the biggest surprise has been the lack of respect routinely displayed by about a quarter of my students. They think nothing of carrying on conversations during instruction. And this is a moderately affluent town in New Hampshire. I cannot fathom what it must be like to teach in a city. There is often little to no fear of being admonished by me, or having a parent telephoned (and I'm 6'5", 230 pounds, with a damn powerful voice and a well-developed Travis Bickle "glare". When I was in elementary school during the 60s and 70s, I lived in fear of getting in trouble, whatever that meant to my young mind. The vulgarity, erosion of standards, and lack of civility prevalent in society of course has to be reflected in some of the children. Fortunately, most of the kids are relatively respectful and hardworking. Some of them are absolutely terrific and give me hope for the future.

Peter T.