What One Student Thinks About Me

Apparently, I am "a jerk" and I "have the worst attitude in the school" according to one of my students.

How do I know this? Because the student wrote it down in his literary analysis (which, incidentally, was not a literary analysis, but a hate letter). And turned it in! I am also, "cool outside of school", but "stuck up in school."

The student goes on to say that I "never helped [them] with an assignment [they] always had to come in for tutoring which is bullcrap [they] all have jobs and lives to live." (note: the grammar mistakes are the students)

Here is my response:

Thank you for your impute. I highly value your opinion as a hard working student. Next year, I will definitely take into account everything you so eloquently said when students who chose not to pay attention in my class decide (at the last minute) that they do not understand an assignment. You are right of course, I should drop everything, change the entire class syllabus and re-teach lessons that I've already taught, and have passed out handouts for, when students don't pay attention in class the first time (or second or third time)...instead of asking them to come to tutoring for individual instruction. You have changed my entire teaching philosophy.

Of course, I have not (and will not) give this response to the student, but it sure felt good writing that out. The student in question is a major burn-out. He is probably high most of the days he is in school. He hardly ever pays attention in class, but the main reason I think he was so mad at me was because I caught him plagiarizing his last literary analysis. I warned him that I didn't believe it was his words when I read the rough draft... sure enough, when I ran it through plagiarism software, it found multiple web sites that he took the information from word-for word. Sadly, the assignment was make-up work for an analysis that he chose not to do earlier in the year. I was trying to help him raise his grade so he could get off of probation. Silly me. Bending over backwards to help a student...

I am constantly amazed by how some students are able to make everything the teacher's fault. I have heard multiple kids say the reason they are in trouble is the teacher's fault. I asked one student why he was in ISS (in school suspension), and he said it was the teacher's fault. Apparently the teacher caught him chewing tobacco in class. I asked how that was the teacher's fault, and he said the teacher shouldn't have been looking. Seriously?

What is happening to the youth of today?