Gov Strickland's State of the State

As I continue to teach and attempt to develop lessons for students of English and Communications, I wonder why are these kids angrier, less interested, more inclined to hurt themselves in so many ways? How can we help them? In every age before, young people came from dysfunctional families. Students were good students, bad students, had learning disabilities, etc. But these kids have more help to achieve and resolve those issues than ever before. They certainly have more protection from abuse and places to go for help. They have help to be more engaged. They have help to cope with the nature’s disabilities. They have more toys to play with to avoid boredom, more things to do to express themselves, more interscholastic sports to play whether they are male or female. If they are bored as seniors, schools have developed a capstone or senior project to give them a head start in their post secondary education.

But no. More kids are unhappy, reaching into the medicine cabinet for the pharmaceuticals to relieve their stress or emotional pain or just to get a high.
Last week at my school a girl put her fist through a double pane window. Why?
Because she was angry.

I love creating opportunities for teens in my class. But unless everything is done for them, many don’t want to take the opportunities. They want to take the moldy old ruts because it is easier. They do not read even if it means they will fail. They want to be fed the stories. Even time given in class is not used; students fuss and play forcing disciplinary action. Kids have even been blatant enough to report they have not read a book they have only watched the movie of the book (usually a weak representation).

I am not looking for blame. I am looking for ways to educate and solve the problems at hand. Today, our governor, Ted Strickland gave his State of the State address. I am excited. Yes, I am an eternal optimist. Many of the things I do in my classroom were mentioned; my advisory of senior project and subjects of communication, technology, and media literacy will now be required. I am practical too. I know these things still have to pass the senate and the house. Both have fixtures of destruction that have their own agendas. These fixtures have been around for the seventeen years that our unconstitutional funding has been in place. And they will try to do their best to tear the new ideas to pieces offering no new ideas of their own.

Let’s hope that some of what he has proposed can help some of the kids I see every day be less angry or bored .