Why Kids Aren’t Learning: Observations From a Substitute Teacher
30th December 2024
For the past three years, I was a substitute teacher in the public schools of Warren County, Virginia. I served both as an aide in classrooms with a regular full-time teacher and as a substitute alone in the classroom.
Warren County schools are probably typical of public schools everywhere: Most teachers love the students and are very frustrated that they can’t actually do what they signed up to do: teach. At the same time, many parents don’t understand why their children are not learning. Here are my insights as to why.
This, of course, just applies to government schools, which everybody assumes is what people talk about when they talk about ‘kids learning’. Savvy parents either send their kids to private schools or, if they’re really hardcore, homeschool. That’s quite a different story–but good look finding where to read it.