Teachers who should get an F-


Teachers who should get an F-

1
points

here are two quotes which I think will best describe this article:

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” (William Arthur Ward 1921-1994 scholar/author/editor/pastor and teacher).

“He who ceases to learn cannot adequately teach." (Author unknown, if you can find it i'll kiss you).

Let's go back a couple of years. I was a welding student and had 3 teachers during the same school year who would take turns teaching us on different days. The "head" teacher had been there for 17 years. The other 2 teachers had been there less than 7 years.

The class had no problems overall with the newer teachers. They were well informed and up to date on the welding and fitting industry and what would be asked of us when we got onto that actual job market. After all it hadn't really been that long since the newest teacher stopped working in "industry" and the second guy was a study-a-holic. You just could not stump the guy in any way and the respect for him was through the roof.

Now enter the 17 year teaching "veteran" as he called himself. Anyone who knows welding knows that it is a very precise and concentration oriented job.It took us a few monthes but as the school year went on we realized that his information was out of date, his effort was minimal, and he couldn't weld a straight line if he used a copper ruler. He had lost the "love of the job" therefore never physically demonstrated anything for anyone. He simply did not care anymore.

Fortunately the government gave him a warning that he had to stop teaching certain things to students as he was misinformed on some topics, and a new principal was hired the year after our course who is now making the teachers take aptitude tests.

My point is that this did indeed make more work for the other teachers, wasting their time, and misinformed some of the younger people in the class who had never worked in industry before, fortunately I had, and thank goodness because it was great filter misinformation.

The fact of the matter is he hadn't learned a thing for 17 years and he was not inspiring anyone at all. A fine example of teachers who teach because they cannot do, or simply get into the practice of repetition without research.




user-icon Submitted by yenseca on Mon, 2008-03-31 00:23.

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My husband is a substitute teacher
Celanith's picture
Submitted by Celanith on Sun, 2008-04-13 19:41.

Celanith
Many times my husband teachers as a Sub and is able to contect with the students when the regular teacher has not been able to all year. He often has students tell him they wish he was their teacher because they understand him and he helps make things make sense.

My husband is 59 and has tried to get a full time teaching contract for 14 years and they won't hire him. The send him the generic letter of
Thank you for your interest we have hired someone more qualified. 90% of the time they are young in their 20's and fresh out of college and not at all more qualified they are just younger and more able bodied and haven't got a clue how to teach. Many are in it for the income which is in some people's eyes low pay. But they have no clue what true low pay is when their income is up around $29,000 for initial teachers and $46-56,000 for tenure long time teachers. Try living on $14,000 per year sub wage with no benefits except a "Letter of Reasonable Assurance" We MIGHT hire you back come fall. My husband and I have not ever had an income above $20,000. We make do or do without.

He is a supberb teacher both staff, collegues and student's all say so and think he should be hired full time but the hiring powers never even give him an interview. He has done long term subbing and worked with multi-cultural students and at risk students. He has turned many students around from destruction and knows of 7 who came back to thank him for making a difference and caring. Kids who would have dropped out but because of him went on to college and are now successful. But the school administration and board want young often inept students. 5 times in 14 years they hired men or women much younger and who had sexual behavor problems and were fired and all are serving time in prison now. Four men and one woman, they hired them instead of my husband. Why? They were not more qualified they were not good teachers one reason "They were younger and could relate to the kids more" In these cases all to well.



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