Monday, December 03, 2012

Learn The Difference Between Your Ass and Your Elbow Before You Ruin Schools


The test I took to get my teaching license was strenuous.  There was a written part that involved math, education theory and several essays.  After passing the written test I was called back for an oral exam, an exam that had me answering questions fired at me from three different administrators.  It was not fun, but I passed.

When I started, administrators were master teachers.  They taught at least ten years and then went through rigorous education and testing to get their license.  And, then they really had to past muster to get a job.  They weren't all good, but they knew their stuff.

Now things are different.  A woman decides she doesn't like working in the world of business.  She quickly takes a few education courses, bats her pretty eyes and gets a teaching job.  The administrator who hired her got his administration degree at Mickey Mouse University.  The woman has trouble passing the licensing exam but manages to squeak by (with lots of tutoring) on test two.  She works several years and decides teaching is not for her.  She can't handle the kids and wants to start bossing others around.  She goes to Mickey Mouse University and gets her administration degree, following in the foot steps of the one who hired her.  She knows she can't be in charge of the department she is licensed in (her knowledge of the subject is limited) so she gets a job supervising another field.

Administrators then knew why kids didn't pass and they knew it wasn't the teacher's fault.

There is talk of raising the bar for teaching certification but really, all that is necessary is to go back to the way things were.  Make sure the teachers coming up are actually qualiified, and not E4E iditots.  Most important, make sure the people being put in charge know the difference between their ass and their elbows.

2 comments:

Profesora de español said...

I couldn't agree with you more. I'm tired of administrators who have taught for fewer years than I have decide to tell me how to teach or decide whether or not I can keep my job. I also hate that they're of the "Do as I say, not as I do" school of thinking.

Anonymous said...

"They weren't all good, but they knew their stuff." Very true! Gone are the days where an administrator can walk into (in my case) a high school Lit. class, ask what work we are reading, take the work and ask to turn to chapter whatever and begin a lesson right on the spot. They were true masters of content. Today they are masters of getting their stings pulled.