Tuesday, July 19, 2011

A Teacher With Common Sense

Unlike some local blogblatherers of the teacher persuasion, here's a fellow who gets 4 every time he adds 2+2.

High School English Teachers Know:

* That centralized planning is utopian and foolish. It must, of necessity ignore human nature, so it is destined to fail before the ink is dry on the paper. For instance, "No Child Left Behind" mandates that every child in America be reading and writing and doing math on grade level by 2014. Any teacher could have told them how insane that idea is. People are born equal in the sight of God and under the Constitution, but not in intellect and ability. Some kids, no matter how many federal laws are enacted, will never be able to perform on grade level, ...

* That many mandates in how to best teach reading or writing are nothing more than fads dressed up in superficially impressive packaging, and that they will have to pretend to embrace them while doing what they know actually works...

* That human beings learn in 2011 exactly as they learned in 201 BC. Times change, but people don't. People learn through intellectual curiosity, paying attention, effective practice over time, and through teachers who know not only the material, but how to most effectively impart that material. This is why the Socratic Method still works beautifully....

More at the link.

1 comment:

Display Name said...

Let's ask an expert to find out what Folkbum thinks about No Child Left Behind.

If you thought NCLB was so bad, why weren't you railing against it in every other post, as you might if it had been created by Obama?