U.S. Teacher EXPOSES the 5 Worst Things About American Schools
Diva, a math teacher in US high schools and middle schools for 10 years, shares her insider perspective on concerning issues: daycare for students' babies, curriculum being dumbed down, racism against Asian students and teachers, and underqualified teachers teaching math.
U.S. Teacher EXPOSES the 5 Worst Things About American Schools
Diva, a math teacher in US high schools and middle schools for 10 years, shares her insider perspective on concerning issues that contributed to her decision to move back to India with her family.
Insider Perspective
Diva taught math in US schools for 10 years - first at a high school in South Bay (ranked 8), then at a middle school in East Bay (ranked 13 out of ~2500 in California). She had credentials to teach up to 12th grade math including calculus.
1️⃣ Daycare for Students' Babies
A few months later, a 13-14 year old student asked Diva to pass her because she was caring for her baby. By end of school year, she was 8 months pregnant again.
2️⃣ Concerning School Environment
What Diva Witnessed
- Marijuana: Legal and common - could smell on students and in bathrooms
- Student deaths: Two during her tenure - one LGBTQ-related, one drug-related
- Drug awareness: At a conference, students could identify every drug shown before it was introduced
- Contraceptives: San Francisco Unified made them available in nurse's room for middle schoolers
3️⃣ Curriculum Being Dumbed Down
At the highly-ranked East Bay middle school, Diva found serious curriculum issues:
Problems Discovered
- Worksheets with multiple mathematical errors from department lead
- Curriculum not meeting Common Core state standards
- No prescribed textbooks - teachers create worksheets daily with enormous power
- No one checks if teachers complete curriculum - could do 1 chapter or 10
- Students finishing worksheets in 5 minutes because content too easy
- Statewide push to move Algebra 1 from 8th grade to high school
When Diva pointed out errors, the department lead responded: "So what did you want? A pat on your back for that?"
4️⃣ Underqualified Teachers
Teacher Qualifications
- Department lead: Never had math education - did Algebra 2 in college only "because she had to"
- Another teacher: Used to teach preschool, got math credential through principal's help over 5 years
- Credential standards: Getting lower every year due to teacher shortage
5️⃣ Racism Against Asian Students and Teachers
At her first school, 20 out of 22 math teachers were Asian. At the East Bay school, there was not a single Asian teacher.
What She Experienced
- Demeaning comments about Asian parents wanting kids to "run after maths"
- Comments about houses looking like "matchboxes" (newly built expensive homes)
- "Tesla is made only for Indians and Asians" - while she drove a Tesla to school
- Racist comments to high-performing Asian students
- Had to go to therapy for depression
⚠️ Placement Test Manipulation
Diva encouraged her students to check their placement test results. One student's story:
Schools don't return papers or write on them. Grades are updated weeks later so students can't challenge results.
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