Congratulations, future pre-K-12 teachers. The vast amounts of time (minimum four years of college), money (and likely debt) and effort you've put into becoming an educator to make a positive impact on the lives of your students will soon be rewarded. Here's what lies ahead for the foreseeable future, especially if you teach at public schools in Indiana, whose elected leaders seem intent on dismantling public education one piece at a time:
1. Adults incessantly claim to value education but generally refuse to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to anyone's children other than their own -- and often, even when it is their own. This can lead to working miscellaneous jobs outside of your primary one as a teacher to make ends meet, during summer and/or the school year.
2. Adults don't know or refuse to admit teachers' workdays begin long before the bell rings in the morning, end long after the bell rings in the afternoon, and usually extend into weekends and vacations during the school year. However, they know the school year is nine months long and won't let you forget it -- even if they don't actually want the school year to be extended.
3. Since almost every adult has attended school, education is the subject most likely to be the one of which he/she claims to know well. Many will think they can do your job at least as well as you can. Never mind that being a good teacher requires a combination of intelligence and people skills that public education's biggest critics usually lack -- they attended school and therefore know what works best.
4. Get used to calls for higher standards from those who ask far more from you than they would even consider asking from themselves. These often come from sources with deep pockets, omnipresent media outlets and vested interests in producing students who are more likely to do as they're told than they are to question authority. Student standardized tests can serve as valuable diagnostic tools, but they're not designed to develop creativity, collaboration or critical thinking skills. Given the overemphasis placed on test scores, we know where the "reformers' " priorities lie.
5. A widespread but absurd, pernicious belief that schools should be run like businesses, even though schools deal with human beings -- and kids, at that -- whereas most businesses deal with objects. Ray Kroc, the person most responsible for building McDonald's into the global giant it is today, infamously acknowledged that if his competitors were drowning, he'd pour water down their throats. Though he might have been the first person you'd want running your business, he might also have been the last person you'd want teaching your kids.
Despite those obstacles, each of you still can make a difference. Just don't expect it to be easy.
The school corporation is making some personnel changes this year and my department will be affected. To what extent is not exactly certain yet but it looks like Shop Teacher Bob will be teaching a couple of construction or woodshop classes next year. Of course, we don't call the classes by those names anymore. Everything has some kind of systems, processes or tech moniker but woodshop is still woodshop. I've taught construction in the past but never woodshop. With only a couple of years to go, construction class would be the easiest choice but I'd like to improve my woodworking skills and what better way than to teach a class. I might even be able to work in my wooden boat project while I'm in there. It usually takes a few years to iron out the wrinkles in a new program, which means about the time I start to feel comfortable and I've got all the lessons, jigs, fixtures and all the rest figured out, I'll be walking out the door. It also means I'm going to have to put some time in this summer getting ready. I'd like to be more than a day ahead of them when school starts. In spite of the extra work it will require, I'm leaning in that direction. I've got a couple of days to think it over.
6 comments:
HEY "BOB",
THAT IS A GET TO THE POINT ARTICLE. I THINK I KNOW FROM YOUR POSTS THAT THIS IS REALLY FRUSTRATING FOR YOU. I THINK AFTER KNOWING YOU ALL THESE YEARS THAT YOU ARE A GOOD TEACHER, THAT YOU WANT TO HELP THESE KIDS, AND THAT YOU'VE GONE OUT OF YOUR WAY ON MORE THAN A FEW OCCASIONS TO GO THE EXTRA MILE AND HELP KIDS OUT.
I'M NOT SURE I WOULD HAVE THE SKILLS IT WOULD TAKE TO BE A TEACHER, BUT IT DOESN'T STOP ME FROM THINKING THAT THE SYSTEM IS NOT WORKING IN YOUR'S OR THE KIDS BEST INTERESTS.
I'M TRYING TO GET ON THE SCHOOL BOARD IN TOWN, I'M NOT SURE IF I CAN HELP HERE BUT MY INTENTION IS TO TRY.
I TRULY DO HOPE THAT ALL THIS WORKS OUT FOR YOU, AND I KNOW YOU'LL GIVE IT YOUR BEST SHOT.
GOOD LUCK AND I'LL TALK
TO YOU SOON,
TVI
P. S. WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN GOING TO THE AMCA SHOW IN WAUSEON, OHIO IN JULY? I BELIEVE IT'S ON THE WEEKEND OF THE 16TH, I KNOW IT'S FAIR WEEK BUT I WAS GOING TO GO ON THURSDAY NIGHT AND COME BACK FRIDAY NIGHT. DREW HAS TRACTOR DRIVING ON SATURDAY MORNING, SO I CAN'T STAY.
TVI: It's been frustrating but all jobs have some of that. I just want people to know that public education does a pretty fair job now, considering all the obstacles, and if we're going to improve it, which we should, then pick a model that works and put the resources behind it to make it happen.
Jimmy will be fighting in OK on the 15th, so I can't make the Ohio trip. I've been to the cemetery in Wauseon, though. Made a side trip there a few years ago to see Barney Oldfield's grave for whatever that's worth.
#3 has been the issue I seem to see the most anymore....
Kevin: A little knowledge is indeed a dangerous thing. It's always easy to dictate policy when you don't have to live with the consequences. Critics who were good students think teaching is easy because they figure every student is like they were. One of the problems now is that the number of good students has shrunk. The average grade for one of my beginning students was typically a B over the years. That has now slipped to a C. They just don't put as much effort into things as they once did and don't seem too concerned about failure. We encourage failure by allowing them to take the A+ courses to recover their credit. A few hours in front of the computer is much easier than having to actually show up and pay attention in a classroom for a semester. Of course computers don't need health insurance or a pension, so expect to see a lot more online/computerized instruction.
Those online welding courses are hell on monitors one good arc and they are done. Its a shame that kids seem to be turning into lazy slugs!
Leroy99: They've got some welding simulators now that are actually quite good. You could start them off on that and save some money in materials and consumables. Of course if you want to truly simulate the real welding experience, you'd smear everything with dirt and grease, squeeze it into a tight spot and turn the temperature up to 100 or down to 5.
Fortunately, not all of them are slugs (see my next post) and the good ones have no trouble outshining them when it comes time to seek employment. The problem for public education is getting the average student to crank it up a couple of notches. There seems to be some disconnect about the time they hit middle school. When I get to be King that's the first thing I'm going to look into.
Post a Comment