The Second Post of the Day
Becauase, of course, as soon as I got out of my office, everything went to hell.
At any rate, in honor of the end of the term, I thought I’d pass along the following:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iOHlQuMUF6U9anesMfMGcqEbL1LgD9FKG3R04
God, that looks awful.
Anyway, it’s about colleges and remedial courses, and isn’t anything I haven’t said before.
It does make me wonder, though, why nobodycomes out and says that what’s going to have to happen is a huge change in the high schools.
The Democrats get excused as being in the pockets of the teacher’s unions, but the Republicans never suggest things like doing away with the schools of education, requiring higher grades and board scores for people who want to be teachers along with subject matter degrees, and all the rest of it.
All the merit pay and charter schools in the world are not going to do any good as long as all your teachers come out of the same sausage factory, low-entry-standard, pseudo-scientific “social science” model of how to train teachers.
Okay, not in a good mood today.
3 Responses to 'The Second Post of the Day'
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Give the Reps some credit, though: the charter schools, vouchers and two or three programs to get older and better-educated teachers in the classrooms–even if they have to take “education” courses afterward–are steps in the right direction. And those steps have gotten them plenty of grief and precious few votes. When it comes right down to it, the people most victimized by the present system are consistently voting for those who uphold it.
However, as I recall, at least one state simply doesn’t recognize “education” degrees, which ought to take a sledgehammer to the system. Are they showing measureable results?
Note: Indiana is NOT that state, but as a matter of policy in my son’s high school, no one was hired or retained without a degree in the appropriate subject.
robert_piepenbrink
18 May 10 at 3:43 pm
If only people with advanced knowledge in a subject area were always good at imparting the basics!
That’s an important part of the problem – assuming that subject matter knowledge alone suffices for a teacher. It doesn’t. And if you’re talking about very basic knowledge – eg elementary school level – I’d say that past a certain basic level, subject matter knowledge is almost irrelevant. It’s a rare PhD who can even remember what problems understanding the material he had as an undergraduate.
I am not an unqualified supporter of teacher education, not at all. But I don’t really think putting people in classrooms based solely on their degree work in math or chemistry is any better – and except for some unusually skilled people, the ‘born teachers’ who have degrees, may be worse.
Cheryl
18 May 10 at 5:23 pm
Well, our state keeps raising the standards required for teachers, and doesn’t raise the salaries, so Econ 101 will tell you the outcome: Teacher shortages.
Cathy
CAFiorello
18 May 10 at 6:28 pm