Pleeze lat us haf are electives

Un-freaking-believable!

I am increasingly fearing aging. In this era of teachers accepting text chat on school papers/projects, parents using back door channels to coerce administrators into changing their student's failing grades, and sheer laziness and ignorance, if I do indeed manage to age and need one of these pampered incompetents to care for me, at least I'll not have to worry about my Social Security benefits being axed.

When I first got into the teaching/education profession, I had a student who consistently confused are with our. I called the student aside and explained to her the difference between the two words. I then contacted the child's mother to inform her that there was an issue but for the time being at least, it appeared to have been resolved.

I shared this story with my contemporaries who were dumbfounded as to how this mistake could have happened in the first place. My only guess was that no one really took the time to read what this child had written before. But, upon recognizing the issue, it became less of one.

In this article, I sense something almost sinister behind the letters written by the children. I sense teachers concerned that their workload may increase and that ...accountability may somehow wander into those fiefdoms known as classrooms. Indeed, I never felt as much autonomy as when I ruled a classroom.

I personally believe these children were influenced by a teacher or administrator who is trying to scare them into thinking something is being taken away from them. Unfortunately, through liberal sleight of hand, what they do not see is that what is being taken from them is not some elective in the future. What is being taken is their future!

I certainly hope I am wrong but the interim superintendent believes this is a simple case of not having students proof-read their work. Having taught graduates of the Albuquerque Public Schools system at the collegiate level, I see this as an issue of teachers with overcrowded classrooms shuffling students along rather than taking any additional time to actually teach and hold their students to standards. The parents and the students themselves seem to foist all responsibility on the schools without recognizing that anytime a finger is pointed at someone, three fingers point back at the pointer.

If these students who are currently unable to string together something resembling coherent sentences wish to take electives instead of working to improve their ability to function in a modern society then perhaps the electives offered should reflect the types of careers in which these students can expect to find themselves.

• remedial housekeeping
• deep-fryer management
• recreational pharmacy