Former School Assistant Reveals Public School Assignments are Tedious, Leading to Disengaged Students
A former school assistant revealed that students in classrooms appear disinterested, clearly due to the ridiculously mundane assignments given to them by their public school teachers.
Their task was to create a boring data packet.
The assistant mentioned that for such a simple task, the school allocated three days of curriculum. Disappointed with the public system and after resigning, he is now a supporter of homeschooling.
He and others sat bored in the classroom, preferring to spend time with his newborn daughter.
Assistant Tim Lieber told Epoch Times, “If you focus on making this data packet, you can finish it in 10 to 15 minutes. Some kids really completed the task within 15 minutes and then sat there the whole day, and that was just the first day.”
For Lieber, aged 31, these three days were the final straw that broke the camel’s back. He currently teaches at a homeschooling cooperative founded by like-minded parents in Kalamazoo, Michigan. With just one last push, he could leap over the fence to greener pastures.
Michigan does not have regulations regarding homeschooling (as of now). So, after giving up his teaching license within weeks of completing his studies at Grandville University, he could still homeschool, catering to children of Christian families or any parents willing to pay who appreciate his teaching style and content.
What struck Lieber the most was the disillusionment that plagued him since he returned to university in 2019 to study social studies. This disappointment stemmed from the band teacher who inspired him to be the “best version of himself.” Compared to this band teacher, everything he saw within the public school system seemed dismal. Mrs. Branch, the band teacher, was the reason he wanted to teach and the kind of teacher he aspired to be.
Mrs. Branch, a right-leaning Christian, was passionate about helping students achieve success in life.
“As a musician, when you join a band, you have a responsibility,” Lieber said, referring to the life lessons Mrs. Branch imparted, “not just to yourself but to others too.”
“Because if you don’t know your role, when you go to perform, it will be a mess,” he said.
This sense of responsibility was a far cry from what he witnessed in university.
“The original purpose of the public school system was to train factory workers,” he said, describing his university social studies courses as “revisionist,” “highly one-sided,” and filled with “(left-leaning) liberal biases.”
“The educational curriculum, especially recently, is designed for indoctrination,” he said.
During his university studies of social studies, he sometimes spoke up in class, challenging a particular viewpoint. However, soon after, a professor informed him via email that if your writing is “inconsistent with my viewpoint,” “you won’t get a high grade.” He became a target of those professors.
So, Mr. Lieber had to make do, barely scrape by. He wrote six articles on global warming that he himself did not believe in. He said his teachers accepted them. Lieber thought once he left university, things would improve, but he mentioned public schools also have their issues.
As his university coursework neared completion, his time as an assistant teacher began, and he was excited on the first day of class. However, despite the substitute teaching being enjoyable, allowing him to teach the way he had always wanted to, he sensed something off from day one. He mentioned the teachers had a “pure apathy,” returning to face-to-face classes reluctantly after the pandemic, and they preferred staying in slippers and pajamas.
“They’re not willing to fully return to school, and this is a learning loss for students: ninth graders are performing like seventh graders, and twelfth graders are performing like tenth graders,” Lieber highlighted some complaints.
He described his two mentors as coaches, close to retirement. They neither cared for the students nor the learning, teaching the same outdated curriculum without updating their teaching methods. They used PowerPoints made in 2007 in their classes, devoid of images and outdated.
“That’s just how they do it, and no one really has the time or opportunity to update their teaching methods,” Lieber said, “So we’re still using these outdated teaching techniques.”
For students, there have been unhealthy trends on platforms like TikTok, one being the vandalism of school bathrooms, tearing down and posting pieces like hand dryers or paper towel dispensers as trophies in the classroom.
“This is called ‘The Liq’, right?” he said, “‘Oh, look at this sweet wine I stole from the liquor store.’ You know? This happened at the school where I teach.”
When a teacher called him to stand in front of the class to teach, his days of teaching finally arrived, and his topic was the Middle Ages. The enthusiastic assistant put his all into it, but he found the ancient PowerPoint he had to use “very bad.” His solution was to redo it with modern graphic design and YouTube videos to truly teach and engage with the students.
“At first, it was dissonant for them because they didn’t understand what I was doing. And all I was doing was truly teaching,” Lieber said, “After that, that’s all that was left hanging over with the official teacher.”
“I shouldn’t have done that because honestly, I think he was not happy because I made him look bad,” he said.
The three days of experience led Mr. Lieber to search for alternative teaching paths on his laptop. The Christian homeschooling cooperative eventually came into his view, where he found his stance, a different one from the progressive university professors.
After graduating from university, life became difficult. With money troubles and life spiraling out of control, he wondered besides Dave Ramsey’s radio show, what could help him towards economic stability and common sense? “I think he was like my red pill, the gateway to conservatism for me,” Lieber said.
Of course, there were the words of his cherished band teacher, Mrs. Branch, echoing in his ears once again, telling him the “exact same things” he heard from Dave Ramsey’s radio show. “Her values reflected in different viewpoints, you won’t learn these viewpoints in university or public education,” he said.
He decided to visit the homeschooling cooperative, not just for a teaching position but also for his children’s education. Before going, he thought he would see overly sheltered, unsocial, eccentric children. However, he discovered the opposite, “a group of kids doing karate,” “cooking classes and baking,” and “elementary students learning with Lego blocks.”
“I fell in love with the school completely when I left,” he said, “I asked the principal ‘Hey, how can I be a part of this? This place looks great.'”
The remaining issues were simple. Mr. Lieber would have the opportunity to teach in the way he wanted. He and the students would openly discuss the pandemic in class, debate controversial topics, and ponder the differences between capitalism and communism.
“I guide them through presenting arguments, I’ll say, these people believe this viewpoint because of this and this, this is the history behind it,” he said, creating a “classroom of free speech.” “Then I go back and try to find the flaws in those arguments.”
However, for now, these excellent classes still have a long way to go.
With memories of lazy and disinterested children in classrooms, the teacher’s aide faced a dilemma. Whether to complete his teaching license now or continue teaching at the homeschooling cooperative.
The public school principal made the decision easy. “He was awful. Nobody respected him,” Lieber said.
Just as students returned to school after the pandemic, they were introduced to a new TikTok challenge. Some students vandalized the bathrooms, leading to their closure. As the culprit boasted about his “trophies” online, a voice echoed over the school intercom.
Mr. Lieber browsed on his laptop, listening.
“Hello, everyone. I just want to acknowledge that one of our students made a poor choice, and I believe our school students are the best in the world,” the principal’s voice crackled, “Let us move forward with better judgment. Thank you, everyone.”
Weighing the pros and cons, Lieber made a leap in spirit.
He told Epoch Times, “That kid had to be suspended on Saturday because he actually vandalized the bathroom to the point where we couldn’t use it for two days, “I thought, that guy can’t be my boss.”