edensgarden's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A new look and one more addendum Thanks for tuning in today. You�ll notice that I have a new look. Thanks to all of the TALENTED people at Flaming June Designs! My banner ads will start running next week as well. So look for those, and then sign my guestbook. The banner I did, myself. It�s not so pretty as this pretty page, but hey�I did it myself! So I am feeling some sort of a sense of accomplishment today! ======================================== Finally, I need to make yet again another addendum to Tuesday�s entry and yesterday�s entry. This is it, and we will have to agree to disagree on this one Mr. Levski� You say that teacher certification programs serve no purpose. I could not disagree with you more! You wouldn�t expect a doctor or a policeman to abandon their training would you? It�s the same with teachers. Certification programs teach the art and science of being a teacher. It�s much harder than you might think. During the course of my program I have taken classes in Child Psychology, Child Development, Classroom Management, Lesson Planning, Assessment, Technology Integration, the History of American Education and Diversity training. I challenge you to write a lesson with measurable objectives, purpose, meaningful teacher input, time for student expression, and homework that makes sense to a gifted child, that will make sense to a slow-learner, and still meet school, district, state and national standards. Teachers are better trained today than ever before. Are there still bad teachers out there? Yes, there are, but there are bad apples in every profession. Just to give you and example, not only do I have to have a B.A., I have had to take a Subject Knowledge test for Social Studies, a state test for certification, as well as an English grammar proficiency test and Algebra proficiency test. Certification programs bring the theory of education and the practicalities of education together. Some might claim that teachers do not have control over their classrooms and what they are allowed to teach. Sorry, but there must be an established curriculum. This is gives schools some way to measure the progress of students and allows the teacher to prepare his or her students for the bevy of standardized tests that they are subjected to. Teachers do have control over the classroom in how they teach. For example, I might teach a lesson on the Declaration of Independence using the Internet and a video, whereas, another teacher might teach using a direct lecture or a presentation of some sort. As far as discipline goes, I think that you will find that the teachers and administrators who are really committed to their jobs and to their students are not �babysitters� to misbehaving students. It is true that over the years classroom management has taken a brow beating. We live in a litigious society, and because of that teachers, along with everyone else, must live in fear of being sued. Believe it or not, there are many theories about effective classroom management. Some I would use, some I would not�I�m thankful that corporal punishment is NOT an option for anyone! Furthermore in the post-Columbine world misbehavior is taken very seriously and dealt with very seriously. But, for the most part students behave. I know this true from my own observations and from many discussions with teachers, and administrators. To quantify this, 90% of discipline problems involve 10% of students. This is a pretty good ratio if you ask me. Teacher�s union�s are not akin to the Mafia. In this country we have the right to associate freely with whomever we please. It�s called the First Amendment. It allows us, in whatever setting or grouping to say or do what we think is necessary and prudent while remaining peaceful, and within the boundaries of the law. If anyone has a problem with this I suggest writing your Congressman, or moving to Afghanistan. At least there, if you disagree with the government you�ll be killed off right away, and won�t have to suffer. Finally, it was brought to my attention that schools are only concerned with filling kids with self-esteem. Unfortunately this is true to some extent. But the blame does not lie with schools. The blame rests with each of us. Over the past 40 years as the safety net of government has grown and become more of a factor in everyone�s daily life, apathy has grown and personal responsibility as atrophied. Why should a parent take the time to talk to his or her child about sex, drugs, violence, and self-esteem when the school will take care of it? If you don�t want your kids filled with �political propaganda� then talk to them, give them a value system, take them to church, teach them right and wrong, get involved in their lives, tell them that they are important and that they are loved. This is the greatest responsibility of a parent! AS A TEACHER I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO TEACH YOUR CHILD THESE THINGS! If you think it is, then they will be taught by their peers, the schools and who knows what else and be given who knows what kinds of information and values to fall back on. Finally, in regards to money and funding (yes, one more time), it is true that teacher�s are paid more today than ever before and that student teacher ratios are at an all time low. But let�s put some perspective on this. A first year teacher in Arizona still only makes $24k BEFORE taxes. An experienced teacher with an M.A. only earns $32K. This is not financially attractive! So why have I chosen to become a teacher? Many reasons, I love learning, I love the dissemination of knowledge and I like kids, but the most important reason is that I want to make a difference in someone�s life. I want to the kind of teacher I never had but always wished I did have. That is why I choose to teach. And I say, if you want to have an opinion about education then go spend sometime in a school, get involved in education policy, become active, talk to teachers and listen to what they have to say. Write your government leaders, encourage people to talk to their kids�.and so on. This is all for today~~Eden 11:50 a.m. - 2001-08-23 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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