I'm tempted to add two questions here, and answer them.
1. What makes a good student? One who shows up to class prepared to work. Do
you know how rare that can be in some circumstances? You simply cannot teach
anything to a student who declines to learn. You can keep them quiet, possibly.
But hat's about it. I cite the brilliant Monty Python sketch about sex
education. If a student has concluded that anything that happens in a
schoolroom is boring and irrelevant BECAUSE it is happening in a schoolroom
then it's very difficult to to overcome that - in fact, usually impossible
because you have 25 or so other students to deal with. Reach a tipping point of
a certain proportion of such students in a class and nothing you can do will
change things. You may as well just have a chat with them about the weather and
the football.
I used to refuse to refer to some kids as 'students' on the grounds that
students are people who study - and they didn't
2. What makes a good parent, as far as a school is concerned? Well, one who
shows up to parent teacher nights and meetings and doesn't make knee-jerk
excuses for the fact that their offspring are surly, unkempt, uncooperative,
indolent, rude, offensive, racist, late, ill-equipped, missing, devious,
mendacious, unwashed, unfed, stoned, unengaged, ill-prepared or dressed like a
cheap sex worker. (tick one box or more). The broad majority of parents in the
lower middle class suburbs where I've worked for many years treat the school
like any other service that they use - they send the kids to us to get educated
or worse, babysat, and beyond that, it's nothing much to do with them. You see
them when they show up to object that little Johnny (six foot, thug) got
injured because he picked a fight with the wrong opponent and lost; got kept in
and missed the bus so they had to drive half-a-mile to get him; told Chantelle
or Taylah to dress a little more appropriately (less make up, d
o your shirt up, skirt a little lower than the gluteal fold); failed because
they did no work at all but it's because the teacher is picking on her. Then
they're cross and demand you do something about it because it has interfered
with their plans for the day.
A teacher cannot 'do its job' in isolation. You don't think the local school is
much good so what do you do? You pull your child out of it and compound the
problem. Better to actually get involved, find out what the problem is and
first of all, make sure that your assessment is warranted. I've seen excellent
schools with poor reputations generated by the most ridiculous and bizarre
community rumours and misconceptions. If the school doesn't want to discuss it
or welcome your measured, calm and concerned input, then you have a fair
complaint.
Yes there are lazy and hopeless teachers - I can tell you stories that would
make you shake and twitch. But most are conscientious individuals who want to
teach - it's easier than riot control anyway! Some are the lazy ones are those
who've given up, beaten by the clientele and the system which is making
increasingly unrealistic demands.
The latest and most disturbing trend reflects your demand that the emphasis is
on delivery, not content. Teachers are being styled as 'classroom managers' and
told that a good teacher can teach just about anything ('We're teachers of
children, not subjects Andrew'). This is very convenient for the administration
of course as then they don't have to match teachers and disciplines too
carefully. It does mean that the new crop of teachers may be astonishingly
ignorant of their subject but that's OK because hey you've got a textbook and
you know how to teach, right? No point being brilliant at delivery if you don't
understand it and you've got it wrong.
If I leave a class confident that one third of the class willfully ignored the
material, one third got' it and one third actually understood it, does that
make me a bad teacher or one that simply recognises what is possible?
Andrew Fildes
afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
On 25/12/2010, at 3:42 AM, Willie Wonka wrote:
> I would disagree with this statement, Chuck.
>
> If it were up to me, I would say the ratio is more like 30/70%, yes 70% is
> the teachers' contribution. There is nothing like a teacher that does its
> job.
>
> My son is now enrolled in an expensive private school, just for the same
> reason: The teachers at his school were plain bad. Portsmouth, RI used to
> have the second best school system in the state, but financial problem led to
> having good teachers taking job in Mass and bad teachers coming to RI...I was
> spending two hours at night teaching him what he was not able to get in
> class, but the results were mediocre, since I couldnt go through all the
> material. BTW, had Carl Seagan seen me in action, he would have been proud
> of me as I borrowed his methods.
>
> Which brings me to the point: What constitutes a good teacher? Someone who
> does its job. See, a teacher isnt someone who knows the material...they
> arent trained in that. They are supposed to be trained in approaches how to
> deliver the material to the students. So, a good teacher is the one who
> leaves the classroom at the end of the class period confident that each of
> his students got the material. A great teacher is the one who inspires
> students to venture further into the material.
>
> Best
>
> Boris
>
>
>
>
> --
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>
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