I don't think the problem is the fault of teachers in urban schools..I think it is the system and segregated schools. I don't blame the students for failing and I can't blame the teachers...we all need to take responsibility for the same or even worse segregation of schooling since before Brown ..even before that...since he 1900s. Things just don't seem to change. Even with the election of our president who campaigned for change. Value-laden teaching is more of the same thing. The following column was from 1980s:) I love the sentence..."They must be flexible and able to bounce back after sixty-three defeats--ready and even eager to try again." I think we need to bounce back and try something different...I still believe separate but equal is not equal.
>From Susan Ohanian Column: The education managers who hand out competency tests and who write up official classroom observations make a critical mistake. They insist that prospective teachers should prove what they know. But we veteran teachers realize that the hard part of being a teacher has nothing to do with facts. Yes, teachers need to know where the apostrophes should land, but more important, they need to be nurturing human beings. They must be optimistic and enthusiastic about the possibilities of the children in their care. They must be flexible and able to bounce back after sixty-three defeats--ready and even eager to try again. I'm not much interested in seeing how a teacher carefully structures her lesson so that the kids stick to the objectives and the bell always rings in the right place--just after she makes her summary and gives the prelude for what will come tomorrow. I want to find out if that teacher is tough and loving and clever and flexible. I want to be sure she's more nurturing than a halibut.... What does she do when a kid vomits (all over those neat lesson plans)? Or an indignant parent rushes in denouncing the homework? Or the worst troublemaker breaks his arm and needs special help? Or the movie projector bulb burns out, and the replacements have to come from Taiwan? Or somebody spots a cockroach under her desk? A teacher's talents for dealing with crises aren't easily revealed on an evaluation report or rewarded on a salary schedule. And neither are those special moments that a teacher savors. So don't yield to the number crunchers--even when they dangle a golden carrot in front of you. Remember that the most wonderful joys of teaching happen in the blink of an eye and are often unplanned and unexpected. You can miss their importance and lose their sustenance if your eyes are glassily fixed on the objective you promised your principal you'd deliver that day. When you maintain a sharp eye and the ability to jump off the assigned task, the rewards are many--when a child discovers a well-turned phrase; or a mother phones and says, "Our whole family enjoyed the homework. Please send more"; or the shiest child in the room announces she wants to be the narrator in the class play; or the class bully smiles quietly over a poem. Our joy is in the daily practice of our craft, not in the year-end test scores or the paycheck. When outside experts ignore this, then we must stop and remind ourselves. We must talk, not of time on task but of the tantalizing vagueness and the lumps in the throat, the poetry and true purpose of our calling. Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel, Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University Dept. of Teaching and Learning College of Education 2912 College Ave. ES 214 Davie, FL 33314 Phone: 954-236-1070 Fax: 954-236-1050 -----Original Message----- From: Randal Lichtenwalner <rlichtenwal...@tufsd.org> To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group <mosaic@literacyworkshop.org> Sent: Wed, Jul 14, 2010 10:38 am Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply Agreed...one of the reasons the attrition rate is higher among TFA and Teaching Fellows is because (a) they didn't imagine it would be their career forever (they did TFA instead of CityYear or the Peace Corps) and (b) they have less of an investment in it (2 years of schooling, no expectation of it being their career). I applaud any teacher who leaves after finding that teaching isn't for them. The real problem are the teachers who stay even after coming to that realization... _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
