tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post7653185666425083825..comments2024-03-29T04:34:05.185-04:00Comments on CURMUDGUCATION: Forbes Says 18 Dumb ThingsPeter Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511193640285760299noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-27196490044253012852017-07-29T15:51:04.860-04:002017-07-29T15:51:04.860-04:00Indeed, I do disagree. In order to teach in a pub...Indeed, I do disagree. In order to teach in a public school at the High School level, you need to be certified in some area of expertise. I was certified in general science, chemistry, physics, earth science and mathematics. Each of these certifications required necessary coursework as well as passing a competency test that covered those specialties.<br /><br />You have no idea how many people with STEM 'skill sets' are horrible teachers. No, empathy and an understanding of human cognition cannot be 'trained relatively quickly'. Daedalushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13689616455316136120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-83138608694788129682017-07-29T12:25:50.600-04:002017-07-29T12:25:50.600-04:00Great post!
Regarding #11, just fyi, Microsoft st...Great post!<br /><br />Regarding #11, just fyi, Microsoft still does stack-ranking. I'm not sure why there's a myth out there that they don't anymore. It's how they do the bonuses, and the bonus is the main distinguisher between different levels so it's very important. Teacher #8293801https://www.blogger.com/profile/02046444202572960024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-47357959886934096242017-07-29T11:19:41.301-04:002017-07-29T11:19:41.301-04:00Take the word "teacher" out of the argum...Take the word "teacher" out of the arguments and insert any other profession you like. Since this is Forbes, how about "financial advisor" or "stockbroker." Why should people need a seat in a stock exchange to trade stocks? Doesn't this keep the pool of available brokers arbitrarily small? Etc.<br /><br />Like the arguments that claim to prove the existence of god, they don't specify which god. (Remove Jesus, insert Odin.) Most of the hand waving arguments just don't hold water because they exclude pertinent data. How does teacher unionization correlate with student performance (even using their cockamamie measures)? Oh, the unionized systems do better? Imagine that.Steve Ruishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13404944652282889252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-44337701854867565322017-07-26T08:03:35.232-04:002017-07-26T08:03:35.232-04:00Where is their talking point on the role of admini...Where is their talking point on the role of administrators? Ignoring management in an article on teacher quality shows just how clueless they are. The quality of building principals has declined precipitously in recent years as many inexperienced educators getting fast-tracked into the big chair. Why is it that administrators get so little attention from reformers?NY Teacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08292448959963091160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-83173897542221661622017-07-25T00:04:02.431-04:002017-07-25T00:04:02.431-04:00Try using this logic when you want plumbers, elect...Try using this logic when you want plumbers, electricians, hair stylists, and baby sitters. Alternative facts abound. Teachers are the enemy and amateurs know the real scoop. We're all fracked.Shirleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11756613176679057344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-23297728794050030972017-07-24T19:32:22.261-04:002017-07-24T19:32:22.261-04:00Sorry about that last long post.
Here's the s...Sorry about that last long post.<br /><br />Here's the short version.<br /><br />"So you get a higher and higher quality of (professionals --- doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc. ) by making it easier and easier for anyone to be permitted to perform that profession?"<br /><br />THAT ... MAKES ... NO ... SENSE.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16911854468188214107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-27331218778119214762017-07-24T12:08:07.469-04:002017-07-24T12:08:07.469-04:00I don't think our portrayal of the author'...I don't think our portrayal of the author's argument is accurate. I don't think they are saying that teachers having fewer degrees is a good idea (or at least that's not what I would say). Rather, they are saying that credentialing is over-rated. That's just a different thing. You may agree or disagree - but its' a different thing. <br />Our existing education system basically says that it doesn't matter much what your grades were as a student or the competitiveness of your college - but rather that what's important is that you get a traditional teacher certifcation - which affirms that you know the latest in pedagogy and such ... and usually that you've spent some time in a classroom as an assistant or similar. Moreover, the system says that you'll get paid more as you continue due to two things - seniority and degree attainment. <br /><br />Again, there's nothing there about grades or competitiveness of the school attended. And like many things in the market, you usually get what you pay for. Per Mckinsey, our teachers are mainly sourced from the bottom 1/3 of college bound high school students. Again, we neither reward grades nor competitiveness of school attended. My daughter graduated Princeton a couple of years ago. While TFA actively recruited on campus (and was sought after despite worse pay than alternatives), the district schools did not recruit. And as near as I can tell, the same is true at other competitive schools. <br /><br />Moreover, notice that the requirements outlined require a knowledge in education theory and practice - but not subject matter. There's likewise an increased belief that a good way to find math teachers might be to get mathematicians - or at least people who majored in math in school. <br /><br />The underlying belief in all of this (which again, you can agree with or not) is that teachers should be strong students who attend top schools and know their subject. And that the skill set of actually conveying these skills and knowledge that these people already possess can be trained relatively quickly. Again, I understand that you disagree with this assessment - and likely even find it insulting given the very different focus of teacher recruitment and promotion historically. The data suggests that the reformers are correct -but again, this tends to rely on standardized tests as a metric which I know you dismiss. But that's the rationale. I just thought you should at least better understand that with which you disagree. alanbackmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16174033131550945945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-78615320428847358842017-07-24T10:28:06.698-04:002017-07-24T10:28:06.698-04:00Since the authors are so fond of comparing teachin...Since the authors are so fond of comparing teaching to medicine, let's compare #8 that way: "If we want hospital to hire better surgeons, we should expand, not contract, the pool from which schools may draw."<br /><br />I mean, really, think about how many people have not gone to medical school. Surely amongst all of those millions (billions, really) of people, there's got to be lots of people who could perform surgery better than some bozo who just happened to graduate from medical school. Therefore, hospitals shouldn't have to be limited to medical school graduates when hiring surgeons.<br /><br />Diennehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04570040547158789834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-66543907054435781672017-07-23T18:48:05.355-04:002017-07-23T18:48:05.355-04:00After the torturous stretches made in this article...After the torturous stretches made in this article, these two authors must have been on muscle relaxants for a week.<br /><br />So let's get this straight: <br /><br />Our nation will get BETTER teachers if those in charge of schools LOWER the salary and benefits of teachers, and make their job conditions WORSE, and RAISE the number of students in their class? <br /><br />Our nation will get BETTER teachers if those in charge of schools are LESS DEMANDING in the requirements of the candidates applying for the job? And <br /><br />Seriously? Really? In what universe does that work?<br /><br />Let's try and follow their logic:<br /><br />So when you ... move the bar from ... requiring a credential plus a Master's ... to requiring just a credential w/no Masters/just a Bachelor's, the quality of the teachers hired will improve as a result.<br /><br />Then, when you ... move the bar from ... <br /><br /> ...requiring a just a credential w/no Masters/just a Bachelor's ... to requiring NO credential/just a Bachelors ...<br /><br />... the quality of teacher hired will improve even more as a result.<br /><br />Then, when you ... move the bar from ... <br /><br /> ... NO credential/just a Bachelors ... to requiring NO Bachelor's / just an Associate's Degree (Community College/ Junior College) w/no credential ...<br /><br />... the quality of the teachers hired will improve even more as a result.<br /><br />Then, when you ... move the bar from ... requiring just an Associate's Degree (Community College/Junior College) w/no credential ... to requiring just a high school diploma with, of course, no credential ... <br /><br /> ... the quality of the teachers hired will improve to an even greater height as a result.<br /><br />Then, when you ... move the bar from ... requiring just a high school diploma with, of course, no credential ... to requiring just a GED acquired by high school dropouts/no credential ...<br /><br /> ... the quality of the teachers hired will improve to an even greater height as a result.<br /><br />Heck, why even require a GED / high school equivalent? <br /><br />Why not allow high school dropouts, or middle school dropouts to teach? <br /><br />I'm wondering how these two authors --- if they have or ever will have children themselves -- show up on Open House night at the start of the school year, and discover that child's teacher is a high school dropout who cannot even speak or write a sentence with basic grammar.<br /><br />"Oh, great! Having just a high school diploma is great! I co-wrote this scholarly paper saying this is a wonderful way to hire our nation's teachers, and leads to high quality teachers."<br /><br />I don't think so.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16911854468188214107noreply@blogger.com