Response to Luis

Lack of Attention and Respect Towards Substitute Teacher

I found the following quotes from Luis’s blog, and I am using them because I can really agree with what he is saying:

“I hate it when people try and take advantage of substitutes like if they do not even know the rules of the school... I admit it I also used to take advantage but sometimes there is a limit. Some people take it too far. Some people try and impress their friends to think that they are hard (as in tough).”

I also agree that this past week of substitutes at Alameda Science and Technology Institute(ASTI) have been abused by the students. For example, one of the substitutes that came to help out for numerous occasions has an overly nice attitude. They wait until a student finishes mindlessly distracting them, instead of having the student listen to the teacher first. This person is constantly being ignored when talking, and has been convinced that certain devices during class were allowed when they were obviously just a distraction. I am not saying that I dislike kind-hearted substitutes, but like Luis says, there is a limit. For instance, when the classwork is supposed be done individually, students should not blankly neglect the rules and start socializing just because the current person standing in the front of the class isn’t the normal teacher. I have also seen a few students take advantage of the substitute teacher’s kindness by arguing stubbornly to the substitute when they are obviously out of line to speak in such a way.

“Another thing that I find weird is when a person is concentrated at doing their work so much that they are alone or are not talking. This is weird to me because school is also about having some fun and not work all the time.”

I think that all students are supposed to be independent and quiet when doing individual work. That is why it is called individual work, and not group or partner work. Having students doing their work intensively should be a regular thing, and not something that is irregular and uncommon. I do agree that all work and no fun is not very interesting, but school is not made for children to have fun. Children go to school to learn and grow their intelligent minds, and a bit of fun is just added to lighten up this undesirable journey of education.