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> a failure of leadership and resources Why is it more expensive to teach, say, calculus than algebra? Offering more advanced classes should not cost more.
by skookumchuck 9y ago
> a failure of leadership and resources
Why is it more expensive to teach, say, calculus than algebra? Offering more advanced classes should not cost more.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- chrisseaton 9y ago> Why is it more expensive to teach, say, calculus than algebra? Because educating someone to teach more advanced subjects takes more times and resources.
- skookumchuck 9y agoBut the teachers have masters degrees. Besides, teaching college freshman calculus is not exactly magneto hydrodynamics.
- chrisseaton 9y agoBut most of them don't have masters degrees in mathematics, do they? Many of them will have a generic Master of Education degree. The normally accepted education level for teaching a university-level class is a PhD.
- skookumchuck 9y agoYou don't need a masters degree in math to teach freshman calculus. I was taught freshman calc by grad students - with no "education" training whatsoever. Perhaps these "masters" of education are learning the wrong things. Freshman calculus just isn't that hard, and isn't much beyond algebra. This "gee math is hard" crap is, well, crap. No PhD is necessary. Hell, I taught it to my kids on the kitchen table, and I have no advanced degree and never took a course in education.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- chrisseaton 9y agoDo you think someone needs any education at all in a subject to each it? Do you think someone who has never studied calculus should be able to teach it?
- skookumchuck 9y ago> Do you think someone needs any education at all in a subject to each it? Of course I do. I am just bemused by teachers having masters degrees yet be unable to teach any freshman college level class. > Do you think someone who has never studied calculus should be able to teach it? Freshman calculus is not rocket science, and I expect someone with a masters degree to be able to handle it.
- chrisseaton 9y ago> Of course I do. Right, well here's the answer to the original question then. If you want teachers to be able to teach calculus, and you agree people should have an education in a subject to teach it, then you need the teachers to study calculus themselves, which they weren't necessarily doing, because they studied things other than maths, so you need to use more resources to have them also take calculus classes, so it costs more.
- skookumchuck 9y agoApparently school districts pay teachers more who get a masters. But it seems that having a masters doesn't mean they are able to teach a single course beyond high school level. Sounds like things are all messed up in what districts pay for. They don't need more money, they need to redirect what they're already paying for.
- chrisseaton 9y ago
- thoth 9y agoWell, the more difficult/specialized the subject, the fewer available teachers. Plus, someone that knows calculus well enough to teach it likely has other job prospects (competitive pay).
- skookumchuck 9y agoI guess I'm the opposite, you'd have to pay me extra to induce me to teach the more basic material.