<p>[Disinterested</a> Student Owns Teacher | Watch the video - Yahoo! Screen](<a href=“http://screen.yahoo.com/disinterested-student-owns-teacher-173000524.html]Disinterested”>http://screen.yahoo.com/disinterested-student-owns-teacher-173000524.html)</p>
<p>Watch the video and see what I mean. It’s obvious that he’s sick and tired of sitting in a classroom with a teacher who simply hands out packets as her main method of teaching the class.</p>
<p>What do you think?</p>
<p>I would have to agree with the student. You can’t possibly expect someone to learn from a packet. She’s there to share her knowledge, not sit on her fat ass n collect her bi weekly paychecks. More students need to step up and advocaye in situations like this. We are the future; we need to be educated.</p>
<p>While I never acted as passively as the teacher in the video did when I did a stint as a substitute lecturer at a community college, the video only captured a small glimpse of the exchange. </p>
<p>Moreover, there’s a possibility those information packets are not the teacher’s idea, but mandated by local/state educational mandates in which case…both the student and the teachers are getting screwed here. </p>
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<p>Agreed, but incomplete. </p>
<p>Students…especially high school and up also have the obligation to not only step up to advocate, but also to figure out how to turn even non-optimal classroom environments into learning opportunities and to not use them as excuses for academic failure as I’ve seen too many older kids in my old once working-class NYC neighborhood did. Sorry, but as a former student I think that part is a complete cop-out.</p>
<p>I had to watch this several times because I was so distracted by his hair. 
I understand that children lose their cool (& adults), but the way to effect change is not to berate the teacher in front of your peers no matter how many “high fives” that will get you later, but to meet with the teacher ( or the prof or supervisor) privately to express your concerns and to find common ground.</p>
<p>I’m distracted by the word “disinterested”. Disinterested means impartial, neutral, as in what a judge should be. Uninterested is a perfectly good and valid word that people need to start using.</p>
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<p>I think that the next time he decides to wax poetic about his education, perhaps he should spend more time in his english class and maybe even do a little bit of a drive by to the US history class.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl beat me to it.</p>
<p>I sort of want to applaud him. Do believe he could have been a little more respectful (language) .</p>
<p>I’d like to hear more of the backstory.
<p>Since my kids were in elementary I taught them to stand up for themselves or another student if a teacher was being disrespectful. You just have to be respectful doing it. </p>
<p>And I agree to a point. Packets are not the road to anyone’s future! Engage them first !</p>
<p>Oh, and honestly I can’t believe none of his classmates applauded him.</p>
<p>Who was filming him and was it planned?</p>
<p>Doesn’t appear to have been planned. Looks like the kid spoke up, got kicked out of class, and, at that point, one of his fellow students started videotaping his parting words.</p>
<p>Can anyone tell me, from the kid’s accent, where this might have taken place?</p>
<p><a href=“Fed-Up Student Schools Teacher, Demands Better Education (Video) - YouTube”>Fed-Up Student Schools Teacher, Demands Better Education (Video) - YouTube;
<p>Thanks for that second video as well - interesting that the teacher is actually being investigated.</p>
<p>I think I am in the minority here, but I’m going to say it anyway. Most of our problems in education today stem from classroom management issues. Teachers are in a no-win situation because many parents seem to think that it is okay for their children to be disrepectful to their teachers. If the teacher is not doing their job, the PARENT should be addressing the issue with the teacher and administrators PRIVATELY, not applauding their child for calling the teacher out publicly.</p>
<p>I agree with classroom management issues being a major issues. And I agree that this student crossed the line with some of his language. He did IMO, generally keep his cool though and seemed IMO to think through some of his thoughts as he spoke.</p>
<p>My hope is that after he walked out of the classroom that he walked down to the principal’s office (or dean or whatever) and expressed his displeasure and concerns there as well. And that he told his parents and they cared enough to take steps too. Sadly, many parents don’t have their kids backs.</p>
<p>Again, without knowing the backstory/details we don’t know if this was a discussion the class or this student had before with the teacher, if the concern HAD been brought up to admin but the teacher wasn’t making changes or even if the teacher asked him to leave the room and THEN he started in on his rant - which at least showed that he was following her orders to leave the room but that he also tried to validate his concerns over the classroom methods.</p>
<p>Duncanville HS, a bit south of Dallas. He had dropped out of HS for a bit, then came back. His mom is a school teacher. When they interviewed him on the local news, he seemed soft spoken and modest.</p>
<p>When my D (who is still in HS) heard the word “packets”, that really got her going. I don’t know about the state mandating “packets” but among two of my kids they’ve had three classes in HS (plus middle school science) where they were taught through “packets”. The problem is if a student doesn’t understand, there is no “other” way of explaining. They are referred back to the packet, as if they really hadn’t read the materials.</p>
<p>The explanation I’ve heard for the “packet method” is insane. It goes: “When you get to college, your teachers aren’t going to spoon feed you. You will have to teach it to yourselves, so you need to learn how to do this in HS.” Exactly what college do they think our kids are going to attend where the teachers don’t teach and expect the students to learn totally on their own?</p>
<p>Sorry, getting too emotional about this issue. Cleansing breath…</p>
<p>The student went to the principal’s office. A little while later, the teacher went to the principal’s office “to talk to the student.” The teacher was put on paid administrative leave. I don’t think the issue was her teaching. I think taht before the video began, she asked the student what he was [rhymes with ‘witching’] about and that is what she is trouble for.</p>
<p>Missypie - my D had the same issue with a middle school teacher. The kids were expected to read the packets during class, and teach themselves. From what I understand she didn’t really go over them with the students, but expected them to ask questions. The problem comes when the students don’t understand what they’re reading, and don’t know what questions to ask. The packets themselves are not the problem - it’s the way the teachers use them. When my D had the same teacher again 2 years later, we ran into the same problem, and the teacher all but accused her of being lazy and not doing the work. Destroyed her love of math and science! I had her placed in Honors Geometry for 9th grade, against the suggestion of her teachers, knowing she could handle the work. That teacher wasn’t sure it was a good idea at the beginning of the year, but now he says she’s one of his best students. She still doesn’t think she’s good at math. These teachers can do a great deal of damage, beyond just not teaching what they should.</p>
<p>Thanks for the further info Missypie - I too have to take a cleansing breath over the issue of packets without teaching or follow up.</p>
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<p>If there was just one way of teaching something, and students all learned the same way, you really wouldn’t need very many teachers. Isn’t the great skill in teaching figuring out how to get the material across to the students?</p>
<p>I think that the class in question was literature. Think of symbolism. A few people are great a picking it out, a lot more can find symbolism if they are told what they are looking for, and some of the more literal minded might not be able to find it unless it was literally highlighted. Once size fits all doesn’t work. If you aren’t going beyond the packet, the school district might as well just hire classroom monitors. Where is the pride and satisfaction of getting a kid to what my HS chem teacher called “the a-ha moment”?</p>
<p>I know that last year in science, my D would ask the teacher for more explanation and she would be referred back to the online power point…but on several occasions, her friend would be able to explain the concept to her in just a few sentences.</p>
<p>[More</a> From Jeff Bliss, The Duncanville Student Whose Rant Went Viral | FrontBurner](<a href=“http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2013/05/13/more-from-jeff-bliss-the-duncanville-student-whose-rant-went-viral/]More”>http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2013/05/13/more-from-jeff-bliss-the-duncanville-student-whose-rant-went-viral/)</p>