We are hosting Michael Smith (Reading Don't Fix No Chevys) and my husband and I went to dinner with him last night. In two hours of conversation, the issue oft the image and perception of teachers came up. He made the point that as a group, teachers have failed as of late to communicate the complexity and challenges of our profession. Therefore, as sense that expertise or intelligence has made programs like Teach For America seem like sensible solutions. Please note that personally I have had nothing but admiration and respect for these dedicated young people on an individual basis, but I would agree whole heartedly that as a movement, this is just not good for education.
I also have to wonder about the role that Hollywood plays in all of this. I used to think all those feel good Hollywood scenarios where the wide-eyed visionary turns the school around were inspirational but I have really come to wonder otherwise. I read an article in the New York Times ticking off he numbers and realities for a long line of these super-teachers, and not one on the list of 'based-on-actual-experience' super-teachers was still teaching after five years. Two comments: we do see a lot of bright, young teachers leaving teaching but I am also concerned at the message these films send about the rest of the teachers. Somehow if we all just cared enough, were passionate enough...the ills of the educational society would just fade away. I am passionate, and I care deeply...honestly, look around you and I still feel that the halls of our institutions are still populated primarily by people who do, or at least, people who did at one point in their careers. NCLB has made us scapegoats, responsible collectively for the failures of education and, indirectly, the failures of the community, of the society. We are messaged by all the programs and pundits that if we just stuck to a program, we could save the world. No one would dream of suggesting our Foreign Ambassadors, each working with uniquely different groups of people around the world, lay aside their personal knowledge of their populations and needs to adopt some sort of standardized, prescriptive approach. That may not be the strongest example, but you get the general idea. I am not quite sure how to do it, but we need to take back our profession and re-embody it. Lori On 7/10/07 11:26 PM, "Beverlee Paul" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I have to agree, with reservations. I think our profession is going to be > gone as a profession if something doesn't change. And it'll go with "a > whimper not a bang." Too many with integrity and intelligence just plain > won't be able to stand seeing that script one more time. They'll go. And > the ones left? They'll be the ones who cruise in 10 minutes before school > to take up their post and administer the day. > > > Well, I also think teachers have allowed this to happen. It is not only > the decision-makers who have taken leave of their senses.... it is a > great number of teachers in the trenches as well. There are a lot of > teachers who *like* DIBELS, who *like* Open Court, who *like* SRA, who > *like* Success for All, who *like* Star Reading, who *like* computer > tests, who *like* Saxon Math, who *like* Excel Math, who *like* > programs that tell them what to do, who *like* assessments that give > them a number to go by. > > And way too many teachers who don't like these programs but who just go > along and do whatever they are told without thinking about it, without > speaking up, without making a case for something better. > > Way, way too many, in fact. > At least that's how it is where I live. > > _________________________________________________________________ > http://imagine-windowslive.com/hotmail/?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migration_ > HM_mini_pcmag_0507 > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > -- Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach & Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 57555 http:www.tcsdk12.org ph. 605.856.2211 Literacies for All Summer Institute "Literate Lives: A Human Right" July 12-15, 2007 Louisville, Kentucky http://www.ncte.org/profdev/conv/wlu _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
