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I work at an EdTech company right now and we've found huge success simply because we've tried to get out of the way and let teachers do what they do. Teachers t

by Endama 10y ago

I work at an EdTech company right now and we've found huge success simply because we've tried to get out of the way and let teachers do what they do. Teachers today have a hard enough time without tech companies, policy makers, administrators, etc. barging into their classrooms and dictating the best way to instruct their kids. Like germinalphrase mentioned, I think the best place for tech in education is to "[offer] solutions to the kinds of... problems that teachers face everyday" and to make the existing successes even more impactful (e.g. when a student does well, provide ways for teachers, parents, and students to celebrate together). Teachers know their kids and their struggles best, the tech just has to help them do what they do.

CaptSpify 10y ago
Doesn't that heavily depend on the teacher though? I don't disagree with you in principle, but couldn't the reason so many people try to dictate the best way to teach is because there are a lot of bad teachers?
- Endama 10y ago
  I'm not going to argue that there aren't bad teachers or there aren't a LOT of bad teachers. But IMHO a lot of what I have seen at my company is the following: If a kid brings home a bad report card - Parents often blame the teacher. Obviously, their kid is great, the only reason they are struggling is because of negligent or poor instruction. If a kid brings home a behavior citation (i.e. teacher/administration called home and said their kid was poorly behaved) - Parents may or may not recognize themselves as a contributor to that poor behavior. But for the teacher, it doesn't really matter. If there is one poorly behaved kid in the class, it's going to make it harder for that teacher to instruct every single kid. It often seems that the problem isn't a glut of "bad teachers", it's that the structures placed around the teachers all too often seem to be set up for them to fail. It's no surprise then that 40%-50% of teachers quit the profession entirely within five years http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/05/16/kappan_ingersoll.h31.html http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/05/16/kappan_ingersol...
  - CaptSpify 10y ago
    Interesting. Yeah, I definitely think that generally parent's are much more at fault than they want to admit. Blaming the teacher is an easy way out. I'm not knowledgeable in the industry, which is why I'm asking. I know that for most industries, standards and structures are in place to protect damage from the worst people, but can definitely inhibit the best people.

by Endama 10y ago

CaptSpify 10y ago

Doesn't that heavily depend on the teacher though? I don't disagree with you in principle, but couldn't the reason so many people try to dictate the best way to teach is because there are a lot of bad teachers?

Endama 10y ago
I'm not going to argue that there aren't bad teachers or there aren't a LOT of bad teachers. But IMHO a lot of what I have seen at my company is the following: If a kid brings home a bad report card - Parents often blame the teacher. Obviously, their kid is great, the only reason they are struggling is because of negligent or poor instruction. If a kid brings home a behavior citation (i.e. teacher/administration called home and said their kid was poorly behaved) - Parents may or may not recognize themselves as a contributor to that poor behavior. But for the teacher, it doesn't really matter. If there is one poorly behaved kid in the class, it's going to make it harder for that teacher to instruct every single kid. It often seems that the problem isn't a glut of "bad teachers", it's that the structures placed around the teachers all too often seem to be set up for them to fail. It's no surprise then that 40%-50% of teachers quit the profession entirely within five years http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/05/16/kappan_ingersoll.h31.html http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/05/16/kappan_ingersol...
- CaptSpify 10y ago
  Interesting. Yeah, I definitely think that generally parent's are much more at fault than they want to admit. Blaming the teacher is an easy way out. I'm not knowledgeable in the industry, which is why I'm asking. I know that for most industries, standards and structures are in place to protect damage from the worst people, but can definitely inhibit the best people.