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While I'm not a fan of Gladwell's analysis (I agree that he has a tendency to pick data that supports his point, while ignoring evidence that contradicts it), I

While I'm not a fan of Gladwell's analysis (I agree that he has a tendency to pick data that supports his point, while ignoring evidence that contradicts it), I did like the message of this piece. I.e., we should let more people try their hand at teaching, with the idea that most will probably not be good at it. This assumes, of course, that none of the failures are allowed to be tenured, and that teaching can be made an attractive career choice.

newt0311 18y ago
Currently the biggest opponents of performance testing of teachers is the teachers union. Good luck getting rid of them.
- dpapathanasiou 18y ago
  True, it's not likely to happen, given that the union is both politically powerful and responsible for the way things are now. It would be a worthwhile thing to try, though.
  - newt0311 18y ago
    A lot of people already have. The fact that school voucher systems and charter schools exist in some areas is testament to their heroic effort. However, it is too little and maybe too late.
    - dpapathanasiou 18y ago
      He's suggesting something subtly different: allow people to become teachers more easily (i.e., within the existing public school system). I don't think that's ever been tried.
    - pchristensen 18y ago
      too little and maybe too late Definitely too late for kids already in school, but I would wager that humans will be educating their kids in schools for hundreds more years (maybe more). This would be like Edison giving up on the light bulb because it was too late for the kids who had to go to bed at sundown.
AlexeyMK 18y ago
What about variability and stride? A teacher's performance is likely to vary daily, as well between years. How do we know, rejecting a mediocre teacher, that she wouldn't have blossomed into a superstar? How do we know that the trigonometry teacher won't become cynical with age? The second problem can be solved by gathering data every few years, but what about the first?

newt0311 18y ago

Currently the biggest opponents of performance testing of teachers is the teachers union. Good luck getting rid of them.

dpapathanasiou 18y ago
True, it's not likely to happen, given that the union is both politically powerful and responsible for the way things are now. It would be a worthwhile thing to try, though.
- newt0311 18y ago
  A lot of people already have. The fact that school voucher systems and charter schools exist in some areas is testament to their heroic effort. However, it is too little and maybe too late.
  - dpapathanasiou 18y ago
    He's suggesting something subtly different: allow people to become teachers more easily (i.e., within the existing public school system). I don't think that's ever been tried.
  - pchristensen 18y ago
    too little and maybe too late Definitely too late for kids already in school, but I would wager that humans will be educating their kids in schools for hundreds more years (maybe more). This would be like Edison giving up on the light bulb because it was too late for the kids who had to go to bed at sundown.

AlexeyMK 18y ago

What about variability and stride? A teacher's performance is likely to vary daily, as well between years. How do we know, rejecting a mediocre teacher, that she wouldn't have blossomed into a superstar? How do we know that the trigonometry teacher won't become cynical with age? The second problem can be solved by gathering data every few years, but what about the first?