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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TopCat who wrote (133791)	5/27/2012 8:17:26 PM
From: Farmboy	4 Recommendations Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 224704

Instead, parental involvement and top-flight teachers and administrators are what make the difference, he said. Bravo Mitt !

To: TopCat who wrote (133791)	5/27/2012 8:18:14 PM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	1 Recommendation Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 224704

<< top-flight teachers and administrators are what make the difference, he said.>> You will not get top-flight teachers without paying them top-flight pay and benefits. Why go into teaching when you can be an engineer, a physician, an attorney or research scientist? People my age (now 75) had the benefit of women teachers at a time when other professions were closed to them. Young people today do not have that benefit.

To: TopCat who wrote (133791)	5/27/2012 11:23:43 PM
From: MJ	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224704

A TEACHER'S OPINION ABOUT CLASSROOM SIZE IN A SCHOOL Having taught public school in three states these are my observations First, teachers have gotten used to teaching fewer students. They don't know how to teach a high school class of 35 to 40 for two reasons. Current teachers have never observed good teachers teaching large classes and been taught the skills of teaching a large classroom through observation as a student, The move to fewer students in a class began in the late 1960's and has persisted to present time. Part of the reason they have fewer students per class, is because of the misguided concept that began in the late 1960's and 1970's via our teacher's associations, the thinkers at the University levels that it would benefit students to be in a classroom with fewer students----- allowing the teacher to give more time and attention to each student in the classroom. This is a myth that has not worked. Parents were also taken in by that idea. Small classroom size became the norm. Let's compare what it is like to teach a large number of students in mathematics to the job of being an orchestra conductor. Each student has the written curricula to be studied and worked on in and out of class-------the score as in music. Each student has a seat in the classroom and knows the rules of conduct. The teacher sets the goal for the semester and the year and directs and leads the students in the study of the subject. Homework is frequent and regular-----quizzes and examinations are the same. The Conductor, the teacher can spot rapidly, the students who need help. The teacher then uses techniques such as grouping students in the classroom --------with students helping each other to understand the process of learning. And, a personal call to the parents inviting them in for an interview session. Of course, the teacher will have homework almost every night to be graded--------that is part of the job they were hired to do. A teacher must be prepared when they, he or she, walks into the classroom . If that teacher is not prepared and energetic, then that teacher will not be able to teach either a small or large class. The teacher in the article who teaches music would be about 36 now------having grown up in the era of small classroom sizes. Being a musician also, I find it amazing that a music teacher would want small classes considering that choirs and bands and theory are endeavors that require a large number of students. Our high school band had about 90 members and our choir had about 35. The band director knew her music and knew how to teach the playing of all of the instruments. We also learned from each other------size was never a problem. Back to my major point that many teachers today have not had the experience of seeing a qualified teacher teach a large class; thereby learning how to teach by observation as well as having training in teaching large numbers of students while at the college or University. Just a few thoughts-----mj Steven Morris, who teaches music, said: "I can't think of any teacher in the whole time I have been teaching, 13 years, who would say that more students [in the classroom] would benefit. And I can't think of a parent that would say I would like my teacher to be in a room with a lot of kids and only one teacher." Ronald Benner, whose technology classes range from 23 to 28 students, chimed in that "you can give more personalized attention to each student if you have a smaller class size." Another teacher stressed the importance of keeping classes to no more than 18 students in the critical early primary grade Romney: Classroom size isn't key to performance Article by: PAUL WEST , Tribune Washington Bureau Updated: May 24, 2012 - 11:41 PM hide