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Teaching Teachers How to Teach

4 points by rafaelc 16y ago

lotharbot 16y ago
There are a number of issues contributing to the shortage of competent teachers, some of which are addressed in either this post or in the linked post and its comments [0]: - teaching certificates don't necessarily have adequate testing built in. Teachers can go through the programs without learning the material. - teaching certificates don't always teach the necessary material. Teachers can get into a classroom setting without even taking a course covering the mathematics they'll be expected to teach. - teaching certificates take extra time and money to acquire, and are often required even for those with education degrees. My sister has a B.S. in elementary education, but her local school district won't let her teach unless she goes through a certification program too. I have an M.S. in applied mathematics, and was told the same -- despite a massive shortage of math teachers. - teaching doesn't pay all that well, the schedule is brutal for about 9.5 months of the year, and issues like class size and lack of supplies add to the stress. - many school environments are extremely unfriendly to teachers with certain political leanings. When I was a classroom assistant, I was warned to hide my political views, and berated for views one teacher assumed I held. This is not the norm, but it's much more common than it should be. The net result is that many who go through teacher training aren't competent, and many competent people who would like to teach get turned away for unnecessary reasons. [0] https://www.learnboost.com/upcoming-teacher-crisis/ https://www.learnboost.com/upcoming-teacher-crisis/
- wccrawford 16y ago
  I agree with everything except 1 point: "I have an M.S. in applied mathematics" Knowing something doesn't mean you can teach it. I'm a perfect example... When using my skills, I get nothing but praise from employers. When they tell me to teach someone else to do the same, it's nothing but pain for everyone involved. I'm sure the trainee learned -something-, but a teacher would have done a much better job. It's not even that I don't want to teach, because I used to want to... Until I learned that I have no knack for it. I'm not saying you can't teach it... I'm just saying your degree in it doesn't mean that. They are perfectly correct to force you to prove you can pass the certification.
wccrawford 16y ago
LOL What IS that chart? I'm having fits just looking at it. The 46% seems to scale, but then the other pieces... Some aren't marked, 1 seems to be empty, and 2 have percentages that are WAY out of line with their size. And of course, it's way more than 100%.
- lotharbot 16y ago
  It's three overlapping wedges of sizes 46%, 54%, and 72%. The two unlabelled segments are the opposite ends of the 54 and 72, and the empty part is indeed empty. Very strange presentation.

4 points by rafaelc 16y ago

There are a number of issues contributing to the shortage of competent teachers, some of which are addressed in either this post or in the linked post and its comments [0]: - teaching certificates don't necessarily have adequate testing built in. Teachers can go through the programs without learning the material. - teaching certificates don't always teach the necessary material. Teachers can get into a classroom setting without even taking a course covering the mathematics they'll be expected to teach. - teaching certificates take extra time and money to acquire, and are often required even for those with education degrees. My sister has a B.S. in elementary education, but her local school district won't let her teach unless she goes through a certification program too. I have an M.S. in applied mathematics, and was told the same -- despite a massive shortage of math teachers. - teaching doesn't pay all that well, the schedule is brutal for about 9.5 months of the year, and issues like class size and lack of supplies add to the stress. - many school environments are extremely unfriendly to teachers with certain political leanings. When I was a classroom assistant, I was warned to hide my political views, and berated for views one teacher assumed I held. This is not the norm, but it's much more common than it should be. The net result is that many who go through teacher training aren't competent, and many competent people who would like to teach get turned away for unnecessary reasons. [0] https://www.learnboost.com/upcoming-teacher-crisis/ https://www.learnboost.com/upcoming-teacher-crisis/

wccrawford 16y ago
I agree with everything except 1 point: "I have an M.S. in applied mathematics" Knowing something doesn't mean you can teach it. I'm a perfect example... When using my skills, I get nothing but praise from employers. When they tell me to teach someone else to do the same, it's nothing but pain for everyone involved. I'm sure the trainee learned -something-, but a teacher would have done a much better job. It's not even that I don't want to teach, because I used to want to... Until I learned that I have no knack for it. I'm not saying you can't teach it... I'm just saying your degree in it doesn't mean that. They are perfectly correct to force you to prove you can pass the certification.

wccrawford 16y ago

LOL What IS that chart? I'm having fits just looking at it. The 46% seems to scale, but then the other pieces... Some aren't marked, 1 seems to be empty, and 2 have percentages that are WAY out of line with their size. And of course, it's way more than 100%.

lotharbot 16y ago
It's three overlapping wedges of sizes 46%, 54%, and 72%. The two unlabelled segments are the opposite ends of the 54 and 72, and the empty part is indeed empty. Very strange presentation.