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Far too many people are bashing teachers and public schools. The attacks are coming from different places for different reasons, and we need to pay attention to the differences.
If you want to change education, Oprah, don’t make the mistake everyone else has. Ask teachers. Would you have a conversation about the national state of medicine and health care without asking for the input of doctors, nurses and patients? And yet we have left parents, teachers and students completely out of this critical talk.
A very good and seldom mentioned viewpoint. Teachers are largely ignored in the debate. Which no doubt is a large part of the problem in our education system. The ones making loud proclamations about schools are largely those with little or no recent classroom experience.
Teachers are blamed for everything. Why all the hate on teachers? Historically in the U.S., teachers were honored and respected by everyone. What happened? When did they become verbal punching bags?
A very good and seldom mentioned viewpoint. Teachers are largely ignored in the debate. Which no doubt is a large part of the problem in our education system. The ones making loud proclamations about schools are largely those with little or no recent classroom experience.
If you want to change education, Oprah, don’t make the mistake everyone else has. Ask teachers. Would you have a conversation about the national state of medicine and health care without asking for the input of doctors, nurses and patients? And yet we have left parents, teachers and students completely out of this critical talk.
Off topic, but in my experience, nurses and patients are rarely asked for their opinions. Don't know about the doctors; I think their opinion is a little more valued, but not much.
Last edited by toobusytoday; 11-01-2011 at 07:12 AM..
Reason: added quote html
Teachers are blamed for everything. Why all the hate on teachers? Historically in the U.S., teachers were honored and respected by everyone. What happened? When did they become verbal punching bags?
It began in the 1970s with the rise of neo-liberal ideology, which basically states that in a "globalized" economy, the 'free market" should run social services.
Teacher's unions stand in the way of those who stand to benefit from the privatization of education.
It began in the 1970s with the rise of neo-liberal ideology, which basically states that in a "globalized" economy, the 'free market" should run social services.
Teacher's unions stand in the way of those who stand to benefit from the privatization of education.
We have for profit charter schools here and, from what I can see, the owners are doing quite well for themselves. Teacher pay and benefits are dismal. With a masters in engineering and a masters in education, I wasn't worth $35K to the charter system (starting salaries with a masters in a public school are in the mid 40's here for comparison) and that was with benefits that, according to my doctor, weren't worth having and NO retirement plan. Not even a contribution to a 401K plan.
Seriously, I'm surprised some of the charter schools do as well as they do. The teacher turn over rate was about 30%/year at my old school. I left two years ago and they have, yet another, new chemistry/physics teacher this year. The one who replaced me left after a year. You can't foster a sense of community in a school if you can't keep your teachers yet most charter schools seem to do as well as or better than the public schools they draw their students from. ... Things that make you go Hmmmm???? Maybe that's just due to the fact that you're dealing with parents who, at least, cared enough to move their kids out of the local schools. I wonder how much better some of the high turn over rate charter schools could be if they took care of their teachers and kept them?
Last edited by Ivorytickler; 10-29-2011 at 04:59 AM..
A very good and seldom mentioned viewpoint. Teachers are largely ignored in the debate. Which no doubt is a large part of the problem in our education system. The ones making loud proclamations about schools are largely those with little or no recent classroom experience.
Here's my problem with that. Yes, teachers deal with the problem every day, and their voices should be considered. At the same time, teachers also tend to lack objectivity and absolutely want to protect their own interests.
The other thing is that teachers tend to, as a whole, see things from a very limited pedagogical viewpoint based on what they learned in college. As a whole, education is the least creative enterprise in American life today and orthodoxy is the biggest obstacle to change. Mind you, I admire teachers as individuals. But the collective whole cannot seem to come up with any fresh solutions.
Instead, we hear the same mantra over and over again: We need more money. The problem with that is that our spending per pupil has doubled over the past 30 years, even after being adjusted for inflation. Further, we spend a larger proportion of our GDP on education than any other industrialized nation--and by a good margin. So the plea for more funding is sounding just a little tired for the rest of us who would like a little accountability. After all, we acceded to their requests for greater funding. Where are the results?
The problem, then, lies in method--and the educational system's refusal to part with the same moribund method that has shown diminishing returns over the past fifty years. There is little difference in the way children are taught today than the way they were taught 100 years ago, despite the titanic changes in the flow and availability of information. Yes, there are computers in the classroom, but are they really being used to their best advantage?
I have to disagree with you - there have been huge changes in the educational system, especially in the way teachers teach.
Teachers are forced to go to each new class and learn 'new ways' to indoctrinate and emotionally manage children. No sooner do they learn a new system and discard the old, then next year they are presented with an entirely new program. This keeps the educational system bleeding money, as required classes and endless trips and payments to "educational companies" with expensive ideas that no one has time to implement effectively before the new system comes in. A teacher who carefully assesses each new idea and tries to implement it will soon find that last year's implementation and this year's totally contradict each other in not only basic theory but methodology. Add that to the new technologies they learn so that they can teach them - they have 'magic boards' and 'magic pens' now, as well as Angel and other online resources for everything from posting homework assignments to doing distance learning classes in their own classrooms - that they cannot keep up.
Then they catch heck not only from their supervisors for not implementing the latest thing, and thereby proving their continued worthiness for grants and state supplements, but from parents who either have no idea what their children are learning, or who expect the teachers to teach their children everything from the latest technology to manners, while overlooking the bullies', the anorexics', the childhood alcoholics' or drug addicts', or the self-cutters' behavior as "not their fault". All of this, and they are expected to work long hours doing not only their classroom work, but 'volunteering' as coaches, class and organization sponsors, and counseling the latest crying child or infantile drug dealer or knife-wielding gun-toting bully who wants to establish his control... mostly without parental support. Oh, and don't forget organizing the class parties and trips!
Most people who aren't teachers neither know nor care what teachers really do; they expect them to show up at 8:00, run overfull classrooms and control each individual's behavior (especially when the parents can't or won't) and actually give their kids some foundation in something that will help them become semi-functional adults, or at least keep the kids from being the parents' responsiblity til 3 PM.
I have to disagree with you - there have been huge changes in the educational system, especially in the way teachers teach.
Teachers are forced to go to each new class and learn 'new ways' to indoctrinate and emotionally manage children. No sooner do they learn a new system and discard the old, then next year they are presented with an entirely new program. This keeps the educational system bleeding money, as required classes and endless trips and payments to "educational companies" with expensive ideas that no one has time to implement effectively before the new system comes in. A teacher who carefully assesses each new idea and tries to implement it will soon find that last year's implementation and this year's totally contradict each other in not only basic theory but methodology. Add that to the new technologies they learn so that they can teach them - they have 'magic boards' and 'magic pens' now, as well as Angel and other online resources for everything from posting homework assignments to doing distance learning classes in their own classrooms - that they cannot keep up.
Then they catch heck not only from their supervisors for not implementing the latest thing, and thereby proving their continued worthiness for grants and state supplements, but from parents who either have no idea what their children are learning, or who expect the teachers to teach their children everything from the latest technology to manners, while overlooking the bullies', the anorexics', the childhood alcoholics' or drug addicts', or the self-cutters' behavior as "not their fault". All of this, and they are expected to work long hours doing not only their classroom work, but 'volunteering' as coaches, class and organization sponsors, and counseling the latest crying child or infantile drug dealer or knife-wielding gun-toting bully who wants to establish his control... mostly without parental support. Oh, and don't forget organizing the class parties and trips!
Most people who aren't teachers neither know nor care what teachers really do; they expect them to show up at 8:00, run overfull classrooms and control each individual's behavior (especially when the parents can't or won't) and actually give their kids some foundation in something that will help them become semi-functional adults, or at least keep the kids from being the parents' responsiblity til 3 PM.
I will agree with you on one thing, chiefly how schools are now expected to take up the slack of parents and general society. But guess what? When I start seeing teachers and superintendents standing up on their chairs protesting this fact, then I'll take that concern more seriously. But educators always seem willing to accept the extra funding that comes with new programs.
But as far as the rest of it? Very little has changed. Sure you now have new devices and tweaks in methodology. But if we're talking about broad sweeping change in approach, then I would argue the exact opposite. And saying, "Only teachers could possibly understand" is just nonsense. If you are a former student or a conscientious parent, then you have a valid opinion.
Education still runs on a factory model, forcing kids to march in lockstep at the same pace for the duration of their academic career. It doesn't matter how quickly a kid learns. It doesn't matter if a kid in fifth grade reads at the tenth-grade level. The smart and motivated kid still has to do the same number of assignments and sit in the classroom the same number of hours as the dumb and the lazy. Sure, if a kid is more adept at a particular subject, then he gets shunted into an AP course. But that isn't a reward for the student. They just get to study more demanding material in the same number of hours. In that sense, education hasn't changed one lick since 1911.
The clue, of course, is found in the term Educational System. System, as in blind orthodoxy. So what happens here is that instead of allowing students to move through the educational based on their mastery of material, their progress is totally unrelated to academic achievement. If a student is passionate about history, why should he plod along at the same pace? Further, what incentive is there for a student to really work harder and learn more? As it stands, we might as well ask them to mark the days off with chalk marks on the wall.
The truth of the matter is that there's no good reason for it. Instead, what with technology and our almost ubiquitous knowledge, why aren't we finding ways for kids to move through the 'system' faster and in a more fulfilling way? Instead, we force them to perform twelve years of busywork. It is a shame that educators can't seem to grasp this basic concept.
Last edited by cpg35223; 10-30-2011 at 06:13 PM..
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Maybe that's just due to the fact that you're dealing with parents who, at least, cared enough to move their kids out of the local schools. I wonder how much better some of the high turn over rate charter schools could be if they took care of their teachers and kept them?
