the problem is that it is an Education degree

every faculty member at every university knows that is the easiest major in the world, and so do most students

we had a decent but not great biology major take some ed. course and came back quickly - he said it was so damn boring, slow & stupid he thought he was in elementary school -- he really wanted an ed. degree but couldn't stand the boredom; so he cam back and suffered thru the difficult biology curriculum

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nothing against teachers -- the good ones struggle with parents who think their lazy idiot should get an "A" and complain to the school admin. & school board

the good teachers burn out and/or leave or cave in to the pressure - that's why Johnny can't read

I DO think that high school teachers should have a college degree in what they teach (with ed. courses added). For lower grades, I expect it is more about being able to articulate with children than about subject matter knowledge.

Bottom line - I have seen the output from high schools and it is not pretty (overall). I am in FULL agreement with the Republican effort to crack the whip over school admin.s and teachers.

I doubt that.

In some communities, teacher is one of the worst jobs on earth. I could not even imagine being a teacher in one of these big inner city combat zones we call high schools.

I know of 4 students I went to high school with who are now high school teachers in public schools.
2 were very good at sports. They'd get A's in sports but they were lucky to get a B in anything else.
The other two were boxes of rocks and I doubt they managed to carry a C average. It was a wonder that they graduated.

Now they are teaching kids things they couldn't figure out for themselves.

But ...... they only have to work 6 hours a day, 31 weeks a year!

Not to worry, that thread has been pulled off of the forum. Guess it makes PPOT a safer place....

I think you're right. "Much worse" was an overstatement, but I've seen some nasty writing out of some amazing colleges as well as graduate programs.

Oddly, some of the most intelligent and successful people I have encountered aren't the best writers. I am not saying my writing is worth two *****s but I've seen worse than mine out of far more educated folk.

My brother once married a Detroit public school teacher. The most small minded and selfish person I have ever met....................

Edited for chicklets.

Kachi, this is not PARF.

my mother works in the school shes not smart but she just substitutes for the aids. She always has crazy stories and is always saying its no wonder the kids are so dumb

No doubt the biggest problem are the parents. I dated a few teachers back in my single days. I saw papers from 3rd graders at a private school that were better than from high school students at a public school. It was mostly the parents involvement that made the difference. If little junior's education is costing thousands per year mom & dad want the results and they get involved.

I suffered through the era of "new math" as a kid. That had to be the dumbest of all new teaching ideas.

No not all teachers are dumb or bad educators but there are many who are.

Parents are a major problem.
Schools are a major problem.
Teachers just add to the above problem.

90% of kids go to school with the attitude school is fun and interesting after 12 years of compulsory BS only 10% still feel the same way.

Kindergartens have a better setup and can actually teach more than schools after that.

Kids do not like desks and how they are forced into a form.

The business model idea is more geared towards how schools operate rather than production units.

After have bashed schools with the above, I also do want to say that many teachers out there are really trying their best. It's just a shame that theory rather than practice was studied when they were in school. Imagine your doctor basing his decisions off of only research and textbooks rather than having gone through a pretty intensive internship.

Mitt ROMNEY?!?! LOL!

Romney hasn't been governor of MA since 2007 - 2006 for practical purposes. I notice the date of that article has been conveniently left off.

Anyone else see the irony in someone posting a patently obsolete/misleading article in order to promote an opinion regarding education?

Too funny!

Incidentally, a quick Google search turns up some more interesting, recent information about "Doctor"* Laboy - that he's been indicted on "financial improprieties".

Lawrence School Superintendent Laboy, three others indicted (Latina Lista~Merrimack Valley)

I'm not a particularly big fan of the public education system (especially the union) but it's important to get the facts correct and the complete story here.








* = Wilfredo T. Laboy received his doctorate from Nova University, which is known for having questionable credentials and essentially being a "buy an advanced degree here" clearinghouse for people not willing or able to go through a more conventional and credible educational system. This fact alone (IMHO) casts a certain amount of doubt on his qualifications to be an educator, much less a superintendent of schools...

See, that's his problem right there. He has trees growing indoors.

I agree, you have to want to learn.

I was educated in a very rural public school in NC as was my husband. My son (4th grade) was in a regular public school until this year. Now a public virtual school. We have had great teachers and mediocre teachers in those years. I think it would be sad to put all teachers in the incompetent category. I do think if a teacher can't communicated properly then they probably should find a new career. When I was in school I didn't appreciate those great teachers I had. As a parent, I realize how great some were and how much I learned in their classes.

agreed, but who is responsible to teach motivation and want?

The parents

All the bad teachers I had were when I attended college. One English teacher...part of it was the booze jockey thing, part was she hated men, bad divorce perhaps.

That may be so, but discipline and structure are important things to learn to live with.