What makes a great teacher? Part II
Comments
Fidel wrote:Compare the cost of food today with 75 years ago. Price of oranges is up 95 percent.
You do realize, don't you, that that represents only an annual increase of less than 1% per year in the cost of oranges? Over that same period of time, the consumer price index has increased by about 1500% (or an average annual inflation rate of about 3.8%).
Food is cheaper now than at any time in human history.
I don't know about that. At one time in medieval England a person could work just one or two months and provide for a family for a year. That was before the enclosure period and dissolution of the monasteries. IOW's, before private property laws were enacted leading to the proliferation of oppressive labour laws to prevent peasants/cheap labour from living free lives in the forests. Because when people can no longer squat on and pioneer the king's land nor afford to pay "market" prices for food, the state is obligated at that point to ensure everyone is fed, clothed and housed properly otherwise the people might riot or even choose to side with an invading foreign army for lack of patriotic feelings for the corrupt regime.
If food is so cheap in the country with large regions of lush and fertile farmland, then why are there 50 million food insecure Americans today? And just as importantly, why are so many kids in Ontario showing up at schoolhouse doors with MT bellies?
You're surrounded, little Sven. Might as well give over now while you can.
Fidel! I read the previous message you wrote. Congratulations! That is great news. Are you leaning towards teaching or not?
I've only taught a few years and all at the university or adult-education level, so very different from high school or elementary school, but for me it's a very rewarding, very frustrating and very challenging vocation. I can't really offer advice, but it's so exciting that you are making this decision.
Thanks guys. I suppose I am looking to know what to expect at teacher's college at the secondary school level. And anything else related to teaching is fine, too. It doesn't necessarily have to be about high school ed or me. I don't want to takeover the thread for the sake of focusing on my agenda alone. Just thought I'd bump the thread as a reminder to rubberneckers that it does exist, and that it is a possible topic of discussion.
There may be others with more teaching experience than me on Babble. I'll take a stab at this fidel and it may be helpful or not.
By the time I did my education degree I had already taught, chess, tennis and raquetball, as well as Canadian history at the university level. I began this degree after 11 years of pse cilminating with being ABD in my doctoral programme. I had decided I didn't want to be a professor after all and would return to my first love teaching high school.
I completed my B.Ed. at a small school with only 60 of us in my cohort. It was a year of unlearning and learning. I quickly learned that most of what I thought I knew about teaching was based on my preferences as a student. My educational psychology classes were especially eye-opening in this regard. As well it was a year of learning to see with teacher's eyes as opposed to student eyes.Confronting my own educational prejudices was particularly painful although I believe I am a better teacher for having done so.
My B.Ed. included two teaching internships. My first was at the junior high I attended 15 years previously with my former English teacher being my supervising teacher. I taught grade 9 English and social studies. I flourished and loved the experience. In retrospect this is where I began to struggle with classroom management, my least favourite part of teaching. They say that the best classroom maneagtement is well-prepared lessons and knowledge of your field. Teaching 37 minute classes at the grade 9 level halped me to minimize disciplinary issues because the clock would often be my saviour.
My second six week internship was a nightmare. I was teaching 3 different subjects with 3 different supervising teachers in 70 minute classes. One of the subjects I had not taken since I had taken it as a student from my supervising teacher 14 years before. In Ancient and medieval history I was barely staying ahead of the students. My Maritime studies course had the chalenge of students who were struggling with school self-selecting for it. It was considered an easier subject than Ancient and Medieval history. Despite knowing the material , I struggled with adequately planning 70 minute lessons and developing effective classroom management techniques. My third course, Canadian history was a breeze since that was my academic speciality. Ver few classroom management problems and in retrospect I didn't handle those very well.
I guess the takeaway is the importance of developing good classroom management skills. I left my B.Ed. not sure if i wanted to teach. I landed a position in a university writing centre in 1994, a form of one on one teaching. In the last 18 years I have ussed the skills I learned in my B.Ed. in the university student services field as a writing centre consultant, academic and career counsellor, student development counsellor and student employment counsellor. Most of my teaching has been one on one. When I have ventured into the classroom, it has been to teach at risk students how to suceed in university. I think they benefited from my B.Ed. experience.
I hope that is helpful Fidel and I hope I haven't bored too many people. I'd love to hear of the teaching experiences of fellow babblers.
Thank you, Caissa. Wow! That's impressive. I have some experience with adult ed and tutoring adults. I have no experience whatsoever in a class room other than the 80 plus hours mentoring young people in a robotics club, FIRSt robotics competition this spring. Lesson planning wasn't too difficult for me in adult ed(unpaid volunteer) as they allowed me plenty of slack. It is a learn at their own pace sort of thing. I realize lesson plans in high school will be more structured and goal-oriented. I am somewhat familiar with creating individualized lesson plans for one or two people at a time, and so larger classes will be a challenge for me. I'm thinking that supply teaching will be a reality for me for some time, but I am willing and able. I have some personal challenges to overcome as well. I am hard of hearing.
Police in Georgia handcuffed a kindergartner after the girl threw a tantrum at school, and the police chief defended the action.
The girl's family demanded Tuesday that the central Georgia city of Milledgeville change its policy so that other children aren't treated the same way. They say the child was shaken up by being put in a cell at the police station.
Salecia Johnson, 6, was accused of tearing items off the walls and throwing furniture in an outburst Friday at Creekside Elementary School, Macon television station WMAZ-TV reported. Police said the girl knocked over a shelf that injured the principal.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/04/17/georgia-kindergarten-handc...
I think some people attain their ultimate level of incompetence, and they never look back. It could be a law of nature or something.
A quote from a Dr. Seuss book about a turtle trying to assert his rights is too political for students who shouldn't be caught in the middle of the current teachers' dispute, says a school administrator in Prince Rupert, B.C.
Dave Stigant, acting director of instruction for the local school district, said Wednesday he vetoed a quote from Yertle the Turtle when a teacher asked him to look at about 20 quotes to determine if they would be appropriate to expose students to during the ongoing labour dispute.
The quote was: "I know up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here on the bottom, we too should have rights."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/04/25/bc-seuss...I had good teachers in public school in the late 50s and early 60s, but after those years, all the teachers I had truly sucked, until I started my Master's degree at Trinity. Fanshawe College and Trent University were especially bad, but maybe that was more due to large class sizes and teachers being overly stressed. The only thing good about Fanshawe (1969 - 1971) was the weekend concerts at London's Wonderland, and occasional bus trips to Wayne State University in Detroit to hear some incredible soul and rock. I never understood why Trent was held in high esteem, I couldn't wait to get out of that place. It was mostly rich kids getting drunk all the time, but maybe it's changed since 1975-1977. Trinity College was great, the only drawback was the residence - and certain traditions in Strachan Hall. After one year, I started a housing co-op (off campus) with other students not associated with Trinity.
I'm looking at renting the cheapest damn place I can get come September. And I get the feeling there will be some wealthy people's kids living in better housing than I will. I've looked at some of the blogs for student housing in that city of which the name rhymes with Blingston, and money doesn't seem to be an issue for some of them. Some are concerned mainly about location with respect to entertainment and all the high spots. And I will need to do group projects with some of these kids. Gulp!
These study looks at what makes a good student. Its findings provide empirical evidence to what educators have known for a long time.
A study released Friday by the Toronto District School Board, shows that giving children a nutritious breakfast each morning has a direct effect on their academic performance.
The two-year study, Feeding Our Future, followed 6,000 Toronto students. It found those who were fed properly had improved marks and better behaviour.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/05/11/toronto-school-nutrition.html
Codiac Regional RCMP say no criminal charges will be laid against a Moncton teacher accused of taping two students together as a form of punishment for not getting along in class.
The investigation of the alleged November incident at Lewisville Middle School is complete and the teacher, who has continued working, has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, police said.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/01/07/nb-teacher-tape-students-moncton.html
Thanks, Caissa. Something I read from OSSTF states that an estimated 60% of kids in Ontario are arriving at school in the morning with empty bellies. That's awful. Some schools in Southern and Eastern Ontario do provide breakfasts and lunches, but it's certainly not the case in most of the province.
Our son's elementary school has a free breakfast programme every day and free lunch most days. The school is in what the city has euphemistically dubbed a "priority neighbourhood.
There is no way that 60% of Ontario students don't have access to any food at home for breakfast -- which is what I think you were implying in that post. The percentage of students without any food at home isn't insignificant, but I'm quite sure that it isn't anywhere near 60%.
Not for the province but I suspect some schools would fall into that category. A third of all kids arriving hungry is huge given there are many areas where there are way less than that.
http://www.straight.com/news/advocates-push-school-lunch-program-funding-bc
The OSSTF doc said nothing about access to food just that most of them are coming to school without having eaten breakfast.
Today's situation could be the reverse of that which existed in the deep south in the 1960's. Conservatives today don't understand that even though the poor might have microwaves and cooking utensils, the cupboards are not full all 31 days a month. Microwaves and colour TVs are a dime a dozen these days, but the cost of groceries rarely goes down.
In addition to all of this, I can say for sure that Canada's neoconservatives are no smarter than your's, Sven. Kids are the future, and our neolibs/neoconservatives don't give a damn about the future. Their job descriptions are merely to perform colonial admininstrative tasks and shovel some $60 billion every year in interest payments unnecessarily to domestic and foreign creditors and some other people no one ever votes for. Our corrupt stooges are claiming political impotence on the quiet the same as yours do, and they're pretty bad actors.
I never heard of foodbanks while growing up in 1970's Canada. It was an American thing as far as everyone knew. And then came the ideologues. They said they could make our economies more efficient. Canadians didn't ask for whom our economies would be made more efficient?
About hunger in Canada
In the USA, per the USDA, the percentage of income spend on food has been declining for decades:
1930s: 23.0% of income went towards food
1940s: 20.4%
1950s: 19.3%
1960s: 15.4%
1970s: 13.5%
1980s: 12.1%
1990s: 10.8%
2000s: 9.8%
In other words, food is becoming cheaper because a diminishing percentage of work hours are needed to earn the money necessary to pay for one's food. I wouldn't be surprised if half of all income went food as recently as the mid- to late-1800s.
I would assume that the Canadian percentages are similar.
Compare the cost of food today with 75 years ago. Price of oranges is up 95 percent.
Superrich Americans and Canadians might be paying fewer and fewer taxes as percentages of their incomes to governments, but the banks, newly landed aristocracy and the rentier class are gouging people for the cost of living at every turn.
The problem is too much unearned income - it removes any and all incentives for monopoly capitalists to lower prices or invest in general. Farming is a huge and mainly U.S. taxpayer-funded monopoly for big agribusinesses in North America. They've become Soviet in size since western world governments Stalinized food production and economic theory in kind.
Food prices spike, crop yields decline since 1990 (Oxfam)
You do realize, don't you, that that represents only an annual increase of less than 1% per year in the cost of oranges? Over that same period of time, the consumer price index has increased by about 1500% (or an average annual inflation rate of about 3.8%).
Food is cheaper now than at any time in human history.