I agree that both parents working causes a lot of the problems in schools today. But that isn't going to change, the schools need to change to take on that "parenting" role, and if the parents are going to pass that to the schools, society needs to change so that teachers are given the rights of parents over their students, or something to that effect. The teachers also have to be better compensated for their new responsibilities.
I don't think that's fair even with increased compensation. Many teachers are teaching right out of college. They have no idea what its like to be a parent. Plus, you have no concept of how demanding just the teaching is. Each quarter now we have what's called peer teaching where we teach a half hour class to other members of the cohort. After just a half hour, you feel drained.......I can't imagine what it will be like after an entire day. I can't explain to you why its so demanding, but it just is. All of us have been surprised.
So to expect a teacher to take on the job of parent as well.......I think that may be asking too much.
I don't know what you're learning in class. Fill me in. I seem to recall the educational establishment thinking that as long as teachers knew how to educate, knowledge of the subject matter wasn't all that important, certainly not crucial. That's why a coach taught me algebra in high school!
To teach a subject these days in middle or high school, you have to have a concentration in what's called an endorsement area. That means you have to have so many hours of study in a general area. For an example in WA state, to teach social studies you have to have 70 credit hours in related subjects. That's true for every subject......generally the requirement is 60-80 credit hours.
As for the method of teaching, the students are taught to be what's called critical or authentic thinkers where they are faced with a problem, determine what is needed to solve it and then proceed to implement the required procedure to its conclusion. All our teaching goals are tailored to that concept. To an adult, it may seem like a normal thing but for kids who don't have a solid grasp on cognitive thinking, its a big step to get to this stage.
As for the actual teaching, its much less lecturing than was done in the past. Instead, there is more emphasis on creative, student participation in class. It makes for a far more interesting classroom. Things I learned in acting like role playing I can bring into the classroom as a teaching tool. All the classes my cohort takes are taught in that manner so that we will have a lot of experience to draw on. |
