Waiting for Superman was another fantastic expose into why our
schools are failing. I have not yet formed my opinion about charter schools so I
am trying to keep a critical mindset when it comes to opinions on both sides of
the argument. However, I have come to a conclusion on what I think is coming
through loud and clear on both sides: teachers make the difference. It doesn’t
matter if a child is in a public, charter, parochial, magnet, etc.; what
matters is the difference that a good teacher can make on the lives of the
children in their class. I think this is one of the biggest problems that
plagues education around the nation- mediocre and/or horrible teachers.
Clearly, teachers who know their craft and are properly prepared to teach are
not being produced in the supply needed to satisfy the demand for them. While I
don’t know what this teacher preparation needs to look like, I do know that it
needs to happen at a higher level than it currently is. If a teacher is well
versed in their craft, they can truly make a difference in the lives of
children, wherever they may go to teach.
A
study recently came out of Harvard saying that just one year with a good
teacher has a statistical impact on whether a child attends college and their future
income [http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/10/07/great-teachers-make-difference/MbEiAkGt5Dmaq8kTeZrdYO/story.html].
If only one year can make a difference, imagine what having 12+ years of good
teachers could do to assist a child in achieving their dreams. While the article
did not say exactly how to quantify a good teacher, it is a step in the right direction
of trying to better understand what teachers need to succeed in helping
students learn. The educational system in our nation needs to quickly figure
out how to produce teachers who can make these impacts; every year they do not,
children are losing out on a year of a great education.
I absolutely agree with your post. I think as a society, people want to point fingers at the types of schools as being the cause of failing or exceeding students. It truly is the teachers, how prepared they are and how competent they are in the material they are teaching that will determine the success of the children and the schools. The article you supplied has an outstanding statistic on how much a teacher can influence a child in just one year. Wouldn't it be fascinating if all teachers could have this impact on all children? Maybe we as a society should try harder to prepare our teachers to be great teachers, instead of spending time debating on which type of school is best for children to attend.
ReplyDeleteI 100% completely agree with what you posted. As we have discussed previously in class, teaching is one of he hardest and most difficult professions and not everyone who goes into teaching is cut out for that particular career. There are too many teachers out there who fit this mold and should not be in schools. In "Waiting for Superman", it was mentioned that there are bad schools with bad teachers and the students who go to these schools are constantly exposed to bad and ineffective teaching. They are pushed through a system in which most people do not care whether or not they are succeeding. Therefore by the time they graduate, they have been exposed to 12 years for inadequate teaching. There needs to be a better way of keeping teachers accountable and one of those ways is to eliminate tenure or make is harder for teachers to obtain.
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