[quote=alex]Lack of parent involvement may be some of the problem but the other is that teachers no longer have control of their classrooms and the kids know it. Even if you only have 15-20 kids in the class if
1 or 2 are extremely disruptive how well do you think the other kids are learning. The teacher is most likely dealing the the problem kids and paying little attention to the others.
We watched the Dog Whisperer last night. One situation was a middle school teacher and Caesar related the disciplining of her dogs to that of her class.
Teachers (the dog owner), "need to project an image of strength and confidence, and then you have control"!
I have always tutored/mentored "at risk" kids at my school. For 2 years I had joined the mentorship program set up by the school (before that, I was just doing it on my own), then the Big Brothers/Big Sisters came into our school and I wasn't "encouraged" to continue any mentorship at all.
