Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
As far as the comment on special education, well, I have a student that I have spent the entire year trying to get put into special ed. No, it is not because he is a challenging child, it is because no matter how I try to help him, he can never get beyond a certain academic level. He is just getting further and further behind because tutoring isn't working. It isn't easy to have a student simply placed in special education and sometimes the students who desperately need the services don't receive them.
Wouldn't that be a situation we can thank the "no child left behind" plan for? In a nutshell, your teaching has to be tailored so the lowest ranking child can understand it. That's how a good friend, formerly a teacher, described it to me. Sort of like Grandpa's in the fast lane doing 35 mph and we all have to slow to a crawl so we get there at the same time and he doesn't feel left out.
Wouldn't that be a situation we can thank the "no child left behind" plan for? In a nutshell, your teaching has to be tailored so the lowest ranking child can understand it. That's how a good friend, formerly a teacher, described it to me. Sort of like Grandpa's in the fast lane doing 35 mph and we all have to slow to a crawl so we get there at the same time and he doesn't feel left out.
NCLB does not require that everyone else be held back to the level of the struggling students. There's no reason to hold everyone else back. That is something public schools have chosen to do on their own by refusing to group students appropriately to maximize each student's potential.
Each state sets their own educational standards, constructs their own tests, and establishes their own score cutoffs for 'meeting or exceeding' standards for NCLB.
Academic excellence hasn't been the public schools' agenda for decades, but now they're being held accountable for dropping the ball on academic proficiency and they don't like being called on their incompetence. That's why we're hearing so much NCLB bashing even when many states have set their passing scores so absurdly low compared to the NAEP grade-level standards that it's a national travesty.
If you want to see your state's reported NCLB proficiency levels vs. the NAEP proficiency levels (to see if your public schools are providing an adequate education), check here: NAEP Researchcenter - NAEP and State Equivalent Percent Table
For each grade level, the first column lists the percentage of students scoring as proficient (meets or exceeds state standards) on the state test; the second column lists the percentage of students scoring as proficient on the NAEP (National test).
The differences between the two are astounding! Every single state has less than 50% of their students achieving at grade-level on the NAEP (national proficiency test).
Teachers are only one part of a deeply flawed educational system. The problem is that the system does not work and the teachers insted of standing up for reform, defend the corrupt system and attempt to say the problem is that the system needs more money. The fact is that most teachers have little experiance in the real world, they do not understand how things really work so they do not know how what they are teaching is going to be relavant to real life. It reminds me of the song (after all the crap I learned in High School it's a wonder I can think at all). The average student goes through 10 years of math and yet by the time they graduate simple concepts of economics confound them. Their understanding of our goverment is pitiful and as a result they are ignorant of their responsibilities and disconected from the process. If teachers are sensitive to the critisism they recieve, perhaps it is time for them to become part of the solution insted of part of the problem. Start asking yourself if what you are teaching your students is really going to help them prosper in life? Is it what they need to know to be better citizens and build a better life and a better country? Teachers Unions spend hundreds of millions of dollars every election to alter the outcome of elections to get more tax money of which only 40% ever makes it to the class room, or to limit parents input and control over education. The country is clearly going in the wrong direction and the underlying reason is the ecucational system. In the real world a building is only as strong as it's foundation, the educational system is our counties foundation and it is clearly failing us.
What I did find that disturbed me was a teacher who refused to mark off for spelling in a social studies class stating that this was the 'current educational philosophy' as it wasn't an english class. A resource teacher who was charged with 'reading all assignments' for a high school boy clearly enabling his deficency to graduate as an illiterate. I was reprimanded because I insisted he read for himself and for hoping him which he could do if pressed, albeit slowly, apparently that being against state law.
This is the kind of thing that bothered me when I was teaching as a sub. I can't say I necessarily blamed the teachers because they have to follow rules to remain. Though I must say I was flabergasted that anyone could seriously defend these positions that were so clearly wrong headed. I know I couldn't.
I was astounded one day to be hired to read a state test (again by state law) for a middle school student to find that there was an entire gymnasium filled with others doing the same, and this was a small suburban school of all middle class english speakers.
I personally don't care what people think of the teaching profession. If I did, I wouldn't be in pursuit of it. As far as the "teachers are paid too much", maybe some people are just bitter? Perhaps those people are making less than teachers, which is actually quite sad. Teachers don't make much... they've been the joke of all professions in that regard. I'm not saying teachers are poor because that's really based on how well the individual saves. Even some NFL players go bankrupt after they've retired... But you don't see many teachers with BMWs and money in their 401k or IRA.
Last edited by Beretta; 04-19-2008 at 05:57 PM..
Reason: cut orphaned previous post
Why is teaching a profession SO often looked down upon?
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrshvo
You don't ever hear about firemen, nurses, policemen, doctors...being looked down upon. But bring up the teaching profession...and there is ALWAYS someone to say that teachers are paid enough...or too much...don't even work...have it easy....and so on. You don't ever hear people complaining when those other professions are asking for more money, more hours, and so on?
I wonder if it's because everybody has had more contact with teachers than any other professional (for example-I only see nurses when I'm sick, and have yet had to deal with a fireman or a policeman!). Everyone has went to school and had to deal with...what...possibly 7 teachers a year depending on if their school switched classes. Times that 7 teachers for every year they went to elementary school, middle school, high school and possibly college...
Maybe people had a bad teacher that ruined it for them. Maybe they didn't do well in school and blame the education (teacher) system. Maybe they are uneducated or undereducated- hence the ignorance. It sure doesn't help when the people going through education only see the teachers in the day...and during a school year...so the times they don't see them it appears as if they have free play time (nights, weekends and summers) such as they do.
But do you notice that all of the people bashing teachers are not teachers. Hence, they never walked in the shoes so how could they know everything that the job entailed?
Sure, there are some teachers that s#ck. Just like there are some dirty cops...some doctors that make fatal mistakes....greedy lawyers....but still, why are we looked down upon by so many?
Someone in this forum had said something along the lines as...."...don't try to give me this 'you teach the children of tomorrow...our future...get off your god complex'..." (not exact words).....but let me ask this: DON'T we teach the children of tomorrow? Aren't children, as they grow into adults...going to be responsible for our future? Don't we want to instill in them a proper education and morals?
What did I say that wasn't true? That was a lie? That isn't happening? It's not a "God complex" but the simple truth of what is going on. And still we're looked down upon by many.
Familiarity breeds contempt. Everyone has had extensive contact with teachers, and nearly everyone has had one or more teachers who weren't up to standard.
I generally have a lot of respect for teachers. There's only a couple of things that bother me though. As a student many years ago, I had learning disabilities. The teachers just assumed I was lazy and told me things like "you'll never do well". That's pretty harsh for a teacher to tell a kid. I had about the worst grades you'd ever seen. But, at my 20 year reunion, I was given the "Ritchie Rich" award because I had blown way past my classmates in terms of financial and business success, including all of the straight A students - most of whom worked in menial jobs.
I think there is a tendency for teachers to think that only kids who pay attention, turn their work in on time, do well on tests and aren't disruptive are good kids. That is their narrow view of success.
Also, I don't appreciate teachers with liberal agendas trying to influence my kids. I strongly believe teachers and news reporters should maintain a neutral stance on what they teach and report.
But you don't see many teachers with BMWs and money in their 401k or IRA.
You do around here. But they don't need a 401k or an IRA, the value of the average teacher's pension is worth about $2 million - 15% provided by the teachers' contributions (compounded by an average of a 6% return on investment over the years) and the remaining 85% provided by taxpayers.
"Suffice it to say that there are no teachers in the six-county metro area retiring at age 55 after 34 years that are retiring on pensions less than $1.25 million. Most of them are close to the $2 million mark."
Family Taxpayers Foundation - School Reform (http://www.thechampion.org/article.asp?id=2053 - broken link)
Family Taxpayers Foundation - School Reform (http://www.thechampion.org/article.asp?id=7431 - broken link)
Sgoldie, I was told in Baltimore that I could not mark "certain" things wrong when grading the endless parade of tests we had to give the kids. These things were: spelling, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization. I was dumbstruck, as they had to "write out" ALL their anwers to the tests, even in math (as in, I don't care if you know that 3 x 3 = 9; write and tell me HOW you figured out the answer, and if you get a different answer, well, then, that's OK, too- as long as you can WRITE and tell me how you got that answer). This also applied to the "reading" parts of the tests. I balked, saying, how do you grade writing that is misspelled, not punctuated, not capitalized, and written in nonstandard English? They simply said, "Grade on content- what you think they are trying to say". Someone here who wrote that teachers should teach with the sense of, "This will help you prosper in life". I agree, but the Baltimore school system does not.
Buckhead, I agree we have to pay attention to every nuance of our students' behavior. I had an abused third grader (he was finally removed from the home in January of that year) who was petrified of talking in front of people. Literally, he would shake- it had to do with what was going on at home. His second grade teacher (last year for her before she retired, she was mean and burned out) gave him failing grades b/c he refused to read aloud in class. Idiot. My kids had to make an oral book report (they got to bring in props and act out scenes- it was fun), but I knew this kid could not handle it. One day during recess, we talked about him simply reading a book, and he and I would discuss it, in private. He read a book he loved, and was totally animated, telling me about it. I was shocked, but pleased. This was a kid who sat with his head down, and here he was, excited about what he has read. But, he would have NEVER been able to do that in front of a class. I got a lot of criticism for that ("You're playing favorites, he isn't doing what everyone else is, why can't EVERYONE have a private session with the teacher?") Well, being fair is giving each kid what they need, and he needed to be one on one that year. He transferred later that year to go live with his Dad, and he was much better. You have to bend the rules a bit to give kids what they need. Think outside that state testing box. But, I still got a lot of flack for doing it.
Also, I see an agenda creeping into a lot of science things, such as global warming. I have to closely monitor this, as they will appeal to the little ones, with "The cute polar bears are DYING b/c your Mom drives YOU around in her SUV." I read/watch everything before the kids do (DVDs, publications from companies) so I can make sure it's not nonsense, and give them some balance.
Last edited by Oldiebutgoodie26; 04-14-2008 at 07:42 AM..
I am sure you do a great job and I am not attacking you personaly. What I am saying is the system as a whole is broken, and we cannot even begin the process of repairing it untill we admit it's flaws. Defending a broken system will only give us more of the same. Repairing the educational system is the first step in putting the country as a whole back on the right track. A properly educated population is essential for a democracy to work. A poorly educated population can be decieved and controled. Unfortunately what we have now is just that.
Last edited by Beretta; 04-19-2008 at 06:05 PM..
Reason: deleted quoted post that had been deleted
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
Why is teaching a profession SO often looked down upon?
