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There have been more posts about awful teachers and how teachers s*ck (not in those words of course but the meaning is clear), so here are some links to prove that there is a bad apple in every bunch, but just because there is a bad apple here and there (and of course some parents only want to hear the one side-their child's-or they leave out some important facts...) doesn't mean that all teachers are like that.
OMG- students writing about their awesome teacher!
NEA: NEA Member Named "Super Hero Teacher of the Year" (http://www.nea.org/newsreleases/2006/nr060509.html - broken link)
TEACHER SAVES CHILD IN FIERY HOME HE FOUND HER CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN WHAT HE THINKS WAS A BEDROOM. HE LAID THE CHILD OVER ONE SHOULDER AND CRAWLED BACK TO THE FRONT DOOR. (broken link)
There have been more posts about awful teachers and how teachers s*ck (not in those words of course but the meaning is clear), so here are some links to prove that there is a bad apple in every bunch, but just because there is a bad apple here and there (and of course some parents only want to hear the one side-their child's-or they leave out some important facts...) doesn't mean that all teachers are like that.
OMG- students writing about their awesome teacher!
NEA: NEA Member Named "Super Hero Teacher of the Year" (http://www.nea.org/newsreleases/2006/nr060509.html - broken link)
TEACHER SAVES CHILD IN FIERY HOME HE FOUND HER CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN WHAT HE THINKS WAS A BEDROOM. HE LAID THE CHILD OVER ONE SHOULDER AND CRAWLED BACK TO THE FRONT DOOR. (broken link)
Two points:
1- for every negative, there can be 5 positives.
2- whatever happened to thinking of the positive...looking at the positive....I am 100% glad and proud to be a teacher.
I don't have any problem with teachers. I think most of them border on heroic. 99% of people here would agree with me on that point.
What I have a problem with is the vast, bloated educational bureaucracy that sucks up enormous amounts of tax revenue--tax revenue that never seems to filter down to the classroom where it belongs.
I have a problem with the fact that, despite the fact that knowledge is now ubiquitous and that computers can accelerate learning, schools still are organized along the lines of an 18th Century Textile Mill, where kids bright and dull, motivated and lazy, must march in lockstep learning the same material at the same pace.
What I have a problem with is the vast, bloated educational bureaucracy that sucks up enormous amounts of tax revenue--tax revenue that never seems to filter down to the classroom where it belongs.
I have a problem with the fact that, despite the fact that knowledge is now ubiquitous and that computers can accelerate learning, schools still are organized along the lines of an 18th Century Textile Mill, where kids bright and dull, motivated and lazy, must march in lockstep learning the same material at the same pace.
I have a problem with the fact that, despite the fact that knowledge is now ubiquitous and that computers can accelerate learning, schools still are organized along the lines of an 18th Century Textile Mill, where kids bright and dull, motivated and lazy, must march in lockstep learning the same material at the same pace.
One school my kids have been in falls under this banner all the way. Might even be the poster child for narrow minded bassackwards schools.
The other one though! The other school they have been to doesn't match this description at all. I really think it comes down to how the administration views education. While that might sound like an obvious item, I think a lot of administrations are too worried that they fall under this rule, or that rule, and we have to do this to get that grant; and tend to lose sight on the simple fact they are there to educate kids to the best of their ability. If that means maybe missing a grant because it would hinder the majority of your students to fulfill the requirements, most schools I have seen will try to get the money (because they are going to be short without it.) The school system the boys (and we as parents) loved was not that way at all. The kids came first! If a kids had trouble, they got the needed help, if a kid was above grade level, they still challenged them. I have never seen a school that could really TEACH each and every child like an individual and tailor the teaching method to each child so they could learn to the best of their ability. I don't know how they do it, the school doesn't have an extra dime, but they do. Because they believe it is their highest duty to teach the kids in their school. I am quite proud of the fact I went there as a kid many years ago and now my kids are going to be going back to the best little school I have even seen. Numbers may not be the highest, but the attitude of the staff and the students make it a true learning, safe environment. Some schools teach to a test, this one teaches to the students. What more can a person ask for their kids.
It shows what can be done with great teachers who care and are given the chance to show just how much they do care.
I agree with the masses, on this one. I had some WONDERFUL teachers growing up (and some bad ones as well), and I'm sure that many teachers now are simply wonderful as well. Unfortunately, their hands are tied as far as "the system" is concerned. If the public school system in itself was not such a mess, I might consider sending my kids to school... but as it stands, the only wonderful teachers (besides myself, of course!) my kids will have the priviledge of working with will be the ones at the private "extracurricular" classes that I personally pick out (we homeschool).... and those teachers are wonderful as well!
Teachers are an easy target. Almost everyone has had a bad teacher at some point, so they can readily identify with stories of the results of the stupid things some teachers pull. It seems these things are in the news constantly. And it colors the public's perception of a thankless profession where most try to do the best they can under conditions where the administration that is there to supposedly support instruction instead erects barriers to good teaching.
[quote=mrshvo;2989546]There have been more posts about awful teachers and how teachers s*ck (not in those words of course but the meaning is clear), so here are some links to prove that there is a bad apple in every bunch, but just because there is a bad apple here and there (and of course some parents only want to hear the one side-their child's-or they leave out some important facts...) doesn't mean that all teachers are like that.
It's not just about the fact that there are bad teachers out there, maybe there are more good/great/fantastic teachers, but it's a crap shoot at getting one for your kids. Add on top of that, the fact that all classrooms are so over crowded that even a fantastic teacher can't give each child the individual attention that they need. Even in tiny private christian schools, where the average class size is 15-20, that's too many kids in one classroom for one teacher.
But, that's one of the many reasons I homeschool my children.
where kids bright and dull, motivated and lazy, must march in lockstep learning the same material at the same pace.
i believe most teachers would much rather have groups of students separated based upon abilities, but have been told not to "track" the students this way b/c the kids that end up in the "lower" class, those students who test poorly or learn more slowly, will feel inferior and then not try as hard.
having taught students who were tracked, the low kids NEED the extra attention that they can receive when they have been separated from the kids who have been identified as GATE or "honors" students.
also, putting a student who learns slower, in a class with the students who don't need the extra remediation, only discourages the slower student, and they tend to give up b/c they can't keep up.
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