Accolades to our Teachers !!!

[craigktx]

grommet summed up my thoughts,since iam no good with words.
show me the tools and get out of my way.
now i will eat the potluck cause iam that way.

forget the group,their in the heard and they might run of the cliff anyway.

[grommet]

not sure how I summed up your thoughts since I definitely want to know what the teacher has gleaned from their wanderings.
Information from all sources, pick what you like & store the rest for future use. I hate when people decide for me that i wouldn't be interested in something. Give me a clue so I can decide for myself. A peek at the index at least...

You get the group rate with a herd, and you can wander off any time.

[evaldart]

When I think back upon my (extensive) education, I realize that there were only some teachers who mattered to me. And I dont suppose (or care) if I ever mattered to them. There were intangibles in their "way" which includes their doing, talking, demonstrating and walking. I never felt shortchanged, and I never expected them to get me anywhere. But some of them got me places anyway...and didnt know it.

Mentorships, apprenticeships, internships, asistantships, fellowships and worship-ships belong to the mish-mosh and churning of co-dependencies that are likely to hold an individual back or sidetrack a creative drive. Teachers and students are all "showing up" just the same, and yes, BOTH have a "job" to do...and yes, there are slackers and milkers. Like everywhere.

Grommet has a right to be perturbed by the prospect of inefficiency in a product for which she is shelling-out money.

Me, I cant STAND it when the fast food isnt fast enough. SOMEONE aint doing their damned job. For chrissake.

[grommet]

I would not equate education with fast food. I'm just talking about integrity. Everyone has their ups & downs, but i think you can tell when folks are making a half-assed effort and when they're not.

I have had teachers that mattered because of their approach to life, which showed regardless of what they taught. I also have had teachers who failed to answer the question in my head "why should I care?" That was usually a history class. Without context, it's just a bunch of useless facts. Someone else's problem.

[cheesepaws]

Originally Posted by evaldart

Grommet has a right to be perturbed by the prospect of inefficiency in a product for which she is shelling-out money.

Me, I cant STAND it when the fast food isnt fast enough. SOMEONE aint doing their damned job. For chrissake.

We lie to ourselves all the time about what we THINK we spend our money on. Served fast or slow - how often does your Whopper look just like the picture on the menu?

It is a classic "lead a horse to water" argument. I do not subscribe to the endless handholding that goes on at college these days. My students are supplied a context for their learning - the rest is up to them. Some drink - others wander off. A good teacher's job it to make sure those at the "water hole" drink their fill, not to lead.......good god...I am starting to use extended metaphors about eating and drinking...this place is getting to me!

[grommet]

I understand what you're saying about the hand-holding, but if half the class isn't getting it, you need to find the missed connection, or there is no hope of them drinking. and they paid their money individally, not the group rate.

[rika]

This whole discussion made me think of the ideal teacher--if there is such a thing. I would fuse Cheesepaws' open minded rationale with Evald's larger than life enthusiasm for what he does. Both are important.

[cheesepaws]

Originally Posted by rika

This whole discussion made me think of the ideal teacher--if there is such a thing. I would fuse Cheesepaws' open minded rationale with Evald's larger than life enthusiasm for what he does. Both are important.

You liking that backhanded compliment E.?

Of course, what you would end up with ultimately in this imagined teacher (Chevaldart?...must be French.) is the same as what you would get if you combined our work - either some cool plastic robots or a massive ex/implosion - like mixing matter and anti-matter. Booooooooooooom!

[cheesepaws]

Originally Posted by grommet

I understand what you're saying about the hand-holding, but if half the class isn't getting it, you need to find the missed connection, or there is no hope of them drinking. and they paid their money individally, not the group rate.

I am questioning this assumption more and more each day. It really depends on if one believes that the mission of education must conform to notions of equity. What you describe is considerate to the students and safe for the administration - but I am not convinced it yields the best education. Not all of us learn the same way or need to know the same things - even in the same class. My class sizes are actually small enough that I can give some serious individual attention to every student, but there are many teachers out there with packed classes who follow your suggested method out of a fear of taking real risks with the handful of students who have the honest drive to be there in the first place AND the capacity to do the work. Look at the flood of conceptually flat and technically poor work coming out of BFA and MFA programs - the system desperately needs an overhaul.

Sure they paid their money as individuals, but it was for the opportunity to step up and learn, not to be dragged around by me and held to the fire. In my classes the students are amazingly empowered in how and what they learn and even how they are graded (I allow them to rework and resubmit every project the entire semester for grade improvements). Most choose a path of least resistance and do little (and not due to a suggested lack of encouragement or enthusiasm). There has to be a line.

[grommet]

I see what you're saying, but just because I may hold you accountable for the missed connection, doesn't mean you're left holding the bag. Maybe the missed connection is making them accountable by students having to teach the class something new.

When my daughter was in about 6th grade they each had to do an individual "apprenticeship" and then bring the results of that apprenticeship back to share with the class. That made a huge impact on them all, their connections to the knowledge of adults and their own abilities to bring something new to the table. They were proud. Yeah, public school.

[GlennT]

Originally Posted by grommet

Yeah, public school.

Yeah, the will to learn even in a public school.

But if you want to see something great in pre-school thru elementary education, visit a good Montessori school.

When I have accompanied field trips with the Montessori elementary to places that have public school groups there also, the difference in behavior, enthusiasm, questioning and pursuit of learning is so tangible it is depressing to see what the public school kids are missing.