I'm sad.

[no_hypocrisy]

I substitute teach at a local elementary/middle school. Today was the Seventh Grade.

I've been teaching since 1980 and am quite familiar with the psychology and socialization of seventh graders.

The school is very diversified: African-Americans, Carribean-Americans, Asian-Americans, Muslim-Americans, Puerto Rican-Americans, etc. Very few white kids.

I try to engage the kids, just to do their class work. I don't shout. I don't disrespect them. I give few directives.

But at least half of them choose not to work. If anything, they rebuff their assignments. There are so many of them, it's hard to prevent them from being consistently loud and disruptive.

I've tried to get the vice principal to back me up but in essence, he knows he's overwhelmed unless someone's going to get hurt or really out of control or someone left to go to the bathroom and hasn't returned.

What makes me depressed is I look at the pictures of the Little Rock Nine, climbing the stairs to enter the school with the faces of whites, distorted in hate, yelling at them. They were brave to fight for their right to be educated. My kids have given up already. Two years ago, I taught them in fifth grade and they were ready to work. Not so much anymore.

They won't let go of their cellphones and the school won't insist on having the phones put away during class.

These kids will continue to high school. They mock authority. They will have bad encounters with police and employers and other figures of authority in the future. They don't believe in self-control and self-discipline.

I don't know how their regular teachers can be in the same classroom with them on a daily basis.

[ExtremelyWokeMatt]

1. It's not uncommon, it's a psychological reaction to being boxed in on a standardized conveyor belt

The system is, unfortunately, sometimes not respectable. Your options are to change your approach, lobby for the system to change, or move somewhere less tumultuous. Cracking down on them without a cellphone ban or creatively engaging curriculum will probably backfire and make them more resentful and uncooperative, especially at the middle school age. If you expect to dole out cookie cutter assignments and demand respect for a system they already know doesn’t care… well… you run a psychology class so it’s not rocket science. This is not the 80s anymore, sorry.

[BigmanPigman]

2. I taught 6th grade GATE

for my first 2 years teaching and I had been subbing for K-6 for 2 VERY LOOOOOONG years. Subbing in the middle school years sucks! It sucked in the 1990s and it sucks even more now. If I had students with cell phones I would lose it! My friend teaches in high school but started out in middle. I don't know how he kept sane with those phones in the classroom. It was impossible BEFORE cell phones with their obnoxious attitude. I am a 5'1" female and subbing was shear hell in the middle school grades. I was very strict and didn't take shit and had no problem going to the administrators and I did that often. They always supported me, I am glad to say.

[brush]

3. You think it's any easier subbing white kids with no cell phone ban?

Not. 7th graders view a day with a sub as a vacation day.

[bronxiteforever]

4. Subbing must be so difficult for 7th grade classes

The phones are just a major factor today. I admire teachers. Good vibes headed your way!

[ProfessorGAC]

6. It's Not, Where The School...

...has & enforces the "check your phone at the door" policy.
I sub in 25 different schools and every middle school/junior high has that rule. It helps tremendously.
Not all the high schools have it though, and it's very common to see kids doing nothing but their phone the whole hour.
It would be much harder if the schools didn't enforce that policy, though.

[Karadeniz]

5. Can you get photos of the first integration blown up and use that as a platform for discussion?

Also, let's explain that they are on the cusp of creating their first adult identity. They can share some ideas on what they see themselves doing as adults. I'll bet most of them have no idea, so maybe have some ideas to throw out... sports trainer, mechanic, nurse doctor, teacher, banker, flebotomist, fast food. Write the ideas on the board and have them decide which jobs require a high school diploma. Tell them about differences in pay. Ask them if they're not limiting their adult selves' potential right now by their attitude to education.