I work as a technical writer (with a former parallel career in teaching at the college level).
Tech writing earns two to three times the wage of teaching.
I don't worry about bad teachers causing irreparable harm. I mentioned that teachers are the least of the problem.
More of the problem is the growing absence of support for teaching anything in public school except reading and math.
That's what's tested, so that's what's taught. Art, science, crafts, etc. all gone.
Gone are the after school programs. etc.
Senior teachers are being fired and replaced with inexperienced teachers or teachers with no qualifications. etc.
For many, school is the only second chance they will ever get.
Joanna
----- Original Message ----- From: "Matt" <lbo4 at beyondzero.net> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 9:30:35 AM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] More "school reform" nonsense
On Wed, May 26, 2010 at 02:22:57PM +0000, 123hop at comcast.net wrote:
> It's not easy work, and it's not good pay.
Compared to what?
Since the students' poverty levels are by far the greatest predictor of academic success, worrying about what to do with the bad teachers causing irreparable harm seems ridiculous.
Similarly, the notion that simply paying teachers more (how much?) would help the struggling students by giving them more good teachers, who I guess can use some magic to turn their sweat and tears into a magical academic excellence elixir, seems likewise absurd. Where exactly are all these excellent-teachers-in-waiting right now? Working on Wall Street?
Matt
-- GnuPG Key ID: 0xC33BD882 aim/google/MSN/yahoo: beyondzero123
Like Ma Bell, I've got the ill communication. -Beastie Boys
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