[lbo-talk] More "school reform" nonsense

[Gail Brock]

I guess I wasn't clear enough.  Yes, I can give you quite a long list of the attributes of good teaching.  The point is that no one has all of them, and some of them are even incompatible.  And determining whether a teacher has the attributes is impossible.  In practice, even deciding whether a better teacher entertains the students sufficiently to make them like the class or pushes through on difficult subjects is problematic.  Or, whether the class results in mastery of the proscribed subject matter or in a critical, questioning attitude towards the material.

Of course, meritorious teachers do it all, and everybody knows who the good teachers are.

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Joanna (Wed, May 26, 2010 12:49:22 PM):

Gail writes: 

"I have yet to find anyone who could really balance out all the different teaching strengths and weaknesses, including what kinds of students they reach, what strengths they help the students with, how much trouble they cause the administration (hint -- social status of the parents is not excluded from consideration), and so on.  So I find any merit system an exercise in delusion.  However, my experiences with bad doctors and dentists leave me believing that there is a level of incompetence and professional neglect that colleagues have a responsibility to address." 

It is hard to define good teaching, especially because there are different styles of teaching and teachers can be good in different ways. 

But some things come to mind: the teacher 

-- knows her subject well 

-- understands how to convey difficult concepts  

-- instills a life-long appreciation or love for the subject 

-- creates a space in which the student can learn and develop 

Probably many other things too. 

One other thing. Sometimes it takes years before the effects of good teaching manifest themselves. So, a little survey at the end of class is not enough. 

Joanna 

       
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