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Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 5:48:48 AM   
thornhappy


Posts: 8596
Joined: 12/16/2006
Status: offline 		Hi folks--

(I put this in Politics and Religious because similar discussions bog down in political policy.)

There's a fascinating article in the Sunday Magazine section of the NYTimes today titled "Building a Better Teacher".  The gist is that of all the things under a district's control, it's the teacher that has the largest impact.  An outstanding teacher can get in 1.5 years of knowledge during the school year, while a poor one will actually slide back 0.5 years in the same span.

However, teachers are not taught the mechanics of teaching, and haven't been taught that for decades (not since the days of the "normal schools" of the late 19th and early 20th century).  This article looks at the work done by a few individuals and schools to define good practices and essential knowledge (for instance, even math majors may stumble on some concepts covered in elementary school math classes.)

According to the article, if you can teach the solid middle of the pack the skills that are used by the outstanding folks, the US would be up there with Japan on international scores within a few years.

Fan-fucking-tastic article.

(It would be cool to address the stuff in the article and not have a quick descent into the evils of free enterprise (around Ohio, charter schools aren't any better at teaching than public schools) vs the evils of the teacher's unions.  But that may be as likely as finding a hawt hawt hawt bi sister slave! )

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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 5:56:41 AM   
StrangerThan


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Status: offline 		The first step in building a better teacher is take government control out of the classroom. My sister taught for years, and freely admitted most of what she taught was the end of grade tests.

Not because she wanted to. Because she had to.

There's nothing to discuss until you accomplish that.

_____________________________


--'Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform' - Mark Twain

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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 6:03:13 AM   
Level


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Status: offline 		If you find a hawt hawt hawt bi-sister slave that is a good teacher, let me know, I'd like to spend an evening "mentoring" you both.

Good article! We do need better trained teachers; just throwing money at schools won't work.

_____________________________

Fake the heat and scratch the itch
Skinned up knees and salty lips
Let go it's harder holding on
One more trip and I'll be gone

~~ Stone Temple Pilots

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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 6:51:11 AM   
Aneirin


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Joined: 3/18/2006
From: Tamaris
Status: offline 		True teachers are born, not made, and it is often the most reluctant that make the best teachers.

_____________________________

Everything we are is the result of what we have thought, the mind is everything, what we think, we become - Guatama Buddha

Conservatism is distrust of people tempered by fear - William Gladstone

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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 8:48:20 AM   
thornhappy


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Status: offline 		Aneirin, the whole point of the article is that great teachers can be made.

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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 12:09:20 PM   
heartcream


Posts: 3044
Joined: 5/9/2007
From: Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop
Status: offline 		I went to many years of post-secondary school and eventually thought to become a teacher and then I decided to quit school for more reasons than one. I am a painter, an oil painter and as I went to school I taught for the Board of Ed on Saturdays to kids 6-13. I taught them what I was learning in the local art college at the time. At the end of the sessions the parents were gob smacked at the work they did.

I would love to have a school it is one of my dreams. clear out an old church and move in with excellent teachers and students who want to be there.

As a kid I loathed that whole wait til you grow up jammer they touted as why my education sucked ass.

I would get the kids doing their dreams immediately. Have the adults facilitate the children not the other way around. The adults would be there to do all the things the kids may not have the dexterity or technical knowledge to carry off. They want to paint? Cool I would set them up with a real canvas and some good paint and then I would clean up for them, wash their brushes.

They want to make a film? Cool, a film person would take direction from them and make it happen.

I quit University because I realized there was no way I could deal with the low ceiling in the classrooms, real and metaphoric. I abhor florescent lighting, I hate the bureaucratic nonsense and being around other teachers with the wrong motivation and kids who dont want to be there.

I think there is nothing like a good teacher, nothing like it. I would say there are a handful of teachers who saved my life literally. There were others who did damage to me as well.

I think education is awesome and if I could set it up the way I feel is healthy and great it would be so very wonderful.

The government being so involved and the nature of the governments involvement is nothing I am interested in though.

So I became a waitress in order to paint which I dunno not so great either.

_____________________________

"Exaggerate the essential, leave the obvious vague." Vincent Van Gogh

I'd Rather Be With You

Every single line means something.
Jean-Michel Basquiat



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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 1:20:25 PM   
NorthernGent


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quote:

ORIGINAL: thornhappy

Aneirin, the whole point of the article is that great teachers can be made.



Seems obvious to me. Knowledge is acquired throughout life as are the social skills that are a prerequisite for teaching.

Don't recall any distinguished scientists/philosophers/teachers etc being 2 months old.


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I have the courage to be a coward - but not beyond my limits.

Sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.

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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 2:30:26 PM   
heartcream


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From: Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop
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quote:

ORIGINAL: NorthernGent


Seems obvious to me. Knowledge is acquired throughout life as are the social skills that are a prerequisite for teaching.

Don't recall any distinguished scientists/philosophers/teachers etc being 2 months old.



I think some 2 month olds would have much to teach for one thing.

_____________________________

"Exaggerate the essential, leave the obvious vague." Vincent Van Gogh

I'd Rather Be With You

Every single line means something.
Jean-Michel Basquiat



(in reply to NorthernGent)
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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 3:04:06 PM   
Real0ne


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quote:

ORIGINAL: StrangerThan

The first step in building a better teacher is take government control out of the classroom. My sister taught for years, and freely admitted most of what she taught was the end of grade tests.

Not because she wanted to. Because she had to.

There's nothing to discuss until you accomplish that.


_____________________________

"We the Borg" of the us imperialists....resistance is futile

Democracy; The 'People' voted on 'which' amendment?

Yesterdays tinfoil is today's reality!

"No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session

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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 5:30:40 PM   
mefisto69


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Status: offline 		they slyly left out the fact that there have been 2 full generations ground up and spit out of the whole language machine. current parents and teachers have such downgraded educations that it will be impossible to raise standards the old way ( teaching content). since 1975, there have been 3 iterations of this abomination designed to dumb down america. as an aside..... there has been NO attempt to improve reading comprehension in 40 years. good luck to all the young ones.

OH OH OH PS: there is (was) a very good Music History text book used in undergraduate and graduate studies. it's used in most of the universities in the US. an editor by name of Claude Palisca took over when the original guy died. Palisca says: we took out the difficult terminology and definitions and the music history of Spain and Latin America because that just wasn't important. In place we put, charts, graphs and color photographs because university students learn better that way. anyone here know what grade levels in grammar school use charts, graphs and colored pics? this is just one discipline. go check out text books from 1975 and compare them to Any text in the same subject area with todays dumbed down comic books.

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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 5:41:14 PM   
LadyAngelika


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quote:

ORIGINAL: NorthernGent


quote:

ORIGINAL: thornhappy

Aneirin, the whole point of the article is that great teachers can be made.



Seems obvious to me. Knowledge is acquired throughout life as are the social skills that are a prerequisite for teaching.

Don't recall any distinguished scientists/philosophers/teachers etc being 2 months old.



Knowledge doesn't make one a good teacher. It makes one a knowledgeable person. One just has to go in a University class to see this.

Teachers can be made. It requires teaching someone the following skills: observation, assessment, communication, design, adaptation and evaluation (to name a few).

I would however argue that some people are naturally better teachers than other.

I'm not sure what the main issues are in the US in terms of the educational system. I know here in Canada the situation isn't as bad, but there is still a lot of discussion around whether or not we should have teacher training programmes. Right now in Québec, one simply needs a Bachelors of Education to teach, but what they learn in this program is more Ed Studies and Ed Pschology. What they really need is classroom management skills.

- LA

_____________________________

Une main de fer dans un gant de velours ~ An iron hand in a velvet glove

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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 6:12:45 PM   
Aneirin


Posts: 6121
Joined: 3/18/2006
From: Tamaris
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: NorthernGent


quote:

ORIGINAL: thornhappy

Aneirin, the whole point of the article is that great teachers can be made.



Seems obvious to me. Knowledge is acquired throughout life as are the social skills that are a prerequisite for teaching.

Don't recall any distinguished scientists/philosophers/teachers etc being 2 months old.



Why two months old, why not one month or less, or more, many go into teaching for whatever reasons, that is not to say what they learn makes them a good teacher. Teachers are born, not made, some people have the natural patience in them to ensure a pupil is taught, governments and policies and other hairy fairy bullshit  implemented does nought but confuse the issue. The time for a teacher to be the best, is when other influences get the fuck out of it and leave the teacher to teach what is needed to know for the pupil to move onto the next stage of life.


_____________________________

Everything we are is the result of what we have thought, the mind is everything, what we think, we become - Guatama Buddha

Conservatism is distrust of people tempered by fear - William Gladstone

(in reply to NorthernGent)
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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 6:19:14 PM   
servantforuse


Posts: 6363
Joined: 3/8/2006
Status: offline 		Here in Milwaukee they go into teaching for the money. A teacher in 2010 here in beer town will have an average salary of $100,000.. This will include $56,000 in salary and $44,000 in benefits.. It's ok because they are there for the children...(barf)

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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 6:45:46 PM   
Aneirin


Posts: 6121
Joined: 3/18/2006
From: Tamaris
Status: offline 		You know something, I despise that notion; in it for the children, bollocks. Anyone who tries to promote their cause using children as a cover all is a charlatan, the use of children, in either protecting the innocence or similar crap, is all about a person recognising add children to the reason ensure success. Children are being used to further the aims of unscrupulous power hungry arse holes who want for themselves, not for those they use.

_____________________________

Everything we are is the result of what we have thought, the mind is everything, what we think, we become - Guatama Buddha

Conservatism is distrust of people tempered by fear - William Gladstone

(in reply to servantforuse)
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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 6:49:09 PM   
servantforuse


Posts: 6363
Joined: 3/8/2006
Status: offline 		Welcome to the teachers union in Wisconsin. That is the salary for 188 teaching days in the year.

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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 6:53:07 PM   
thompsonx


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quote:

ORIGINAL: servantforuse

Here in Milwaukee they go into teaching for the money. A teacher in 2010 here in beer town will have an average salary of $100,000.. This will include $56,000 in salary and $44,000 in benefits.. It's ok because they are there for the children...(barf)



Either back up your bullshit or just back up. Just because you say a teacher makes $100,000 means little.
Did you mean to say that a person who has a 4 year college degree and another year getting a teaching credential starts teaching at about $30,000 a year with benifits that cost the district less than $8,000.
My niece has been teaching for ten years and has a BS,a teaching credential and two MS degrees. She makes $65,000 and her benifits statement from the district shows her bennies at costing the district $8000.
I would like to know how much you think someone with those sorts of credentials should be making. For the math challanged that 65K amounts to about $32.50 an hour. That is less than half of what a plumber makes with no degree.

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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 6:56:17 PM   
thompsonx


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quote:

I think some 2 month olds would have much to teach for one thing.


Like what ?

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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 7:00:08 PM   
servantforuse


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Status: offline 		Do a search for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal..It's all right there.

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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 7:06:35 PM   
thompsonx


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quote:

ORIGINAL: servantforuse

Welcome to the teachers union in Wisconsin. That is the salary for 188 teaching days in the year.

Again for the math challanged we have 188 teaching days a year where the teacher dedicates between ten and twelve hours a day is over 2000 hours a year. Teachers are salaried not hourly,so there is no overtime.
Forty hours a week for 50 weeks a year is 2000 hours.
This private tutorial has been brought to you free of charge,by a math teacher, because you obviously failed to pay attention when you were in school.

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RE: Building a Better Teacher - 3/7/2010 7:08:36 PM   
thompsonx


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quote:

ORIGINAL: servantforuse

Do a search for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal..It's all right there.



Why don't you bring it up here and I will slice it up for you so you can understand what it actually says.

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