Bitter Teachers and Teenage Crime

I believe there is a chain of events linking bitter teachers and waste in the educational system to at least part of the crimes committed by teens and young adults. I therefore believe that by having better teachers and classes, some crime will be prevented.

And Why Is That?

Well, you see, many middle- and upper-class Americans seem to believe in the stereotypical “poor, underprivileged ghetto kid” who will never amount to anything but a thief or a gangster solely because he (or she, as the case may be) was born into the American lower class. The only solution the middle and upper classes see is to throw money at the problem. I, however, contest that no matter how much money you throw at them, it will do no good unless you can find a teacher who is enthused about what they teach and can show the students that what they are teaching is cool and can be used in the real world. I admit, I was pretty lucky as far as who my teachers were, but I’ve also had a few bitter ones, too. An example, I remember a certain teacher, an old, bitter bat whose class I absolutely hated going to, so I understand how unpleasant the learning experience can be with the wrong teachers. Teachers who are bitter make their students bitter about the class in turn. From this bitterness and resentment toward the class comes the desire to ditch. You probably already know, but students who tend to ditch are then more likely to drop out, and those who drop out are also more likely to turn to a life of crime. You see, these criminals exist because there was no one to show them that the learning experience can in fact be a fun and useful thing.

Now the Other Side

Okay. Take that poor kid and give him some good teachers now. You’ll see him getting good grades. He’ll be choosing better classes. Think about the General Science and Math for Success (that’s the name of the lowest math course where I went to high school). You’ll see him taking something more along the lines of Calculus and Physics by the time he graduates. All you needed to make such a huge change in that kid’s life was to give him some better teachers.

What is This “Better Teacher”?

Some might think that a better teacher is a more expensive one. However, that is not the case. The teacher can be the most expensive, technically intelligent one you can find, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have any more success getting the students to learn. Such a teacher may be the best college professor, but the better teacher in another school would be reasonably intelligent, but needs to know how to make the student interested in what is being taught. With that, I hope I was interesting enough to show you what public schools need most.