Posted on 02/20/2016 7:56:38 AM PST by Republicanprofessor
As a state college professor, upset over the disaster that our public schools have become, I have been thinking a great deal about the most effective teaching strategies. These obviously differ according to subject matter. But these are some points I’ve worked up over the years; it is now time to post them, hoping to get feedback and a discussion going. The Democrats have ruled public education through the chains of the federal government and unions for decades. It is time to take back education into an arena of challenge and success.
1) First we have to acknowledge that we need to rethink and rebuild our education system from the ground up. Teachers, students, parents and taxpayers have to realize that we are not graduating students ready for the challenges of the twenty-first century. We are a decaying nation; we need to revamp and come alive again. And we can. Education nowadays is not supporting critical thinking but political indoctrination. Students who are not bright enough to see the difference use these contemporary political analogies and conclusions for dramatically different and even ancient subjects, such as seeing the rights of women to their own bodies in ancient Greek works like the Nike of Samothrace. What one young man wrote about this: “The content of this sculpture is about freedom and having the right to be on your own without anybody. It looks like a lady with wings trying to reach out for help to be free.†That is certainly not the usual, art historical interpretation, which would stress the use of clinging drapery and the effects of the sea and wind upon this figure usually seen on the bow of a ship. It is not about the rights of women to their own bodies.
2) Students are bored, not challenged; after teaching the same subject in the same way, teachers are also bored and unchallenged. Do teachers really just pass out packets of information for students to read on their own during class? What happened to the skills of teaching, and all those courses in education curricula on pedagogy? At the same time, there is more information and more knowledge accessible through the internet than at any time in the past. How can we use this online expertise to enliven our teaching methods?
3) We need to collectively visualize a new kind of education system, one that will excite and enlighten our students and teachers. With the advance of the internet, old systems of teaching are passé. We need to get rid of dead wood and emphasize enthusiasm and new modes of teaching over the old rules.
4) We need expertise from the real world; can we evaluate the teaching abilities of those who have not gone through the education system of graduate degrees and help them to become great teachers with real-world experience? Education curricula is notably lacking in content, while repeating pedagogical courses. Let’s emphasize knowledge, not tired past methodology.
5) Allow a wider pool of teachers, those with experience and content knowledge but no education courses. Have them take 1-2 courses in pedagogy and let them loose in the classrooms.
6) We need annual or semi-annual conferences with the best teachers talking about their strategies to engage students. Each school and college knows who the good teachers are, who can challenge students and to whom the students relate. Get these exciting teachers to share their secrets; get the teachers at the conference to go back to their schools to share these ideas.
7) What are new ways that we can use to evaluate teachers? Can their superintendents or visiting groups of fine teachers (perhaps on sabbatical) visit classes and offer suggestions or examples to engage students? Can we rotate class visitations so that each teacher does not get evaluated every year but approximately every third year or so?
8) We need to revamp the curriculum as much as the teaching staff. Students are not learning some subjects that they really need, such as a basic understanding of economics—internationally down to personal finance. Why can’t this be integrated with mathematics so that students understand about interest rates on mortgages, credit cards and student loans as well as international economic theories?
9) Can we use blogs for writing classes?
10) I suggest that we ask these questions: What do my students need to learn about my subject by the end of the year (and, thus, through the curriculum from K -12) and how can I get there?
11) Here’s an idea for possible assessment, and which I use in my college classes each semester. In the first day of class, ask students a question or two on a subject they should master by the end of the semester. They may know nothing….and that’s fine. In the last day of class, ask the same or similar question(s) and see if their knowledge has improved. Have other teachers “grade†this assessment and offer suggestions.
12) Instead of books, can we use articles and resources online? Would that save money for school districts and thus allow all students access to the same information in addition to training them to use and evaluate information online?
13) We also need to ask ourselves: how do kids learn? Does the old lecture system, taking notes and memorizing facts, really work? How about using online reinforcement and critical analysis of the facts? We need to engage students rather than lecturing to them.
14) If we can succeed in getting schools to truly consider a revamping of educational methods, can we have a moratorium on testing for 5 years or so in order to implement these changes?
15) We need to consider BOTH sides of all issues, leading to increased critical thinking skills by our students. We cannot just indoctrinate students to liberal ideas; we need to be more open and weigh both sides of issues fairly. Here’s an idea for an exercise in the future: for political issues, students should research the issue from both sides and then evaluate how the media (on both sides) is presenting the issue. What do they think are the relevant arguments and why?
16) Should this be a Republican issue or non-partisan? Can the Republicans come up with good ideas to push to revamp education, or is this a losing battle? The Democrats have reigned supreme in education for decades, and look what has happened: lowered scores, lowered knowledge.
17) Include ideas from students….how do they learn best? What do they need to stay interested? (I have asked my students this on my own class evaluations, and their responses are below.)
18) We may need to challenge all students and to teach to the brightest instead of the lowest common denominator. Teach to excite students to become lifelong learners, to love learning….be it about their hobbies or more intellectual pursuits.
19) Emphasize writing and critical thinking skills. This can be assessed through writing at the end of the semester. Judging from the papers I get as a professor vs. what my children are learning at independent schools, the public school children are not reading and writing nearly enough.
20) Have more in-house evaluations of fellow faculty, with suggestions for improvement rather than penalties. Have others come in to visit a few classes for district oversight. Have a committee of former award-winning teachers to evaluate class visits and projects.
21) Rethink and revamp your teaching techniques every few years.
22) Let students learn at every opportunity, including from their tests and exams. Some schools do not allow tests to come home (because then the teachers would have to construct different tests). Parents have to make appointments to see their child’s exams. This is not an effective strategy for learning.
23) Not all students are scholars, but we need to educate them anyway. Even more important, we need to connect to each student and to find their inner source of individuality and creativity. Each student has a special quality; we just need to find and nurture it.
24) Include the arts (drama, dance, music and visual art) to enhance the creative understanding of students. Teach the teachers about the arts and how to use them to integrate with history, language studies, etc.
Thoughts from my students about good and bad teachers.
Good teachers:
1) Know all the students by name.
2) Engage the students: teach interactively, get their opinions and be open to them.
3) Use hands on learning. Make the learning fun, not cut and dried.
4) Are flexible with students.
5) Use common knowledge to connect with the students.
5a) Use many examples to prove their points.
6) Have a sense of humor.
7) Treat students with respect, allowing for varied personal connections with the material.
8) Have a variety of assignments.
9) Challenge students.
10) Are passionate about their material.
11) Are personal, sharing personal stories on how this material has affected them.
12) Are knowledgeable about the subject matter.
13) Put in the same effort in teaching, and prepping for class, that they expect from students.
14) Someone who can inspire students to learn about life through the material they are teaching.
15) “Effective teachers demonstrate a strong command of the subject matter, incorporate student discussion, and distribute a healthy dose of supplementary reading.â€
16) “a good teacher creates a comfortable environment for learningâ€
17) a teacher willing to adapt to a class’s learning style and include the class in how the class runs makes for a stress-free learning environment.â€
Bad teachers:
1) Are boring. They go too slowly and have a dry presentation of the material. (My question to these teachers: Are you bored teaching? If so, get interested or get out!)
2) Have a lack of knowledge about the material.
3) Communicate poorly.
4) Have no time or patience for questions. Are unable to answer questions or to see things through the eyes of confused students.
5) “ineffective classes lack respect, discipline, and interest toward the subject matter and the teacher.â€
6) Have few items to be graded, few chances for students to improve and do better.
7) “Ineffective teachers are too lenient (for such a tendency removes all sense of accomplishment), expect too little of students and speak with little or no enthusiasm.â€
So how can we get rid of bored, ineffective teachers and ensure that students get the best, most motivated and enthusiastic teachers?
Bookmark
Point #5, allowing teachers with actual experience rather than lifelong academia is critical. Tenured academics who have never faced scrutiny on actual performance over their time in service need to face real competition.
Thank you for composing and posting your article.
Bookmarked also.
When the student is ready the teacher appears.
Pethaps we should get rid of compulsory education beyond Jr. High?
And provide more vocational training and get rid of all ethnic, feminist, gendergender, etc studies.
When the student is ready the teacher appears.
Pethaps we should get rid of compulsory education beyond Jr. High?
And provide more vocational training and get rid of all ethnic, feminist, gender, etc studies.
Having said that (respectfully), I'm a veteran urban public school teacher, and here's my two cents.
One, we have no control over curriculum anymore. Everything is centrally managed. I must teach an honors Physics class, all of whom have already taken trig, the exact same way I teach a basic Physics class. That's just crazy.
Two, we have no control over discipline anymore. The focus now is on reducing suspensions (to improve statistics), not on providing orderly classrooms.
And three, I (again respectfully) think you are overemphasizing the "bored, ineffective teachers" thing. I want to work with competent colleagues. The incompetent ones ruin subject tracking, not to mention their effect on students. But I estimate only 5% of teachers I've worked with are incompetent. That percentage is probably the same in most professions.
Great post.
Emailed to my Conservative wife (teacher)
Some of this sounds like conversations at our dinner table.
You are probably right on all accounts. I have hesitated posting this for some time, probably because I knew it was too much.
You are also probably right on the number of bored teachers. I have spent more time at the college level. My main question is: How do we motivate students to learn?
The elephant in the room is PC and the coercive tactics which are given moral high ground in protecting unexamined assumptions. I am an older college student, and it breaks my heart to see perfectly lovely young people competing over who has the most wrong with them thus qualifying them for coveted “victim” status.
There is a whole lot that will straighten out quick if PC is removed. The competitiveness is still there, it’s just currently being misdirected.
Have the teachers draw the bell curve in order to receive their paycheck.
Respectfully, your “there’s too much there” commentary makes his point. I started out in the public schools and had to work hard to get over the attitude that something was too much work.
One point he misses is getting pupils, and there is a difference between students and pupils, to love learning is the key; to make them life long learners is the goal. It does not matter that much if you master a subject without any ability to learn, take it further, and make use of it.
One thing I have NEVER been asked in all of the teaching positions that I have sought is, what do you know, and/or any real discussion about teaching In other words, how do you impart what you know?
All that schools are concerned about is indoctrination, hence the importance placed upon the diversity statement and discussions along those lines. Socialization takes precedence over learning.
Here’s the key: recognize that “education” is not something that is done to someone, it’s something that someone does.
And recognize that, at some age around 12, it’s possible to identify possible high school students and others (most) for whom further education is a waste.
Limit college to the top 5%, determined by exam.
After that, everything else falls into place.
Respectfully, once you get there, it's over.
So what do you know?
You can't.
Next slide.
I know what it is to teach. I know that the issues surrounding education cannot be covered in 30 second sound bites as we have been conditioned by public education and by media. I recognize when somebody is not ready for education or prepared to discuss something rationally and in depth.
Born, not made.
Universal high school is not only a waste of money (bad enough) but it pisses off the majority of sub-90 IQ "students", the boys get violent in response, the girls get pregnant.
My grandmother taught in NYC Public for 55 years, if she were here, she would say in response to the question about how to make non-students into students - "You can't. Somebody's got to clean the subways".
Too bad grandma's not in charge.
Some one once told me, "There are two things with which God will not help man; to find a teacher and to find a friend. You must do that on your own."
And of course, Einstein said, "There are two things eternal. Human stupidity and the universe. And I'm not even sure about the universe."
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