Student Resiliency

From Bob Lear: “I am on the front lines of this ‘Declining Student Resiliency’. I teach 10th, 11th, and 12 graders at Newport High School in Newport Beach, CA…. An upscale community that one would think values are taught. Just the opposite. There is no personal responsibility, consideration, character or integrity of my students because their parents look at me as their maid to babysit their kids while they are off to the Yoga class. When I started teaching 20 years ago, out of a class of 36 students I might have had one, no more than two, that did not want to do well in school. Today that number has shrunk to 18 to 20 students that care about what they learn. We have become a society where substance does not matter, but what matters is how 'we' look. As some of you who have dealt with the Pentagon have pointed out. The leaders that we have, need I say more about our current election, are not about what can they bring to the party but what we can give them. I fear that this 'resiliency' issue is systemic…. I have tried to hold fast to my standards but have been reprimanded by administrators that I am to 'hard' on the poor students. They are starting to run this school because of threats of law suits from parents if 'little' Johnny doesn't get an 'A' in a particular class. I know that it is like this at other high schools because I have friends that teach all across the country and we talk about this very issue…. The solution is not one that will be easy. But I do know this… the students see that what their parents are doing is not good and I tell them every opportunity that they will be parents someday and they can change the parenting style of their parents to one of teaching discipline, responsibility, and character.”