Comments on: Standards Conversation #1: Should Education Take a Tip from Starbucks?

By: MizLit

MizLit — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:38:45 +0000

I love following educators on Twitter. When else will we have these conversations about education? During the day, we’re all too busy teaching!

Mainstream American culture has to think that being a teacher is not a challenge or difficult job, otherwise it flies in the face of the current definition of “being successful”. People who are sold on the attitude that one’s income defines who they are and their own value in the world cannot believe that anyone with any “real” skills would choose to teach.

One of the reasons I like teaching in an ethnically and/or economically diverse classroom is that there are still kids who are being raised in families who have not given over to that belief — either because of experience or heritage.

By: tweenteacher

tweenteacher — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:18:58 +0000

It’s so true. Why is education the first to go when looking at budget cuts? And why don’t people understand what it takes to teach – not just babysit? It’s amazing that many parents forget that as hard as it is to have, entertain, and give attention to one child or one child and a sibling, they still expect teachers to do that with upwards of 30-45 students per class. I am a trained in teaching, not mere crowd control. Thanks for the comment, and I see that you’re now following me on Twitter. Cool!
-Heather
aka Tweenteacher

By: MizLit

MizLit — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:22:50 +0000

Love the analogy!

1. It would be great if providing a learning environment for all students was as easy as making a coffee drink.

2. The same parents who are frustrated and angry that every moment of their child’s life is not tailored to the child or they don’t get enough individual teacher time are the same parents who don’t bat an eye when district administration raise the number of students in our classrooms or do away with class size limits.

By: Fran Bullington

Fran Bullington — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:35:00 +0000

Heather,
You hit the nail on the head! Thank you for your insightful post.

Just to let you know, I also wrote a post comparing Walmart to public education. I included it in my meme post – as well as a suggestion to the authors of 5 great blogs in my reader to consider taking part in the meme.

By: heather

heather — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:12:03 +0000

Renee,
Thanks for the comment. It’s always great to hear from you. I agree that it’s those who know the profession the least that seem more susceptible to the difference. It’s either those who think they know, or new teachers who are just struggling to keep their heads above water and are listening to every directive. Actually, I take that back, there are veteran teachers who also fall into the pit. They are the ones who believe, for instance, that differentiation is a lot of hoop-la or that teaching standards is a flash in the pan. Again, it is the extreme ends of the spectrum that have it wrong; a marriage, as you say, is always best to address the needs of most students. Thanks again for checking in.
-Heather
aka Tweenteacher

By: Renee / TeachMoore

Renee / TeachMoore — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:05:10 +0000

Thank you so much for this post. Your parsing of the imbalance (currently) between demands on teachers for differentiation and standardization is especially thoughtful and useful. Many of us truly find ourselves between this rock and hard place. Masterful teachers know who to marry the two; it’s those outside our classrooms or less well-prepared teachers who seem to fall more into the dichotomous pit.