>
>Let me see if I've got this right. You want me to go into that room with
>all those kids and fill their every waking moment with a love for
>learning. Not only that, I'm supposed to instill a sense of pride in
>their ethnicity, behaviorally modify disruptive behavior, observe them
>for signs of abuse and T-shirt messages.
>
>I am to fight the war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check
>their backpacks for guns and raise their self-esteem. I'm to teach them
>patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, how and where
>to register to vote, how to balance a checkbook and how to apply for a
>job.
>
>I am to check their heads occasionally for lice, maintain a safe
>environment, recognize signs of potential antisocial behavior, offer
>advice, write letters of recommendation for student employment and
>scholarships, encourage respect for the cultural diversity of others,
>and, oh yeah, always make sure that I give the girls in my class 50
>percent of my attention.
>
>I'm required by my contract to be working on my own time summer and
>evenings at my own expense toward advance certification and a master's
>degree; and after school, I am to attend committee and faculty meetings
>and participate in staff development training to maintain my employment
>status.
>
>I am to be a paragon of virtue larger than life, such that my very
>presence will awe my students into being obedient and respectful of
>authority. I am to pledge allegiance to supporting family values, a
>return to the basics, and to my current administration. I am to
>incorporate technology into the learning, and monitor all Web sites while
>providing a personal relationship with each student. I am to decide who
>might be potentially dangerous and/or liable to commit crimes in school
>or who is possibly being abused, and I can be sent to jail for not
>mentioning these suspicions.
>
>I am to make sure all students pass the state and federally mandated
>testing and all classes, whether or not they attend school on a regular
>basis or complete any of the work assigned. Plus, I am expected to make
>sure that all of the students with handicaps are guaranteed a free and
>equal education, regardless of their mental or physical handicap.
>
>I am to communicate frequently with each student's parent by letter,
>phone, newsletter and grade card. I'm to do all of this with just a piece
>of chalk, a computer, a few books, a bulletin board, a 45 minute
>more-or-less plan time and a big smile, all on a starting salary that
>qualifies my family for food stamps in many states.
>
>Is that all?
>
>And you want me to do all of this and expect me NOT TO PRAY?
