" Mixing touching profiles of hopeful children with expert interviews and numbing statistics, Guggenheim paints a troubling panorama of a system that runs legions of children through the classrooms of indifferent or incompetent teachers until, by middle school, they are too far behind to catch up."
The main culprit according to Guggenheim is the bureaucracy it takes to get rid of an ineffective teacher. He really placed blame at the "feet" of teachers unions.
I will tell you as a public school administrator for 8 years now, I have seen good and bad teachers and it does take time to remove an ineffective teacher. I do believe that the majority of teachers get into teaching because they want to help kids. Somehow, bureaucracy does get in the way and they get tired and burned out. Our public schools are big with many children to serve. Children of the 21st century learn differently than even my own children learned 10 years ago. Teachers have to work hard to catch up with technology and understand the way children learn today.
Teachers have the hardest jobs in the world. They deal with demands from their classes, community, and students- not to mention their own personal lives. A typical life of a middle school teacher starts at 7:30 AM with five classes a day that have to be "engaging and exciting" each and every time, a team meeting to discuss failing students and school issues, a conference time ( 50 minutes)to grade and plan for the next day, a 30 minute lunch, and after school tutoring or meetings. Not to mention they have to attend additional meetings for their special education students, English Language Learners, and at risk students. Oh and they have to return emails and parent phone calls. I will tell you- they are my heroes-I have teachers that come to work each day with smiles on their faces and committed to the children they serve. Sure there are those teachers who need to leave the business and as instructional leaders it is important that principals address those teachers. The majority of teachers I see are hard working professionals who deserve to be paid more and who deserve our respect. There is no other person on campus more important than your child's teacher.
There is really so much for me to comment on from this movie- I thought I would start with teachers as they are my heroes and we do expect them to have Superman powers. Most of them come through each and every day for your children and mine!
I love this Irish Teacher Blessing. To all the teachers I know:
"May your gift of teaching awaken minds to new ideas and expand hearts beyond boundaries. May your desire to educate evoke the unique gifts of each student and the deep desires of each heart. May your love of learning lead students to awe and wonder at their participation in our sacred universe. May your story-telling inspire imagination and creativity and your example lead those you teach to be generous and noble. And, as you bless your students on their way, may you delight at the gift your life offers to the future."
No comments:
Post a Comment