Why Our (Your) Teachers Can't Teach

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Glock27's picture

NCTQ is leading us into another government ruled, regulated, law and etc. No disagreement with the assessment. When I graduated "earning" my teaching certificate I felt helpless in the classroom. It was nothing more than time, exposure, failures, corrections of mistakes and etc, before I began to feel comfortable with teaching. Had I not received the training I would have walked out of the classroom.

Teaching is not an easy task. I had control of the classroom and I disseminated information to the students. When you have 30 plus students in one class it is nearly impossible to provide individual attention to those who really need the help.

My training, as I think back over it, was sub-par. I think most of the professors were mostly interested in the payday more than anything else.

Sharon Secor's picture

Well, you're placed in a situation designed for failure, if the goal is actually to educate. 30 children is just too many. As you well know, I'm sure, not every child learns at the same rate or in the same way.

Furthermore, the failure of the education system lies not just with teachers or the public school system itself, which resembles a prison system in form and function more every day. The bottom line is the bottom line on this one... it is the fault of the parents.

The education of children is the responsibility of the parents. If they choose to send their children to school instead of doing it themselves, they must see to it that their kids are properly prepared for the classroom in terms of behavior. Teachers should not be engaged in serious discipline. Parents should teach their children to act right. Children should enter the classroom prepared to learn.

And, if the school is substandard -- even to the pathetic standards most public schools have these days -- it is up to the parent to take up the slack. If children are struggling with their schoolwork, parents need to take an active role in solving the problem. Pure and simple. If Johnny can't read his diploma, the fact is it is the parents' fault. They should have recognized and dealt with the problem long before that point.

However, many parents are happy to ignore their responsibility concerning the education of their children and blame teachers and schools. They complain about what they are taught and what they do not learn. Yet, do they turn off the TV and spend time in the afternoon or evening supplementing the education of their children? No, many do not, because they no longer see it as their problem or their responsibility.

You couldn't pay me enough money to be trapped in a room with a bunch of loud, poorly raised, badly behaved, disrespectful brats. There ain't no way in hell. I'd prefer to dig ditches under the hot summer sun. I don't envy teachers having to deal with the children of parents who cannot be bothered to parent. And, that's not just among the poor. There's plenty of well monied people that produce ill mannered, intolerable kids. 'Tis a brave soul that enters that field with a genuine desire to make a real difference.

Glock27's picture

Should we trip back in history and look at how kids were educated. The wealthy hired tutors and in cases live in tutors and followed the directions of the master of the house. At the time I went in I had no knowledge of the ideologies of STR or other anti-constitutional versions, and you are precisely accurate. Mom and dad are the principle holders of a child's education. If they are failing dad and mom need to become engaged. The problem with this is that many parents don't really give a s@#*. They work eight to five, come home and are whipped--just wanna sit down and relax and not be a tyrant to their child,or they really did not care. I can recall one of my experiences where I was warned to not send homework home with the students to do by the principal!?!

Still mom and dad are not the only ones to play a vital roll in the child's education. There is the school board (elected at large and having mostly no idea what they are doing to begin with) Superintendents more interested in leap frogging into better paying positions. How many remain in the community for the remainder of their life?? Very few if any,

Colleges play a very significant role, but I am not convinced they have any real idea about what they are doing. Occasionally you may have a professor or two who honestly knows what they are doing. Colleges need to get off of their liberal ideologies and focus on teaching the subject, and yes, the practical teaching experience is a rather shabby excuse for gaining classroom experience. In many cases you do nothing more than set in a classroom for 12 weeks observing.

Your closing paragraph is a brilliantly lit observation. Teaching is not an easy task even if you have only a few kids to deal with or if you just have one, and how home schooling manages I cannot imagine, yet they seem to achieve what public education does not achieve. The problem here is that we hear only of those whom are successful. I have never noted any reports on home schooling failures.

During President George "Shrub's" time he passed "no child left behind" At the time I had my Master of Arts degree in education and that was not enough to be called a "well qualified teacher" If I paid $250 bucks to take a test to demonstrate that I was a well qualified teacher that's all I had to do. I refused and got out. The other option was to return to school at about 1500 to 2500 dollars to become well qualified. Nah! Screw them. I took retirement because it was all about getting money and had nothing to do with making a person a well qualified instructor.

As for me I am all for the elimination of public education. Each community needs to be responsible for making the decision regarding education for the children of the community, yet this does not solve bad parenting. Where's the book on how to be a parent. Generally you follow how you were brought up.

There are enormous problems in the education system and one of the worst problems is the government intervention, however, there needs to be some form of accountability.

There is so much more and stuff I am unaware of so it is wise to stop my mouthing off.