Wait but aren't teachers ......"heroes?" Ms. Weingarten screeches that, right? I'll get to listening (please Bari, a transcript????) in a few but just had to get this off my chest.
Ask yourself this......how many teachers in your life really made a difference? If you can count them on more than one hand, you're lucky. Sure, the gre…
Wait but aren't teachers ......"heroes?" Ms. Weingarten screeches that, right? I'll get to listening (please Bari, a transcript????) in a few but just had to get this off my chest.
Ask yourself this......how many teachers in your life really made a difference? If you can count them on more than one hand, you're lucky. Sure, the great ones are worth their weight in gold But most are witless hacks and time servers, at best. At worst, they're petty pedagogical tyrants and leftist ideologues, who abuse children. Who work only nine months per year, get lavish health and retirement benefits and can moonlight or just take it easy. So let's cut the "heroes" bs, shall we.
My favorite teacher was in grade 4, Bruce - and I loved him because he threw chalk at us when we acted up at the back of class. He had great aim. And when he hit us (repeatedly..) he asked us to stand up and tell the rest of the class why he singled us out. We didn't last too long.
When school adjourned at the beginning of summer I went up to him and gave him a present.
Because it engenders respect. And it is the respect that matters and lasts, as it has for me for that teacher after all these years, when all is said and done.
My public K-12 took place between about '58 and '70 and - trying to be fair - I'd have to say most of the teaching was adequate but not inspiring. One very popular teacher lost it with me in the fourth grade in such a manner that it scarred me seriously. One of the most profoundly negative emotional experiences of my life. Two teachers I had in high school were stellar - absolutely stellar. One changed my direction and inspired me out of a kind of lazy lethargy into zealous energetic study. That one wasn't even a teacher. He was a one year replacement for a long time tenured teacher who was on sabbatical. He was the first PhD I'd ever encountered in the school system; a medical researcher who had been working on the development of artificial hearts at Stanford and for reasons nobody understood decided he wanted to teach high school kids for a year. He completely rejected the curriculum he was supposed to teach - handing out the classic high school physics text to us the first day because he had to, but telling us we never needed to crack their covers because they were worthless - they had no Calculus in them and you can't teach physics without it. We spent the first five weeks getting a crash course in Calculus and then moved on to physics which he taught entirely through pages he xeroxed from a University physics text which many of us bought copies of out of pocket. I still have mine. But it wasn't just the material, he had a gift for motivation. Everyone in that class worked hard. No one was left behind. The school almost fired him half way through over the curriculum departure; they probably would have had they been able to come up with a replacement mid-term. A few years later I took physics in college and it was all review for the first year. I've often wondered whatever happened to him.
Your last sentence resonates, Jeff. Some of the more influential teachers in my life didn't come from the profession at all, but were parachuted in to fill a hole. Irreverent, idiosyncratic, loners even - their perspective was always outside the protected bubble. Whatever happened to them and I wonder if they ever knew how profound they appeared to the students sitting before them.
But most are witless hacks and time servers, at best.
I taught in public schools for nearly 25 years and take exception stating most teachers are "witless hacks". Certainly, some teachers were not great, and they tended not to be around for long. Some schools in which I taught; low performing teachers would be selected out by the faculty. I worked with many teachers who were committed and highly dedicated to helping students. Many I would describe as being brilliant in ability and intelligence. I often found the district level administrators would jump from one educational fad to the next without seeing the previous to conclusion.
I often thought the newly minted EdD's and PhD's would produce some new latest and greatest program/curriculum and school systems bought them.
I went to Catholic school for 12 years and had MANY excellent teachers (quite a few were nuns!). My kids are finishing up 12 years of Catholic school and the number of great teachers they’ve had is probably no more than 3 - and that number is much smaller than the number of awful teachers they’ve had.
The perception of teachers as "heroes" is based on the fact that most people would rather do anything, anything at all, other than spend time with their own children, let alone other people's.
People are often astounded to learn that I'm working on Scout camp staff, teaching forestry to an Environmental Science competition team, chaperoning the Middle School Youth lock-in, or otherwise associating with children *as a volunteer*, not for pay.
A few weeks ago, we were at a "homeschooler discount" event early in the afternoon at an indoor trampoline park. The manager remarked that it was very quiet, even though there were 100 or more children running (climbing, leaping, levitating, flinging themselves) around. I pointed out that homeschool parents are used to supervising their children and making them behave in a civilized fashion in public.
It's not that our children (or at least mine) aren't total pills sometimes, but we aren't in the habit of handing them off to others and checking out. We're watching: This child needs help, that one needs to be reminded to give the next person a turn. And I think every homeschooling family has, "No screaming!" as a rule.
And yet, there is a family across the street from us with 4 kids and the parents both work 60-80 hrs per week at their dream jobs. The kids (ages 6,4, 2 and newborn) are being raised by full-time nannies, who are not educated, do not speak English well, and don't want to teach discipline or push the kids to be their best selves in case it upsets the parents-- they don't want to risk losing their jobs. I never see the kids outside, I almost never see the parents with the kids (except on specially curated social media shots), and the parents don't get that they are making a choice to not put their kids first. I know people who spend more time with their dogs than their kids and they wonder why their kids aren't turning out so well.
Ironic is it not that those well-heeled people across the street fail to recognize the significance of their behavior? This is part of the reason why talk of the "elites" bothers me so. As if they are somehow superior. IMO they are anything but. The superior people, also IMO, are the salt of the earth folks who get up every morning, provide for their family not their ego, fulfill their responsibilities to the community, and create the future thereby.
True story. I coached my son's lacrosse teams for years up to middle school. When they moved on, a bunch of the kids asked me to keep coaching, so I did. A parent asked me "So which kid on the team is yours?" I answered "I don't have a kid on the team." The parent looked at me, puzzled, and asked "If you don't have a kid on the team, why would you coach it?" Spoke volumes.
My brother coached kids' soccer for years on Air Force bases in Europe, even though he didn't have any children. It gave him something to do other than go to the E-Club and get drunk.
Wait but aren't teachers ......"heroes?" Ms. Weingarten screeches that, right? I'll get to listening (please Bari, a transcript????) in a few but just had to get this off my chest.
Ask yourself this......how many teachers in your life really made a difference? If you can count them on more than one hand, you're lucky. Sure, the great ones are worth their weight in gold But most are witless hacks and time servers, at best. At worst, they're petty pedagogical tyrants and leftist ideologues, who abuse children. Who work only nine months per year, get lavish health and retirement benefits and can moonlight or just take it easy. So let's cut the "heroes" bs, shall we.
My favorite teacher was in grade 4, Bruce - and I loved him because he threw chalk at us when we acted up at the back of class. He had great aim. And when he hit us (repeatedly..) he asked us to stand up and tell the rest of the class why he singled us out. We didn't last too long.
When school adjourned at the beginning of summer I went up to him and gave him a present.
Sometimes tough love is the best love.
Agreed.
Because it engenders respect. And it is the respect that matters and lasts, as it has for me for that teacher after all these years, when all is said and done.
My public K-12 took place between about '58 and '70 and - trying to be fair - I'd have to say most of the teaching was adequate but not inspiring. One very popular teacher lost it with me in the fourth grade in such a manner that it scarred me seriously. One of the most profoundly negative emotional experiences of my life. Two teachers I had in high school were stellar - absolutely stellar. One changed my direction and inspired me out of a kind of lazy lethargy into zealous energetic study. That one wasn't even a teacher. He was a one year replacement for a long time tenured teacher who was on sabbatical. He was the first PhD I'd ever encountered in the school system; a medical researcher who had been working on the development of artificial hearts at Stanford and for reasons nobody understood decided he wanted to teach high school kids for a year. He completely rejected the curriculum he was supposed to teach - handing out the classic high school physics text to us the first day because he had to, but telling us we never needed to crack their covers because they were worthless - they had no Calculus in them and you can't teach physics without it. We spent the first five weeks getting a crash course in Calculus and then moved on to physics which he taught entirely through pages he xeroxed from a University physics text which many of us bought copies of out of pocket. I still have mine. But it wasn't just the material, he had a gift for motivation. Everyone in that class worked hard. No one was left behind. The school almost fired him half way through over the curriculum departure; they probably would have had they been able to come up with a replacement mid-term. A few years later I took physics in college and it was all review for the first year. I've often wondered whatever happened to him.
Your last sentence resonates, Jeff. Some of the more influential teachers in my life didn't come from the profession at all, but were parachuted in to fill a hole. Irreverent, idiosyncratic, loners even - their perspective was always outside the protected bubble. Whatever happened to them and I wonder if they ever knew how profound they appeared to the students sitting before them.
But most are witless hacks and time servers, at best.
I taught in public schools for nearly 25 years and take exception stating most teachers are "witless hacks". Certainly, some teachers were not great, and they tended not to be around for long. Some schools in which I taught; low performing teachers would be selected out by the faculty. I worked with many teachers who were committed and highly dedicated to helping students. Many I would describe as being brilliant in ability and intelligence. I often found the district level administrators would jump from one educational fad to the next without seeing the previous to conclusion.
I often thought the newly minted EdD's and PhD's would produce some new latest and greatest program/curriculum and school systems bought them.
I went to Catholic school for 12 years and had MANY excellent teachers (quite a few were nuns!). My kids are finishing up 12 years of Catholic school and the number of great teachers they’ve had is probably no more than 3 - and that number is much smaller than the number of awful teachers they’ve had.
The perception of teachers as "heroes" is based on the fact that most people would rather do anything, anything at all, other than spend time with their own children, let alone other people's.
People are often astounded to learn that I'm working on Scout camp staff, teaching forestry to an Environmental Science competition team, chaperoning the Middle School Youth lock-in, or otherwise associating with children *as a volunteer*, not for pay.
You likely have hit on a major component in the decline of child welfare in your first paragraph.
It seems like it to me.
A few weeks ago, we were at a "homeschooler discount" event early in the afternoon at an indoor trampoline park. The manager remarked that it was very quiet, even though there were 100 or more children running (climbing, leaping, levitating, flinging themselves) around. I pointed out that homeschool parents are used to supervising their children and making them behave in a civilized fashion in public.
It's not that our children (or at least mine) aren't total pills sometimes, but we aren't in the habit of handing them off to others and checking out. We're watching: This child needs help, that one needs to be reminded to give the next person a turn. And I think every homeschooling family has, "No screaming!" as a rule.
At the risk of sounding whatever, the truth is there is nothing more important than proper guidance of the next generation.
And yet, there is a family across the street from us with 4 kids and the parents both work 60-80 hrs per week at their dream jobs. The kids (ages 6,4, 2 and newborn) are being raised by full-time nannies, who are not educated, do not speak English well, and don't want to teach discipline or push the kids to be their best selves in case it upsets the parents-- they don't want to risk losing their jobs. I never see the kids outside, I almost never see the parents with the kids (except on specially curated social media shots), and the parents don't get that they are making a choice to not put their kids first. I know people who spend more time with their dogs than their kids and they wonder why their kids aren't turning out so well.
Ironic is it not that those well-heeled people across the street fail to recognize the significance of their behavior? This is part of the reason why talk of the "elites" bothers me so. As if they are somehow superior. IMO they are anything but. The superior people, also IMO, are the salt of the earth folks who get up every morning, provide for their family not their ego, fulfill their responsibilities to the community, and create the future thereby.
You're at risk of sounding like most adults in every successful society ever.
Well heretofore I think that was true. It was what united us as cultures and larger societies. But that is under assault in the modern US environment.
"But that is under assault in the modern US environment."
And we're changing from a successful society to an unsuccessful society in a lot of ways.
Very true.
True story. I coached my son's lacrosse teams for years up to middle school. When they moved on, a bunch of the kids asked me to keep coaching, so I did. A parent asked me "So which kid on the team is yours?" I answered "I don't have a kid on the team." The parent looked at me, puzzled, and asked "If you don't have a kid on the team, why would you coach it?" Spoke volumes.
My brother coached kids' soccer for years on Air Force bases in Europe, even though he didn't have any children. It gave him something to do other than go to the E-Club and get drunk.
and 8th grade boys are forces of nature. Hilarious and maddening. But really fun to coach. The stories I could tell.....
I'll bet!
But Dr. Jill........
I think you're on to something there, Ms. Millen.