tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post6996868809588192038..comments2024-03-26T23:57:42.268-04:00Comments on SpeEdChange: What Teacher Education needs to be?irasocolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01412837280249622430noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-2746717440635342112009-07-07T07:35:37.090-04:002009-07-07T07:35:37.090-04:00Oh, and it's probably worth mentioning that I&...Oh, and it's probably worth mentioning that I'm now in my twelfth year teaching. I've had about 14 in-service days; I got a second master's degree in history; I've read a few dozen books on education; and held down a varied and confusing course load that's varied significantly from year to year.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-42138124804779264362009-07-07T07:32:06.720-04:002009-07-07T07:32:06.720-04:00I went from a master's degree program in theol...I went from a master's degree program in theology to summer school, and from summer school to the regular year classroom. My 'training' consisted of a week of school procedures before summer school started, and another week of 'training' before the regular year started.<br /><br />Private schools, at least in CT, are exempt from hiring certified teachers, and largely exempt from most continuing education mandates. The advantage you get in sending your students to a private school is that they have a formal degree in the subject they teach: math or English or science or history. The disadvantage you face is that they know their subject well, but not the niceties of teaching.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-14565318417447580192009-06-21T19:45:44.796-04:002009-06-21T19:45:44.796-04:00Ira,
Wow, Thanks for laying this all out! Since I ...Ira,<br />Wow, Thanks for laying this all out! Since I began working in schools so much of what you're saying here has troubled me, not the least of which is "What I'm against is Teach for America - a program that gives poor kids untrained, non-experienced teachers, while giving rich kids a resume boost." This is true all over education, not just with TTA. We continue to entrust our kids with the highest needs to the educators with the least experience, whether these be first year teachers, or untrained support staff. It's just not right and people should be getting as worked up about it as we have about civil rights, because that's just what it is. We cannot pay lip service to meeting the needs of students and closing the achievement gap while continuingto run the education system with the idea that some populations can be taught on the cheap and/or for profit. No easy formulas, simple solutions or enlighted do-gooders will fix the problems we have in schools. I commend you and Michigan State for the work you're doing to prepare true teachers to teach real kids.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04678296407435168114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-86877771532684447212009-06-20T13:30:49.491-04:002009-06-20T13:30:49.491-04:00You're speaking to a very important issue: the...You're speaking to a very important issue: the de-professionalization of teachers. This unfortunately extends to even when teachers are in the classroom. When I taught middle school, some of our professional development was top-down, rote training in a rote reading comprehension system for students. It wasn't about teachers building knowledge about a profession—it was about teachers being told how to implement a program that a company developed.<br /><br />Of course, there are a lot of forces going into this de-professionalization: NCLB, economics (pay), high turnover of teachers, TFA, and more. Easy to lament. Hard to change.<br /><br />Thanks for your thoughts here!Michael Farishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13238625481857584857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-35043882971066954892009-06-19T21:57:08.104-04:002009-06-19T21:57:08.104-04:00my experience in a teacher's college was laugh...my experience in a teacher's college was laughable. a waste of time. my two main professors had PhD's, but had never taught in a public school. What i learned, i learned on the fly and through my own research and experience, especially when i found my daughter to have a reading disability-that really concentrated my attention. so, yes, knowledge and experience matters.i could have helped a lot more students early on if I had had better training. a school that uses teachers with minimal training and a minimal time commitment is not the ideal solution, but it is possible that it is better than what those kids would get with a so-called experienced teacher. i worked in camden, nj for a year. sometimes a teaching degree and all the experience in the world won't do a thing if you really could care less.vnoreply@blogger.com