[HPFGU-OTChatter] My own education rant ( Re: Reading, Writing, and Multiple Choice)

[rvotaw at i-55.com]

Before I start, let me emphasize that I've been taking deep breaths all day 
before sitting down to do this.  So if I haven't cooled off by now it's through 
no fault of my own.

Haggridd wrote:

> favorite metaphor). I keyed on the above lines from Richelle, 
> because it reflects a common mistaken attitude: that low teacher pay 
> is the reason our students don't learn, and that raising teacher pay 
> will correct the situation.

Oh, lovely, I see we're once again operating under the assumption that teachers 
are at fault and obviously don't know what's best for the school system.  
Excuse me, but it's true.  No, more pay doesn't make you a better teacher.  But 
better pay does keep good teachers in the state rather than them moving to 
neighboring states (or across the country).  If you don't believe me, visit one 
of the education job fairs at a university in Louisiana.  Other states with 
teacher shortages target Louisiana because of the low teacher pay.  I graduated 
with people who now teach in Alaska, California, Texas, etc.  When I graduated 
school systems in California were paying teachers to fly to California for 
extensive interviews.  

> 2. Abolish degrees in education. Teachers should learn an <BR>
> substantive body of knowledge and get a degree in a "real" , so 
that <BR>
> they will understand their subject well enough to be creative in <BR>
> communicating it in different ways to their pupils. Those process <BR>
> course in educational techniques should be a minor for prospective <BR>
> teachers, but the "process" is far less important than the 
"who, <BR>
> what, when, where and why" of a subject-- any subject.<BR>

As someone else already said, that's where teachers like Snape come from.  I've 
had quite a number of college professors who are brilliant chemists, but don't 
have a clue how to express what they know and explain it to students.  For that 
matter, perhaps you are not familiar with a basic curriculum included in a 
degree in Elementary Education?

A sampling of classes I took (naturally, I can't remember all of them!):

Organic Chemistry
Botany
Zoology
English Literature
American Literature
College Algebra
Statistics
Music Appreciation
Health Science
Nutrition
American History
World History
Louisiana History
Physical Geography

I teach first grade, do I use any of these?  Not a one.  Did they help me learn 
to teach?  No.  Could I teach as effectively as I do with only those topics and 
not the additional education courses?  Not a chance.

> 3. A corollary to #2 is to facilitate certification of individuals <BR>
> who know their subjects, but do not have an "education" degree by 
<BR>
> exam. I mean an exam about the subject, not about how to make <BR>
> posters as audio-visual aids.<BR>

Right.  That's where the college professors come from.  The ones that are 
brilliant, but can't genuinely teach.  They can present information, but not 
*teach* information.  There is a difference.

> 4. Retest teachers on their knowledge about the subjects they are <BR>
> teaching periodically, with real sanctions if they do not pass.<BR>

Oh, good.  I'll love that test.  "What is a noun?"  "Find the noun in this 
sentence: The cat is brown."  "2+7=__"  I'll ace that test.  How do I sign up?

> 6. Pay raises should be merit-based, not longevity-based. <BR>

Really?  Name a field of expertise which doesn't increase pay with experience.  
Anyone who works at McDonald's for 6 months gets a raise.  Wal-Mart gives their 
employees a raise every year at least.  So you're telling me I shouldn't get a 
raise next year unless I can prove that my students learned more than the other 
teachers students?  And how do you plan to measure who deserves a pay raise and 
who doesn't?  Student test scores?  So, how do my 14 students from single 
parent families with low incomes, half the time no phone connected, fairly 
common to have no electricity, some don't even have running water.  They barely 
have enough money for clothes (some wouldn't have suitable clothes except for 
uniform vouchers from the school and various charities).  Clothes are rarely 
washed every week, since they don't have washer/dryer and the washateria is 
expensive when toothpaste is considered a luxury.  All of my students are on 
the free breakfast and lunch program.  There are no books in the home.  Parents 
work nights, no one is there to help with homework.

So sure, go ahead, take my students and compare them to the children who are 
read to every night, who have clean clothes to wear, who actually brush their 
teeth twice a day, whose parents sit down and spend an hour going over homework 
every day and so on.  

Shall we compare the scores of my students with those just described?  Does 
that measure my ability to teach compared to the teacher who has the other 
class?

I won't even get into vouchers and all that, I've gone on long enough.  (taking 
more deep breaths)

Richelle

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