Re: Thoughts on being a teacher...
Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I honestly feel teachers should receive more compensation than they do, but I didn't want to be that guy. Of course I'd feel that way, I have a teaching degree.
I know a teacher friend of mine who had co-workers who logged their work hours throughout the entire year, including time at school, during school, after school, home planning, and taking additional classes to remain certified. The average number ended up being 13 months of full-time work (40 hour weeks, 4 times a month, 13 months a year) taking place in 9 months.
As Gamecock mentioned a few posts back, teachers must renew their certification every few years. Mine expires in 2015, so I need to have at least 9 additional credit hours (post-grad) in order to retain my certification. More money out of the pocket, more loans taken out, etc. Again, I have a friend who is fortunate to work in a district that pays $5000 toward higher education for each teacher who stays with them for at least five years. But that is not the norm.
This is the most awesome (sarcasm) part about the education system in Michigan right now (and likely in certain other states as well). Michigan just adopted the "judge teachers by standardized tests and principal-given teacher grades" guidelines last year. And at this point, nearly no one knows exactly how to provide these grades accurately.
To go back to my friend once again (honestly, I'm not secretly talking about myself), she was given average or slightly below average marks by her principal and was told directly by the principal himself that he gave those marks so she'd be able to have marks that'd appear improved the next time she was graded. Questions about the system often go openly unanswered in school systems. It's an illogical mess.
In terms of kids' grades and scores, the idea is a teacher must have scores improve from one year to the next, continuously. Folks are trying to rank teachers mathematically and scientifically, almost as if we're basketball players vying for a scoring title or Most Improved Player of the Year trophy. I'm not sure it should work like that.
Well, I think most teachers are required to be available after school for situations where a student may need additional help, but it's not always so simple. As you said, teachers need the time and students need to be up to it. I think for the most part schools do a fine job of providing adequate outlets, but I'm just not sure they're fully taken advantage of by students and parents.
Students for the most part can only be held back for so long. For instance, 19 years old is our age cap for being in high school, so it's not as if we can hold a kid back once in first grade, then again in second, etc. Plus, parents often do not like the idea of their child being held back, even if it's completely and obviously necessary.
What happens to the kids that fall through the cracks? Well, I've spent a significant portion of my young career working in an alternative education environment. It's a branch of the actual school system that caters to students who struggle in traditional educational settings, whether it be because they struggle within the classroom, don't learn very effectively via lecture, are being bullied, or just flat out don't feel they fit well in the ol' high school full of cliques.
The alternative high school is a tremendous outlet for students who either failed the traditional high school or had the traditional high school fail them. It's a comfortable, tight family setting. When I began my work there (first as a basketball coach) I prepared myself for frequent fights and general lunacy, but nothing could have been further from the truth. Even though the alt. ed. often seems like an afterthought to the administration, it's actually a wonderful safety net for those who fell through. There's a lot of self-paced computer learning as well as many other alternative ways to meet traditional high school state-mandated goals. Those who stick with it ultimately receive a high school diploma.
On the flip side, many unfortunately even fall through our safety net. That's where, oftentimes, our Adult Education program comes into play (which I've also had my hand in). From a teaching standpoint, one of the most beautiful things about the Alternative Education and Adult Education environment is the educational freedom. The same courses must be taught and passed as the high school, and those same courses must contain the same exact benchmarks, but there's such a dramatic drop in rigid structure. For example, that meant, for students learning Economics, I could actually afford to go my own route and explain supply and demand through XBox, Wii, and Playstation releases. I had moments to catch my breath and choose my own path toward educating these guys. It was a win-win.
Most people are reluctant to embrace the idea (I was), but I'd keep alternative or adult education in the back of my mind in your case. It has a lot more to offer than I ever imagined it would. There's something awfully direct and present about handing a diploma over to a 34 year single mother who finally built up the courage to come back and begin the road of making something for herself.
I might need a separate post for all the positives.
Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I honestly feel teachers should receive more compensation than they do, but I didn't want to be that guy. Of course I'd feel that way, I have a teaching degree.
I know a teacher friend of mine who had co-workers who logged their work hours throughout the entire year, including time at school, during school, after school, home planning, and taking additional classes to remain certified. The average number ended up being 13 months of full-time work (40 hour weeks, 4 times a month, 13 months a year) taking place in 9 months.
What is this exactly? Do teachers actually have to take post-grade level courses if their classes don't perform?
Also, how have you seen this handled in your experience?
For example, if your principal knows you have a rough set of kids and most fail, do they blame you mostly for it, or will they at least look at what improvements were made?
In other words, does administration take a fair approach to measure a teacher's effectiveness or do you think the wrong measures are taken into consideration? What are those measures?
For example, if your principal knows you have a rough set of kids and most fail, do they blame you mostly for it, or will they at least look at what improvements were made?
In other words, does administration take a fair approach to measure a teacher's effectiveness or do you think the wrong measures are taken into consideration? What are those measures?
To go back to my friend once again (honestly, I'm not secretly talking about myself), she was given average or slightly below average marks by her principal and was told directly by the principal himself that he gave those marks so she'd be able to have marks that'd appear improved the next time she was graded. Questions about the system often go openly unanswered in school systems. It's an illogical mess.
In terms of kids' grades and scores, the idea is a teacher must have scores improve from one year to the next, continuously. Folks are trying to rank teachers mathematically and scientifically, almost as if we're basketball players vying for a scoring title or Most Improved Player of the Year trophy. I'm not sure it should work like that.
This is the one thing that disheartens me most. When I think back on my education, I realize why in public school lessons felt rushed. Do schools try to offer programs for students that need to play catch-up? Do they allow you, as a teacher, to offer time to those students (assuming you want to make the time and the students are up for it)?
What's your experience with how schools handle these kids? Do they push them up grade levels just to push them? Have you ever felt forced to hand out certain grades or pass students just to meet standards set by the school? (Not to keep your job, but because they enforced it)
What happens to the kids that fall through the cracks? Well, I've spent a significant portion of my young career working in an alternative education environment. It's a branch of the actual school system that caters to students who struggle in traditional educational settings, whether it be because they struggle within the classroom, don't learn very effectively via lecture, are being bullied, or just flat out don't feel they fit well in the ol' high school full of cliques.
The alternative high school is a tremendous outlet for students who either failed the traditional high school or had the traditional high school fail them. It's a comfortable, tight family setting. When I began my work there (first as a basketball coach) I prepared myself for frequent fights and general lunacy, but nothing could have been further from the truth. Even though the alt. ed. often seems like an afterthought to the administration, it's actually a wonderful safety net for those who fell through. There's a lot of self-paced computer learning as well as many other alternative ways to meet traditional high school state-mandated goals. Those who stick with it ultimately receive a high school diploma.
On the flip side, many unfortunately even fall through our safety net. That's where, oftentimes, our Adult Education program comes into play (which I've also had my hand in). From a teaching standpoint, one of the most beautiful things about the Alternative Education and Adult Education environment is the educational freedom. The same courses must be taught and passed as the high school, and those same courses must contain the same exact benchmarks, but there's such a dramatic drop in rigid structure. For example, that meant, for students learning Economics, I could actually afford to go my own route and explain supply and demand through XBox, Wii, and Playstation releases. I had moments to catch my breath and choose my own path toward educating these guys. It was a win-win.
Most people are reluctant to embrace the idea (I was), but I'd keep alternative or adult education in the back of my mind in your case. It has a lot more to offer than I ever imagined it would. There's something awfully direct and present about handing a diploma over to a 34 year single mother who finally built up the courage to come back and begin the road of making something for herself.
I'd like to read those as well.
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