nebula Posted March 1, 2014 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.76 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.95 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Share Posted March 1, 2014 You think you know what teachers do. Right? Wrong. By Valerie Strauss February 22 at 11:30 am You went to school so you think you know what teachers do, right? You are wrong. Here’s a piece explaining all of this from Sarah Blaine, a mom, former teacher and full-time practicing attorney in New Jersey who writes at her parentingthecore blog, where this first appeared. ~~~~~~~ Teaching as a profession has no mystery. It has no mystique. It has no respect. We were students, and therefore we know teachers. We denigrate teachers. We criticize teachers. We can do better than teachers. After all: We do. They teach. We are wrong. We need to honor teachers. We need to respect teachers. We need to listen to teachers. We need to stop reducing teachers to arbitrary measurements of student growth on so-called objective exams. Most of all, we need to stop thinking that we know anything about teaching merely by virtue of having once been students. We don’t know. <snip> The problem with teaching as a profession is that every single adult citizen of this country thinks that they know what teachers do. And they don’t. So they prescribe solutions, and they develop public policy, and they editorialize, and they politicize. And they don’t listen to those who do know. Those who could teach. The teachers. Read the meat of the argument here (Please read the actual explanations given before commenting counter-arguments, please.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnochBethany Posted March 1, 2014 Group: Removed from Forums for Breaking Terms of Service Followers: 1 Topic Count: 8 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 649 Content Per Day: 0.17 Reputation: 99 Days Won: 3 Joined: 02/21/2014 Status: Offline Share Posted March 1, 2014 "The problem with teaching as a profession is that every single adult citizen of this country thinks that they know what teachers do." Is that arrogant? Surely ye are the people, & wisdom shall die with you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
other one Posted March 1, 2014 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 29 Topic Count: 597 Topics Per Day: 0.08 Content Count: 56,106 Content Per Day: 7.56 Reputation: 27,836 Days Won: 271 Joined: 12/29/2003 Status: Offline Share Posted March 1, 2014 My wife was a teacher for 20+ years..... my sister was a teacher for 35+ years.... my brother in law was a teacher for aobut 30 years and my sister in law taught for about 5 years.... I have 9 close cousins that are teachers, and most of my wife's friends are teachers...... there is no way under the sun that I would be a teacher.... I spent nearly 40 years working for Xerox dealing with high stress situations and a hoard of angry people for they couldn't get thier work done......... but I never came home in tears...... and I never wanted to bring one of my printers home because it was being abused.... There are as many husbands and wives as there are teachers...... so I can tell you that "Some of us Know". However.... I never had one of my printers come up, give me a hug and say I love you... I never had one of them come up to me in tears and ask me to pray for it's mother who was dying...... So from someone on the inside who has patiently watched and helped as much as possible I can tell you without a doubt that teachers are blessed by God more than anyone I know....... for they are doing what God told us to do concerning the little ones...... and there must be a special place in heaven for them when we all get there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebula Posted March 1, 2014 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.76 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.95 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 "The problem with teaching as a profession is that every single adult citizen of this country thinks that they know what teachers do." Is that arrogant? Surely ye are the people, & wisdom shall die with you! Did you read the article? The author is a lawyer who failed started out, and failed, as a teacher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OakWood Posted March 1, 2014 Group: Royal Member Followers: 7 Topic Count: 867 Topics Per Day: 0.24 Content Count: 7,331 Content Per Day: 2.00 Reputation: 2,860 Days Won: 31 Joined: 04/09/2014 Status: Offline Birthday: 04/28/1964 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Quote: "We need to stop reducing teachers to arbitrary measurements of student growth on so-called objective exams." Sounds like Marxist rubbish to me. It's just the excuse progressives need to dumb down the kids. "Hey, it's not about passing exams - everyone's a winner." The trouble is teachers are not been judged by how well their pupils do anymore. Education is not about education anymore, it's about political propaganda. I really don't know what teachers really do and I don't need to. I don't know what doctors do either, but if I met a failed doctor who told me to 'stop reducing doctors to arbitrary measurements of patient care on so-called objective survival results', I'd run a mile. I expect doctors to heal patients (or at least do the best they can) and I expect teachers to teach kids to pass exams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Amen~! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneLight Posted March 2, 2014 Group: Royal Member Followers: 22 Topic Count: 1,294 Topics Per Day: 0.21 Content Count: 31,762 Content Per Day: 5.23 Reputation: 9,762 Days Won: 115 Joined: 09/14/2007 Status: Offline Share Posted March 2, 2014 School has left the academic field and stepped into the social experimental field a long time ago. Teachers are less respected on the streets than drug dealers, it is a feel good - get rich quick society. The reflection of what is going on in the schools can be seen in the kids, despite everything the teachers want to do or how hard they try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebula Posted March 2, 2014 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.76 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.95 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 Quote: "We need to stop reducing teachers to arbitrary measurements of student growth on so-called objective exams." Sounds like Marxist rubbish to me. It's just the excuse progressives need to dumb down the kids. "Hey, it's not about passing exams - everyone's a winner." The trouble is teachers are not been judged by how well their pupils do anymore. Education is not about education anymore, it's about political propaganda. Actually, it is the political propaganda that has been dumbing down education. "Teaching to the exam" has been hindering many teachers from truly teaching their students. I can give many rants on the problems with our education system. The teacher isn't the problem. Yet all programs to "improve" teaching put the problem squarely on the shoulders of the teacher, and many are dying under that weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OakWood Posted March 2, 2014 Group: Royal Member Followers: 7 Topic Count: 867 Topics Per Day: 0.24 Content Count: 7,331 Content Per Day: 2.00 Reputation: 2,860 Days Won: 31 Joined: 04/09/2014 Status: Offline Birthday: 04/28/1964 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Quote: "We need to stop reducing teachers to arbitrary measurements of student growth on so-called objective exams." Sounds like Marxist rubbish to me. It's just the excuse progressives need to dumb down the kids. "Hey, it's not about passing exams - everyone's a winner." The trouble is teachers are not been judged by how well their pupils do anymore. Education is not about education anymore, it's about political propaganda. Actually, it is the political propaganda that has been dumbing down education. "Teaching to the exam" has been hindering many teachers from truly teaching their students. I can give many rants on the problems with our education system. The teacher isn't the problem. Yet all programs to "improve" teaching put the problem squarely on the shoulders of the teacher, and many are dying under that weight. You're right - the teacher is not the problem. I'm not blaming the teacher and I realise that it is a difficult job. The problem is the view that education is not about achievement anymore, it's about an all-inclusive feel good system where the standards are moulded around the pupil instead of the pupil being raised to the standards. Great nations are already being reduced to mediocrity by such nonsense. I'm sorry, but the line "We need to stop reducing teachers to arbitrary measurements of student growth on so-called objective exams." just sums it all up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
other one Posted March 2, 2014 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 29 Topic Count: 597 Topics Per Day: 0.08 Content Count: 56,106 Content Per Day: 7.56 Reputation: 27,836 Days Won: 271 Joined: 12/29/2003 Status: Offline Share Posted March 2, 2014 Quote: "We need to stop reducing teachers to arbitrary measurements of student growth on so-called objective exams." Sounds like Marxist rubbish to me. It's just the excuse progressives need to dumb down the kids. "Hey, it's not about passing exams - everyone's a winner." The trouble is teachers are not been judged by how well their pupils do anymore. Education is not about education anymore, it's about political propaganda. Actually, it is the political propaganda that has been dumbing down education. "Teaching to the exam" has been hindering many teachers from truly teaching their students. I can give many rants on the problems with our education system. The teacher isn't the problem. Yet all programs to "improve" teaching put the problem squarely on the shoulders of the teacher, and many are dying under that weight. That would greatly depend on the exam..... it bothers me to hear that particular phrase in the problem of schools. If you are going to teach someone something, you need to tell them what you are going to teach them, then teach them, then test them to see if they have learned what you wanted to teach them..... to make sure they did learn.. we've been doing that for hundreds of years. and there is nothing wrong with that. Where the problem comes in is in the liberal education people setting the test standards to political goals instead of general knowledge. You always teach to the test.......... but the test should cover what you want to teach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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