On Feb 15, 2012, at 9:58 AM, Wojtek S wrote:
> Tahir: "In South Africa"
>
> [WS:] This is not not South Africa, in case you did not notice. Here
> in the US of A we have a situation in which public education is under
> fierce attack from the right under the guise of "helping the kids."
But, aside from brutalizing teachers, it's also awful for the kids. So why not call bullshit on the kids' claim at the same time you defend teachers?
Also, American teachers, I'm sorry to say, mostly come from the bottom third of their college classes and few have advanced degrees in their subject areas. Too many are ill-prepared generalists with no expertise. They come out of schools of education that are not the most intellectually demanding places on earth. There are many many fine teachers here - my kid has one - but it's dishonest to say there can't be serious improvements in the overall quality of our teachers. They're paid badly and treated like shit - it's no wonder that people aren't clamoring to get into the field. Finnish education schools accept something like 1/10 of their applicants. It's a high-prestige, high-paying field - and it shows.
Doug