Oh, not again. There are two problems with this cheap screed:
(1) The prospective teacher can pray 'til his sides hurt, he just can't force his (public-school) students to repeat his prayers. Not that it matters, because mandatory prayer is perfectly unnecessary to elementary education.
(2) Teachers are not underpaid. They are very well paid (overpaid, most of them) on an hourly basis. Teachers' unions have won munificent pay for mostly incompetent teachers.
(Sometimes people suggest that the reason most new teachers are dolts is that the pay is low. Wrong. The reason is that the working conditions are very unpleasant. The unions' strive relentlessly to keep them that way.)
9/10/07, 12:18 AM
Mark said...
Am I right or wrong to believe that one reason there is so much misbehavior in schools these days is that the courts and the feds have made it pretty much impossible for a school to kick them out.
I have a friend who is a public school teacher and she knows of kids in her high school who have been moved repeatedly from one school to another because of discipline problems.
I agree with most of what mark seecof says, but would nuance it a bit. I'd say about half of teachers are overpaid and half underpaid, because pay is not linked to performance, but to seniority and education. But I think the "cheap screed" does point out that teachers do far more than teach their subject. They are cops, social workers, parent-substitutes all rolled into one. It is certainly enough for me to consider homeschooling. Perhaps most teachers are qualified to teach their subject, but are they qualified to do all these other things that are demanded of them?
I wonder if webcams in every public school class room would be a way to control student misbehavior and teacher incompetence? Currently it is exceedingly difficult to document cases of either, no matter how rampant.
9/10/07, 2:46 PM
James Kabala said...
This post is not original with Oraculations, but, as Jewish Atheist says, is very similar to one of those much-forwarded words-of-wisdom e-mails that appears in everyone's inbox from time to time.
9/10/07, 4:25 PM
Oraculations has a posting for all you public school teachers out there:
After being interviewed by the school administration, the teaching prospect said, "Let me see if I've got this right: You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning. You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride. You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a checkbook, and apply for a job. You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, and make sure that they all pass the state exams.
You want me to provide them with an equal education regardless no matter their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card. You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps. You want me to do all this and then you tell me...
"Back to School special"
7 Comments -
Oh, not again. There are two problems with this cheap screed:
(1) The prospective teacher can pray 'til his sides hurt, he just can't force his (public-school) students to repeat his prayers. Not that it matters, because mandatory prayer is perfectly unnecessary to elementary education.
(2) Teachers are not underpaid. They are very well paid (overpaid, most of them) on an hourly basis. Teachers' unions have won munificent pay for mostly incompetent teachers.
(Sometimes people suggest that the reason most new teachers are dolts is that the pay is low. Wrong. The reason is that the working conditions are very unpleasant. The unions' strive relentlessly to keep them that way.)
9/10/07, 12:18 AM
Am I right or wrong to believe that one reason there is so much misbehavior in schools these days is that the courts and the feds have made it pretty much impossible for a school to kick them out.
I have a friend who is a public school teacher and she knows of kids in her high school who have been moved repeatedly from one school to another because of discipline problems.
9/10/07, 7:08 AM
Steve, when did you become the dumb lady who forwards every email about prayer to the whole department?
9/10/07, 7:41 AM
Not that it matters, because mandatory prayer is perfectly unnecessary to elementary education.
How do you know that?
9/10/07, 8:53 AM
I agree with most of what mark seecof says, but would nuance it a bit. I'd say about half of teachers are overpaid and half underpaid, because pay is not linked to performance, but to seniority and education.
But I think the "cheap screed" does point out that teachers do far more than teach their subject. They are cops, social workers, parent-substitutes all rolled into one. It is certainly enough for me to consider homeschooling. Perhaps most teachers are qualified to teach their subject, but are they qualified to do all these other things that are demanded of them?
9/10/07, 11:00 AM
I wonder if webcams in every public school class room would be a way to control student misbehavior and teacher incompetence? Currently it is exceedingly difficult to document cases of either, no matter how rampant.
9/10/07, 2:46 PM
This post is not original with Oraculations, but, as Jewish Atheist says, is very similar to one of those much-forwarded words-of-wisdom e-mails that appears in everyone's inbox from time to time.
9/10/07, 4:25 PM