Written by: Samantha Mesa
Sometimes people don’t understand what it’s like to have a great teacher that makes you fall in love with a certain subject, or topic. Fortunately, I’ve had many experiences with great teachers that have made me enjoy coming to school every day. Other times, one may question a teacher’s reason for choosing the profession in the first place. My sophomore year of high school, I had a geometry teacher who made me love math, more than I ever had in my life. In the beginning of the school year, I found out that I was going to have geometry first thing in the morning at 8 am, which was completely insane, in my opinion. Words couldn’t explain how fearful I was because I thought I was going to fail everything I did in that class. Thankfully, the moment I got there, my mind was changed. My teacher had been able to get my attention and made me understand everything I was learning. Then, that same year, I had a social studies teacher named Mr. Boyle, and I was convinced the only reason he became a teacher was to ruin everyone’s life. He gave us papers and work to do and never went over anything in class. That teacher had been working at my high school for about 20 years, and was said to have ‘given up’ on everything. While in class, he sat at his desk, attempted to teach, and when he felt the students weren’t listening, he gave up and let them run the class. This teacher has tenure, which according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is, “the right to remain permanently in a job.” This professor is under a contract that allows him to keep his job, regardless of his performance as a teacher. Waiting for Superman, a documentary by Davis Guggenheim, shows this situation perfectly. In the film, Guggenheim follows 5 students and shows their struggles for a better education. Throughout the movie, the students are shown trying to get picked to enter some of the best schools in their areas and examines why schools and the education system, as a whole, is failing. He also presents copious amounts of statistics that back up his claims of teachers not doing an adequate job. By the end of the film, he presents the harsh realities that a lot of children that go to school are not being taught the necessary amount of things for the child to succeed. The film Waiting for Superman, by Davis Guggenheim, details a growing problem of inadequate teacher performance in the public school system, citing tenure abuse and lowered standards of educational expectations as a source of declining student proficiency.
Public schools around the United Sates have declined in their abilities to educate students. Throughout the US, most, if not all, states are completely below their goals for student proficiency amongst 8th graders for math and reading. According to statistics in Waiting for Superman, only 14% of 8th grade students in Mississippi are proficient in math and in Pennsylvania only 26% of students are proficient in reading by the 8th grade (qtd. in Waiting). Also, it has been found that when students have high performing teachers, they’re likely to advance three times as fast than those with a bad performing teacher. This shows exactly why it’s important to have a good teacher. Even with the differences in teaching abilities, these teachers are being paid the same as those performing worse. On top of the fact that these teachers are getting paid the same, a low performing teacher is likely to only cover 50% of the material required each year, whereas a high performing teacher can cover 150% (qtd. in Waiting). Some of the unlucky students are then left without a proper education and would probably fall behind a grade level or two because they got stuck with a teacher who wasn’t doing their job, and a child could be deprived of an education they deserve. It is clear that a student cannot be blamed for poor teaching, therefore, one must understand why poor teaching is tolerated in the public school system.
One of the main problems detailed in, Waiting for Superman, is the ongoing issue of tenure and tenure abuse. Tenure is usually given to teachers that have been working at their schools for more than 3-5 years. Some teachers in public schools are granted tenure by law, after they’ve gone through a trial period, and may not be dismissed without first going through a year-long process and a public hearing in which charges of incompetence or misconduct must be proven. Also, in America, many children do not meet the criteria for grade-level advancement in schools due to insufficient teaching, leaving them unprepared for future challenges both in school and in their careers. Few have seen the astonishing statistics showing student proficiency in math and reading throughout the United States, but it’s also not really a surprise to some that students aren’t doing so well. In conclusion, more work must be done in this country in order to eliminate bad teachers and raise the standard at which teachers are held accountable so as to allow good teachers to thrive. The future of America rests on the back of education reform, but if the current problem should persist for too long, there may not be enough people left to bring about improvement if they don't even know how to spell it.
Sometimes people don’t understand what it’s like to have a great teacher that makes you fall in love with a certain subject, or topic. Fortunately, I’ve had many experiences with great teachers that have made me enjoy coming to school every day. Other times, one may question a teacher’s reason for choosing the profession in the first place. My sophomore year of high school, I had a geometry teacher who made me love math, more than I ever had in my life. In the beginning of the school year, I found out that I was going to have geometry first thing in the morning at 8 am, which was completely insane, in my opinion. Words couldn’t explain how fearful I was because I thought I was going to fail everything I did in that class. Thankfully, the moment I got there, my mind was changed. My teacher had been able to get my attention and made me understand everything I was learning. Then, that same year, I had a social studies teacher named Mr. Boyle, and I was convinced the only reason he became a teacher was to ruin everyone’s life. He gave us papers and work to do and never went over anything in class. That teacher had been working at my high school for about 20 years, and was said to have ‘given up’ on everything. While in class, he sat at his desk, attempted to teach, and when he felt the students weren’t listening, he gave up and let them run the class. This teacher has tenure, which according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is, “the right to remain permanently in a job.” This professor is under a contract that allows him to keep his job, regardless of his performance as a teacher. Waiting for Superman, a documentary by Davis Guggenheim, shows this situation perfectly. In the film, Guggenheim follows 5 students and shows their struggles for a better education. Throughout the movie, the students are shown trying to get picked to enter some of the best schools in their areas and examines why schools and the education system, as a whole, is failing. He also presents copious amounts of statistics that back up his claims of teachers not doing an adequate job. By the end of the film, he presents the harsh realities that a lot of children that go to school are not being taught the necessary amount of things for the child to succeed. The film Waiting for Superman, by Davis Guggenheim, details a growing problem of inadequate teacher performance in the public school system, citing tenure abuse and lowered standards of educational expectations as a source of declining student proficiency.
Public schools around the United Sates have declined in their abilities to educate students. Throughout the US, most, if not all, states are completely below their goals for student proficiency amongst 8th graders for math and reading. According to statistics in Waiting for Superman, only 14% of 8th grade students in Mississippi are proficient in math and in Pennsylvania only 26% of students are proficient in reading by the 8th grade (qtd. in Waiting). Also, it has been found that when students have high performing teachers, they’re likely to advance three times as fast than those with a bad performing teacher. This shows exactly why it’s important to have a good teacher. Even with the differences in teaching abilities, these teachers are being paid the same as those performing worse. On top of the fact that these teachers are getting paid the same, a low performing teacher is likely to only cover 50% of the material required each year, whereas a high performing teacher can cover 150% (qtd. in Waiting). Some of the unlucky students are then left without a proper education and would probably fall behind a grade level or two because they got stuck with a teacher who wasn’t doing their job, and a child could be deprived of an education they deserve. It is clear that a student cannot be blamed for poor teaching, therefore, one must understand why poor teaching is tolerated in the public school system.
One of the main problems detailed in, Waiting for Superman, is the ongoing issue of tenure and tenure abuse. Tenure is usually given to teachers that have been working at their schools for more than 3-5 years. Some teachers in public schools are granted tenure by law, after they’ve gone through a trial period, and may not be dismissed without first going through a year-long process and a public hearing in which charges of incompetence or misconduct must be proven. Also, in America, many children do not meet the criteria for grade-level advancement in schools due to insufficient teaching, leaving them unprepared for future challenges both in school and in their careers. Few have seen the astonishing statistics showing student proficiency in math and reading throughout the United States, but it’s also not really a surprise to some that students aren’t doing so well. In conclusion, more work must be done in this country in order to eliminate bad teachers and raise the standard at which teachers are held accountable so as to allow good teachers to thrive. The future of America rests on the back of education reform, but if the current problem should persist for too long, there may not be enough people left to bring about improvement if they don't even know how to spell it.
Mirra Watkins
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this post. Like you, I have had some amazing teachers and very poor ones. I do think tenure has become the most problematic component in our society’s school system. I cannot count how many times I have heard a teacher say, “whether you learn or not, I still get paid.” I agree, teachers definitely are abusing their privilege of tenure. Initially, tenure was meant to protect teachers from unjust termination. I do support and understand tenure as serving as protection for good teachers. But I do endorse the reformation of tenure, so that bad teachers will not gain such protection. I believe the evaluation system that critiques and determines how well a teacher performs and the qualifications of receiving tenure needs adjustment.
Today, because teachers are aware when the administrators will be by, it gives them time to prep the students and themselves. They put on a facade for administrators. Therefore, I think in-class observations should be sporadic. To evaluate any teacher properly, it should be done randomly in order to see the real performance. In-class evaluations should also be done four or five times a year instead of once or twice a school year. Administrators should thoroughly examine how well the course is instructed and to see how effective the teacher’s teaching style is. Imposing strict qualifications for tenure will also help weed out the bad educators from the good. In universities, professors must give contributions to their field by publishing research in order to receive tenure. College professors, unlike most teachers today, must earn their right to tenure. There’s no way to tell if an individual is a good or bad teacher after three or four years because they are still beginners/rookies in the field at those times. Instead, administrators should withhold tenure for six years or more in order to allow some time to see the teacher’s growth and effectiveness. In addition, teachers should maintain good evaluations in order to continue receiving/qualifying for tenure. This will keep effective teachers from falling off the bandwagon.
If the government does not reform tenure, there will be more and more bad teachers gaining protection from termination through tenure. Meanwhile, kids across America will continue to suffer from a failed education system that inadvertently supports bad teachers.
Alyssa Mendez
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading this blog. You really had some good points.