Teacher Responsibility

American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education: "Professional Relationships: Reality and Action"

jruss — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:27:17 -0500

Al Shanker discusses the need for changes in teacher training, and he calls for teacher colleges to join together with teachers, parents, administration, supervisors, and other interested parties in a coalition Shanker has formed to accomplish various education goals. Shanker cites a danger in criticizing teacher training and public schools to the point that small, independent education experiments are justified. Rather, he advocates for partnership over criticism and for improvement within the system instead of moving outside of it. Shanker further acknowledges that the situation many teachers encounter in urban school systems forces them to employ survival techniques rather than the teaching techniques they have learned in their training. This proves, he asserts, that training needs to adapt to address the real world situations teachers are going to encounter. One suggestion he has is to establish an internship program, placing teachers in the classroom to gain experience. Shanker also briefly touches on issues like testing, early childhood education, and lobbying the government for more funding.

The Professionalism Mystique

jhelpap — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 12:16:02 -0400

Selden addresses the term professionalism when it is used to describe teachers. He says there are almost as many definitions for the word when it comes to teaching as there are teachers. He explains that it is a term used by the NEA and supervisors to keep teachers from unionizing.

West Side Montessori Seminar: "Teaching, Training, and Recruitment"

jruss — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:18:22 -0500

In this speech, Al Shanker discusses the need for teachers to take responsibility of the state of education. He says that too often students, parents, or society are blamed for school failure, while teachers are cast as victims. Shanker argues instead that teachers need to adjust their attitudes to claim responsibility. In doing so, he also advocates for stronger teacher training and support noting that frequently young teachers fresh out of college burn out quickly. read more »