ZIP, POP OF TELEVISION WORLD DISTORT BASIC EDUCATION; "IF IT FEELS GOOD, DO IT" INDISCRETIONS OF SOCIETY HAVE CREATED CHILDREN WHO COME TO CLASS NOT TO LEARN BUT TO BE ENTERTAINED

Being an elementary teacher is a fascinating and challenging job. The rewards that come with helping a child to understand a new concept or to hear him say, "Now I get it!" can warm one's whole body and should. However, with all the special joys that teachers experience also come many trying difficulties with which we deal. Many citizens outside of the field of education do not realize problems in the classroom which teachers face, sometimes on a daily basis.

Motivation is a bigger challenge each day. In this day of Nintendo, cartoons, VCR tapes and cable TV, what teacher can measure up to the competition? Homework is often neglected to play more video games or to watch another movie. Monday mornings can be especially hard after a weekend in front of a monitor or screen. Some students arrive tired and listless, a few just stay home to catch up on their sleep after a weekend movie marathon.

Children have become accustomed to being entertained and are quickly "bored" when learning dictionary skills is not as exciting as Mario Brothers. While learning can be lots of fun, not every class on every day can be or should be like a stage performance for teachers. Some skills require quiet contemplation and diligent labor. Too many students come to school to be entertained rather than to learn. These are not realistic expectations.

Need is the greatest motivator of all, but many pupils feel no need to learn higher level skills. Third generation welfare recipients are often happy with their lives as they are. Why should learning to multiply fractions be important when a child witnesses his parents and grandparents living quite well by simply picking up a monthly check? How can a teacher overcome the injustices of a system that sometimes seems to reward indifference and laziness?

Teachers are spending a surprisingly small percentage of their time actually instructing. We spend much more time performing secretarial duties. The old method of teach, give homework to practice a skill, and then test has been replaced with pre-test, teach, do guided practice, assign independent work, reteach or offer enrichment, and then post-test. Each step requires planning and, of course, documentation. The paperwork can be overwhelming!

Small school systems that cannot afford nurses often impose on their teachers to perform those duties, too, like checking for head lice. Missouri now encourages a drug curriculum and requires AIDS education. While these are important to the survival of our children, many citizens are critical because achievement test scores are lower.

Poor test scores give the community a bad image of teachers' ability to teach fundamental skills. But many teachers have changed their focus in the classroom. Suicide among students has increased, lawsuits against teachers are common, and dealing with students who may be taking drugs themselves or living with someone who is an abuser can change the normal priorities of an instructor. Today, the conferences and workshops many educators attend are about suicide prevention, legal liabilities and substance abuse, not teaching techniques!

The problems that teachers face now are different because the students themselves have changed. "Latch key kids" that are home alone before and after school because parents are at work are the rule today, not the exception. While educators are not legally responsible for the students during this time, they spend lots of energy resolving conflicts which have developed during this unsupervised period.

We are finding more and more that there exists a group of students that come to school as victims. They are victims of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. They are victims of alcoholic parents, some even during their prenatal development. They are victims of single parents too busy for them, and weekend trips to visit "Dad" which may leave them in turmoil for days. They are victims of environments so unstable that a few are unsure where to go at the end of each school day, much less provided a quiet place to study or just call their own.

In addition, classroom teachers of the '90's have inherited the responsibility of salvaging the products of the "if it feels good, do it!" indiscretions of society. Instructors are challenged to instill self-discipline into those children who have been given everything and asked to do nothing. At the same time, educators are expected to develop self-confidence in students that do not feel loved or have a sense of self-worth.

Producing good future citizens involves much more than teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic. It is extremely complicated, stressful, frustrating, and, yes, rewarding!

Lana Arnzen teaches sixth grade at the Oran Elementary School.