Why Are Public Schools So Bad At Hiring Good Instructors?- Page 3

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 10:53pm

Though they may not outwardly show it, ultimately, in the end, kids appreciate structure and discipline. I've had kids tell me that they like my class because we get so much done and don't spend time dealing with "the bad kids."

[StockardFan]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 11:10pm

EXACTLY!!!!

[george95]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 11:17pm

Yeah I have that experience every year in summer school. We're catholic, but 99% of the kids who come to us for summer school are from local public high schools that don't have summer school. The first week, they go craaaaaaaazy over the rules about no eating, no texting, no talking back, no wearing skanky clothes, no being late, being dropped from roll after the 2nd missed homework, etc. The first week the kids think that the rules are the most outrageous thing ever. But, now we're in the 3rd week, and this is when the finally give up and start to LOVE having the structure and discipline that's absent in their schools.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 7/14/08 at 4:58pm

I used to coach cheerleading, and one of the girl's parents moved out of the county with 2 months left in her senior year. She had to choose which friend she wanted to stay with. She chose a girl whose mother would call them in sick if they wanted to sleep in, let them go out on school nights etc.

One of the other girls was upset because she felt that she was a closer friend, but that her parents were much more strict.

I said to her "Jaime, how many games did Allie's mother come see her cheer at? I can think of one, senior night. How many games have your parents come to? EVERY SINGLE ONE. Believe me, when you are older you will appreciate that so much. Your parents are strict because they care about you, etc." And she did understand that.

Slightly unrelated, but similar. As parents we need to be strict and consistant as well.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/14/08 at 5:57pm

I need to add that a lot of what I learned about teaching and classroom management comes from the book, The First Days of School by Harry Wong. It's my teaching bible, and if you are a teacher and don't own a copy of it, I recommend you get it. I reread it every year before school starts to refresh myself. It's not full of the nonsense that many education books are filled with (because lots of other books are written by psychologists who've never once actually taught a class).

I must warn you, though....if you're gonna make Wong work, you have got to be organized and consistent. It's not for those looking for one or two things to make a "quick fix"!!

[KelRel]

Posted: 7/14/08 at 6:05pm

I LOVE Harry Wong's book. It is an essential book for any "teaching library".

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 7/14/08 at 6:07pm

...Harry Wong.

We watched many of the videos of his talks. My teacher called it a Wong-A-Thong.

Talk about organization, preparation and consistency!!!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/14/08 at 6:10pm

I love the catch phrase he uses in the videos...

"Failing to plan is planning to fail!"

We wanted him to speak at my graduate school graduation, but he was VERY expensive.

[jasonf]

Posted: 7/15/08 at 2:06am

I'm surprised it took till the second page on this thread to mention standardized testing. That jumped out at me right away reading the article - what's being used to measure teacher success is standardized tests while that very thing is a HUGE part (the biggest, I believe) of the downfall of the educational system (seconded only by the utter lack of respect teachers are given as seen by the average pittance we're paid).

And SweetQ - no doubt you're as prepared as anyone coming out of school, but honestly, wait until you have a year - heck, wait until you have a month under your belt and see if you still feel the same way. Nothing can prepare you for truly being on your own in a classroom that first time. No matter how prepared you are, those kids are going to throw something (maybe even literally) at you that you had no WAY of predicting or preparing for.