I, like Aladdin, have entered a whole new world. Except my whole new world has nothing to do with seducing my girlfriend with a super cool magic carpet. No, this whole new world that I have enterered into is the wonderful world of public education. Let me tell you about it.
First of all, it is amusing. I have heard various theories on who built the pyramids (none of them including aliens, mind you) ranging from the Greeks, to the Romans, to somebody back then. I have also heard it speculated that the Articles of Confederation failed due to the colonial inability to pay off their war debt from World War II (or was it the Civil War? Yeah, thats it, the Civil War). All of this has, at various times made me want to A) laugh hysterically, B) cry hysterically, or C) curl up in the fetal position and continue with A or B.
Let me say, I realize that these are students who don't know the above facts from history, and that's ok because it is my job as the teacher to show them the truth. I know this, so don't think that I am just whining because kids these days don't know Luther Martin from Martin Luther (do you?). I'm not. I'm honored to have the opportunity to teach them. With that in mind, it saddens me how lacking their understanding is of the basic foundations of society. It's not that they don't know that disturbs me. What disturbs me is that they have been brought up to not know. We as a society have become so narcissistic and entertainment focused that we neglect to teach the coming generations the lasting principles that have made us great. We now teach students to let success come to them and focus on making money rather than teaching them to pursue success and focus on working hard. What is the cure? I don't know. I'm just a student-teacher, but I'll tell you one thing. I'm going to find out.
