for raising this important topic and, once again, for reminding us of the great Beauty that is synonymous with our existence --if only we take the time to see it...
Peace, all ways, Yahia
Thank you so much @yahialababidi for reading my post and your stating your thoughts on the subject! I agree with several of your ideas on what is possibly behind these behavior problems. I also think that the young people that have gone into these schools and shot and killed teachers and students are products of being raised differently these days. Stay tuned for my second post on this subject.
I'll try to be on the lookout for it, @violetmed. Also, thought to let you know that your post got me musing and, by association, I came up with this post which might also be of some interest to you:
What if we consider America’s gun problem as a spiritual disease?
Peace & Love,
Yahia
A) a post relating such positive experience from a woman discovering what she loves to do doesn't need a point! B) It is unmistakeably true what you have signalled.
As you know I 'm very much engaged in this subject through my son, and the (even worse) attention spans of children in schools catering to those with learning disabilities. However, specialised schools have more tools to cope with this alarming phenomenon of restive children (to put it mildly). Increasingly, normal schools are adopting similar methods (timers, pictogram schedules, shorter periods etc). Is there something in our (global/western) water? Is it also becoming a problem in India or China?
It isn't ONLY electro-magnetic waves and communication+sensory overload because far too large a proportion of these children really seem to have been born with ADD of one sort or another. (Maybe pregnant mothers are to blame! Yes, let's crack the whip out on mothers again, why not!) It has something to do with the sign of our times, and it reads like a "warning". We have to learn to take time and make it last longer (be bored once in a while!).
Yesssss to letting children get bored! Especially around the age of 6, I think it's so important for children to go through that experience. We can't be stimulated and active all the time--and if we seek constant stimulation, we're going to have to turn to unhealthy sources sooner or later.
Yesssss Let's keep children very young till around the age of 6/7. They are old enough already (on a much deeper level). If we would take the time to study our children instead of making them study our stuff, we'd discover their original wisdom which ultimatly is the great bearer of a happy life. This we need to stimulate, and that is done - for example - by doing a lot of knitting and cooking!
Two of my favorite things 😊
Thank you for reading my post! I'll share my thoughts and observations in my next post. I hope I don't offend people with my conclusions, but I'm in the trenches and have seen these things with my own eyes! I'm not a trained child behaviorist, but then again I have many years of experience working and observing children including my two children who are now 24 and 27 years old.
I'd say to look into the changes that have been happening in kindergarten and nursery classes over the past several years. The increasing push towards academizing these classes has been shown in so many studies to have serious, long-term negative effects. I was going to include a link but all you have to do is google "academics in kindergarten" to find a myriad of articles on the topic. Little children do their best as long as they can, but after several years the age-inappropriate teaching and demands placed upon them begin to take their toll.
Obviously, there are lots of other contributing causes . . . sugar, screen time, lack of exposure to meaningful, concentrated activity and presence of mind in the adults around them, etc. etc. But given my background as a Waldorf early childhood educator, I really believe that a lot of troubles later on stem from those early childhood experiences.
Oh yes, I agree totally with you! I'll be sharing my thoughts in my next post! I believe people like you need to speak up and educate first time parents and parents of newborns through 5 year olds that some changes need to be made! Thank you for reading my post!
I look forward to your next post!
From what I understand, many of our kids are now doped up on either ADD/ADHD drugs or antidepressants. Offhand, that seems like it would have a negative effect. Beyond that, I haven't been in the States for 15 years so I am ignorant of any other social changes that could have been causing this.
Incidentally, we are seeing similar things in Japan. Many kids are now doped up on ADD drugs. Nowhere near as many as in the US, but it is a growing thing. I can't imagine drugging kids is a good thing. Thank God I'm not in school these days—I was a hyperactive little kid, I probably would have been doped up too.
I wonder if also the increased academic pressures are causing some issues. My mom has been a kindergarten teacher for 50 years, and she says recently every year standardized tests and academic requirements are getting more strict and more insane. She says kids today are pressured to learn much more than they used to be (and ironically they are learning much less as a result).
It is true. I used to teach in 2000-2003 and did a little subbing after then back in the classroom in 2005-2008. I can't imagine going back now...even to sub.
Sigh... @apanamamama it makes me sad! I think if I ever have grandkids, they should be homeschooled.
Yes, it is true. Public schools are just not good (in most cases) these days. My nephew attends AHS and I asked him how it was the other day. His answer was, "huge." Yep, it definitely is. I graduated from what is now the freshman center. It seemed small then (with our class of 444). When I taught at the freshman center, the class was 1000 students! Insane!! That's just talking about size, not even about how the students (or teachers) act. Or being able to get into extra curricular activities - who actually gets to play on that football team? Not the regular kids, only the extreme athletes! Anyway, homeschool is the way to go, that's for sure. ;)
@apanamamama my kids graduated from AHS in 2009 and 2012. They both ended up in their own little niche and had mostly great teachers. I agree it's probably too big now -- they probably should have built a 2nd high school.
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Yes, they should have gotten a second one instead of a super 5A. Or are they 6A now? I don't even know. It's crazy. I was doing the math to see if I would have had or seen your kids. I was at Curtis in 2000-2002 and then at the freshman center in 2003. So I just barely missed your kids. ;)
very beautiful flowers and surrounded by butterflies, very impressed the same post you @violetmed
Oh man these are super pretty I really like the these butterflies these monarchs that have a grove here in California that they stopped at during a there downtime and it's actually at Grover Beach area near Pismo Beach. It's very cool to see I really appreciate these guys and how they are able to travel such far distances.
*be well
@violetmed
Thank you, I live in the central flyway (Dallas Texas area) for Monarchs and see some during their fall migration every year!
Your most welcome. Oh yea nice, its so awesome to see isnt it.
Interesting post! I don't know anything about teaching so it was enlightening to read about your experiences. I just wanted to point out that the post took a long to load because you have so many hi-resolution images. Also, while the monarchs are beautiful, it seems a bit incongruous with the written topic. Perhaps you could have made two posts out of this? :)
Thanks for telling me about the photos. I kind of forget about load time for high res photos.
Very interesting post. Hope I don't miss the follow up piece. We have a youngster in our family with many anger to violence tendencies being monitored by a whole team of educators to assist his mother. Part of getting what he wants, I think he is starting to learn, also requires that he must be considerate of others. For many people's personalities, it is hard to anticipate, or even care about, the needs and feelings of others reacting to their actions.