The NFL Draft

I ended up watching most of the NFL draft on yesterday and today. My husband is a big fan and since he is taking care of me, (I am sick), I thought I would let the TV be on the draft.

So many people get upset because these guys are getting millions of dollars because they are good with a ball.

I do feel that this country puts too much emphasis on sports and not enough on education.

I don't get upset with the guys who get all this money for their talents. Firstly, it is not their fault that they were blessed with such talent. God gave it to them. If they can get paid for doing something they are good at and they love, then so be it. Secondly, their careers are only so long; like 10 years or so, baring injury. They end up making that lifetime salary in those ten years, versus a non-sports person who takes a lifetime to make their lifetime salary. Lastly, at least they are using their talent to make money legally. They could be using their talents for evil.

On a side note, being a teacher this year, I truly realize that Teachers are UNDERPAID! Seeing what kind of children that we have to deal with, seeing the limits that are placed on teachers, seeing the kind of parents that teachers have to deal with, Teachers are not PAID enough!

There are so many children with behavioral, emotional, and psychological issues in the school systems these days. Teachers have to deal with these children's issues everyday and then have to try to teach them how to read and write as well.

I truly admire the teachers that I work with. They are very patient and good at what they do. It is amazing to see how they can easily handle a child who has frazzled me to no end. They are very good at what they do.

The children today are so advanced in their knowledge, their speech, their thought process, and their attitudes. I was once substituting for a kindergarten teacher. The children were writing in their journals. One of them asked, "Can we write about what we want to write about?" I responded, "No, you have to write about something SPECIFIC." I felt like an idiot after I had said specific. One of the students asked, "What does specific mean?" Before I could answer, one of the boys said, "It means you have to write about what she tells you to write about." I was speechless, I had no idea that a 5 year-old child knew what specific meant. The children today are so much smarter.

I believe that teachers should be paid more than they are being paid. They are shaping the minds of the future leaders of our lives. There have been several teachers in the news for doing negative things, but the number of teachers doing bad things is so small compared to the number of teachers who are doing great things.

Teachers these days get an unfair rep because of the few bad apples. When I was growing up, teachers were given the benefit of the doubt. Whenever I told my mother something crazy happened between a teacher and I (which was very rare), she didn't just go up to the school all mad and ready to curse someone out. She went up to the school and got the teacher's side of the story and then went from there. Teachers today don't get the benefit of the doubt.

Most teachers don't dislike their students. Most teachers are not mean to their students. Most teachers do not have it out for their students. This is something that my mother used to say, "I believe my children are excellent children. They have been trained correctly. They know how to act, but I know that they are capable of doing something wrong." I used to hate it when my mother would say that, but now I understand it. My parents raised me right, but there was still a chance that I could make a bad choice.

Most parents don't think like that. They think that their children are angels, knowing full well that if given the chance, their child would set the school on fire and lie about doing it. I think that is so crazy.

Anyway, for what teachers have to go through with today, they are grossly UNDERPAID!