On Thursday, July 18, 2002, at 01:32 PM, Michael Atherton wrote:
> Terrell Brown wrote: > >> Now, that's not easy. Student performance isn't necessarily a measure >> of teacher effectiveness. > > If student performance isn't a measure of teacher effectiveness then > what is? Speaking in the aggregate of course. Wow, I think I suddenly understand the problem with your statement Michael. A minute ago I agreed with you wholeheartedly. It lies in the word "effective" where most people are just trying to confirm that our teachers are "good". I can see a situation where a teacher is brilliant, creative, caring, dilligent and hard working but in which he/she has no "effect" on one or more students. In this situation, most people look immediately at the teacher and blame him/her for that student's failure to learn. However that student has many other influences which may make them apathetic or resistant to learning including family, peers and even the school system itself. No student will learn unless they WANT to learn. Currently I would say that our society as a whole does more to encourage students toward athletics, entertainment and apathy than toward learning. We as a society have made it acceptable, even normal to be a "dummy". It is humorous in our society to be unable to program our VCRs, we have whole series of books called "for dummies" and "Complete Idiot's Guide to". Public Billboards and advertising sport bad spelling and worse grammar. Our news access is controlled by "Spin Doctors" whose job it is to make the news understandable. Student performance is a measure of the Student's ability. Not much more. _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
