Engage Me or Enrage Me

Why should educators now suddenly become magicians and performers for our students? I think at some point, students need to learn that some things are required because that is what an education system demands. I try my best to be a creative teacher that hooks students while trying to incorporate state standards and district curriculum. I guess to some extent I begin to feel exhausted and defeated when even the most creative assignments receive very little reaction from students. At the high school level, as teachers we cannot always implement activities that incorporate the make-believe, pretend, or technology driven assignments. Until administrators, state superintendents, and principals support these learning theories, teachers are limited. There is only so much I can try to implement before my own resources are exhausted. I just believe that at some point, as a high school teacher, teenagers need to learn how to adjust and understand that there are some forms of teaching (as outdated as it may seem) that cannot be avoided or eliminated.