Arnie Duncan's Plan: Dumbing Down Teaching?

[amborin]

Alternate Path for Teachers Gains Ground

While alternative programs now operate in most states, only a few, including Rhode Island and Louisiana, allow these programs to effectively certify their own teachers.

Arne Duncan, the United States secretary of education, is also trying to expand these programs. The 2011 federal education budget doubles the financing for teacher training through a $235 million fund that will go to both alternative and traditional preparation programs focused on high-needs schools and subjects. And in the Race to the Top competition, points are given to states that provide “high-quality pathways for aspiring teachers and principals” including “allowing alternative routes to certification.”

At an appearance at Teachers College last fall, Mr. Duncan highlighted some “shining examples” of education schools, including Teachers College. But he also fired a shot across the bow: “Many, if not most, of the nation’s 1,450 schools, colleges and departments of education are doing a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the realities of the 21st-century classroom.”

snip......says that colleges still devote too much class time to abstract notions about “the role of school in democracy” and “the view by some that schools exist to perpetuate a social hierarchy.”

(sounds as if they're opposed to traditional sociology of education courses, often taught, which shows how schools perpetuate the existing class structure and its inequalities)

As dean of the Graduate School of Education at Hunter College, he sought to elevate the practical aspects of teaching: when to make eye contact, when to call on a student by name, when to wait for a fuller answer. He now urges the use of video, a tool he pioneered at Hunter, to help student teachers see what works and what doesn’t in the classroom (“Like taking apart a serve in tennis,” he says).

snip

Under the Regents’ proposal, which the board is expected to approve on Tuesday and does not need the approval of the State Legislature, Teach for America and similar groups could create their own master’s programs, and the Regents would award the master’s degree, two powers that are now the sole domain of academia.

The Regents are looking for academic programs that would be grounded in practical teaching skills and would require teachers to commit to working in a high-needs school for four years.

“Ten years ago, this would have been an incredibly tough sell,” Dr. Steiner said.

snip

Dr. Steiner said that the alternative groups would have to shape their own certification programs subject to Regents approval. While those programs would involve some theoretical classroom learning, he said, they would be “given some relief from the traditional constraints of course credits and hours.”

snip

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/education/19regents.html?sq=teacher education&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=all

[Nikki Stone1]

1. Hey amborin

Nice to see the post. :)

[amborin]

2. :)

[msongs]

3. it is OBAMA's plan, Arnie Duncan is just an employee doing the bidding of his boss. nt

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

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[tonysam]

18. Scary, isn't it, that the Democratic Party has fallen so far. n/t

[tonysam]

19. It's actually the World Bank that's pushing it worldwide

Obama's a neoliberal, and he subscribes to this destructive neoliberal "project," as it is called.

[amandabeech]

4. I'm beginning to wonder who was Obama's worst cabinet pick.

I used to think that it was Geithner hands down, but now I think that he's neck and neck with Arne Duncan.

[LWolf]

34. I never wondered, but then,

I knew educators in Chicago. :(

[amborin]

6. LOL! the un-rec crew has swooped in

[Catshrink]

7. Arne isn't a teacher, he's never been to "teacher college"

Arne's talking out his butt, he knows nothing about education. This article is consistent with his teacher-bashing. What he really wants to do is turn teacher training into a 6 week program. His vision for the 21st century classroom? Teacher, with minimal training, reads from a prepared script to deliver the lesson. Student doesn't understand? Too bad, that's the way the lesson is delivered with no regard for different learning styles or different populations of students. Standardized testing is done once a month. If the test scores aren't what some bureaucrat/CEO says they should be, the teacher is canned.

Or, he might dispense with the teacher and have all lessons done by computer.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

8. The odd thing is most professors in universities have never had any teacher training

most are researchers who get hired to do research bring funding in ...and teach students what they know.

[Bucky]

12. But that's the nature of the beast. Most administrators spent

I imagine a lot of the people who teach medical ethics classes aren't actual surgeons. So, sure, lots of college profs in education aren't full of classroom experiences. They're doing something else for a reason, after all.

I don't know what they do in Teach for America, but I'm damn impressed with that program. All the TFA teachers we get at my school are total killers. They make us dinosaurs look bad. No, seriously, they really breathe a lot of new life into the educational experiences our kids have. Whatever TFA does needs to be cloned.

[tonysam]

17. TFA teachers are "killers." What a crock.

Teaching isn't AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps, and kids in low-income schools need experienced, veteran teachers, not a bunch of Ivy League bimbos working on the cheap.

It should be about the kids, and nothing else.

[Bucky]

26. I'm that experienced veteran teacher you're talking about. The TFA teacher make a serious difference

"Bimbos"? Really? If you could arrest your bitter misogyny for a moment, I'd like you to listen to experience, not ideology-driven prefabricated theories. I know TFA teachers. I work with them. They are good for the profession. Those who stay in the profession end up earning the same amount as other teachers after a couple of years, so it's not really "on the cheap." Most of them do stay on, by the way, and make careers of it. Every single TFA teacher I've met, every single one of them, has been an exemplary professional teacher. They produce good results and I see good learning going on their classes. Whatever they're doing in that program really is amazing.

I kid you not. This is based on my observation as a mentor and as someone deeply committed to seeing kids learn and develop the skills, knowledge, and maturity to be successful in life. That's my agenda. Whatever promotes that is a good thing.

Are you a teacher, by the way? I ask this because you don't seem to be referencing actual classroom experience in stating your opinions here, and I'm curious about where you got such a starkly negative opinion about TFA.

[QC]

28. .

[tonysam]

16. That isn't the same damned thing as being a public school teacher

It. is. not. the. same. thing. Get it?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

31. I know. That's the point

[flyarm]

9. why does this guy scare the ever loving shit out of me..I sincerely worry for our children ..

what a bunch of bone headed idiots!

or should i say what i really want to say ..it would be censored!

What they really want to do is fill our public schools with military people..so they can make sure they can fill our over extended and empty military..with kids that they won't give a real education to anymore..

this is just a new device for a draft without a draft!

What a bunch of shit..and don't worry the propagandists will do all they can to shut down the flow of info to Americans..they do it here daily with un-recs!

We all see it and anyone who doesn't..doesn't want to!

[bridgit]

10. Americans have forfeited their freedoms for a pocket full of mumbles such are promises...

So maybe Americans only really need to be smart enough to know that it has all been shipped away to somewhere else not having appreciated it when it was here :shrug:

[Bucky]

11. I'm a teacher. I'm a hard core, pro union, dinosaur, traditional education teacher.

Alternate certification programs rock. I love them. People who come into teaching from outside the profession tend to be some of the best teachers. Opening up teaching to people who are undertaking second or third careers paths widens and diversifies our profession and brings a lot of real world experience into the classroom. I don't know what criterion is being used to claim that "only a few states allow these programs to effectively certify their own teachers." The program is the certification--I know about those in Tennessee and Texas and both are tough programs that emphasize practical classroom skills.

The failure "to prepare teachers for the 21st century classroom" is code language for lack of technology. That's a funding issue, not a certification path issue. The new reforms involved in bringing new people into the profession is separate from funding of our tech infrastructure. I know from my own experience that a lot of my college classes in education theory was frivolous and didn't really train me in walking into a classroom and structuring an engaging lesson. The theories were interesting fodder, but would be more helpful for a career in college studying classroom teaching from the outside rather than doing teaching from the inside. They weren't useless, but the theory was, I have to agree from personal experience, way way overstressed.

I teach in a fairly poor part of town. I can see how schools fit within a system that perpetrates inequalities, but to my experience the best way to fight those inequalities is to give a kid a good education and the confidence to go out and build a strong career on a foundation of social responsibility. Bringing business world professionals into the classroom helps in that mission because it broadens what possibilities and opportunities from with ourselves that we expose our kids to.

And me, I'm all about exposing myself to my kids.

[tonysam]

14. You wouldn't like them if you knew the whole plan is to deskill the profession

Arne and Obama are doing the World Bank's bidding. They want to completely destroy teacher education so that any stupid shit on the street can "teach," and they will do it for pennies a day or even for free as they do in many third world countries.

THAT'S what is in store for the United States, Europe, and other industrialized countries.

[ChicagoSuz219]

36. Ahem... you might want to rephrase your last sentence...

I'm just sayin'...

[janet118]

13. Actually some of these ideas sound good to me . . .

I taught school and could have used more training in real classroom techniques and less "philosophy of ed" classes. In the classroom, holding kids' attention and learning how to maintain discipline are things that new teachers should be more prepared for. I also think there should be a stepped up path to certification for college grads who decide to go into teaching later in life.

Teaching is a skill and it can be and should be taught. Most of the classes I took - outside of the short, in-school practice teaching requirement - were less than useful in an actual classroom. Personally, I would like to see a team of "super" teachers who mentor new teachers. I think it would make for better teachers and better schools. I was lucky enough to work as a teacher aide to an incredible teacher for a year before I had my own class and found it invaluable.

[Name removed]

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[BlooInBloo]

20. (shrug) Education departments. Nuff said.

[mzteris]

21. TFA candidates are recruited

from the tops of their classes... the best and brightest with enthusiasm.

FYI teachers who graduated from an "education program" typically teach for only three years, fully half quit by five years anyway -

[amborin]

22. TFA teachers leave in droves, after few yrs; kids need experienced teachers, not novices hired

off the street

FYI, nearly 50% leave by 5 yrs, but they are the low-experienced teachers; the veterans, with lots of experiences and know-how typically remain in the profession....

so, what's your point, exactly?

[mzteris]

23. the point being that one of the arguments

I keep hearing is that TFA teachers are "only for the short term" - well, the same argument can be made for those students who go to school to become teachers.

And not all TFA teachers will leave, either.

BTB - did you happen to read the recent Newsweek article on teachers? There's a nugget of information in there that I think is very important to keep in mind. I won't post it because I'm villified enough in here. And people will surely take offense. I would, too if someone said that about my profession - but the fact remains and it IS something that needs to be considered and kept in mind as we try to address the overwhelming problems in education today.

[amborin]

25. no, the same argument cannot be made

because a majority of teachers remain in the profession, and don't leave

[mzteris]

37. statistics . . .

you just admitted that 50% of all education majors leave the profession by year FIVE... how does that translate to "majority of teachers remain in profession"

[Dorian Gray]

30. Veterans

have to have a start somewhere. New teachers need to be recruited somehow, especially in poverty stricken areas that don't attract veteran teachers.

[mzteris]

38. One of the most important aspects of TFA

is getting America's "future business people" to really understand the problems facing education.

Maybe these bright students DON'T "remain in the teaching profession" over the long term (though some will) - but they become the people who not only pay taxes and send their kids to school, but the ones who run for school board or town council or mayor, etc...

Don't people understand that having people in those positions who have experienced FIRST HAND what goes in on a classroom/school, especially in those areas most at at risk and in need, would be of HUGE benefit to effecting the change most needed in schools?

[Bucky]

35. Reality check: those numbers aren't that different than traditional track teachers

The TFA teachers I meet have stayed on and start making regular teacher pay.

[madfloridian]

27. The districts pay TFA $2000 a year for each TFA trainee.

I won't call them teachers, though they are educated.

The district pays them to take the jobs of experienced teachers.

[Overseas]

24. K&R although I am frightened to read up on this topic.

I don't want to believe the privatization of our public education is occurring at such a rapid pace, when we could be doing creative public-private partnerships instead.

[unhappycamper]

29. Think of it as the new prole plan. n/t

[DailyGrind51]

32. Arne, there is already a glut of newly certified teachers who can't find open positions!

This is true in Illinois, where Duncan got his start. I, like many of my classmates, have accepted other positions within districts in the hope of filling future openings.


http://forums.atozteacherstuff.com/showthread.php?t=58905

http://www.4marks.com/articles/details.html?article_id=1658

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/25/nyregion/lessons-teacher-shortages-are-usually-a-myth.html?pagewanted=1

http://www.ednews.org/articles/the-myth-of-a-teacher-shortage.html

[mzteris]

39. "The Irish have a saying . .. .

'there is a famine when you start to eat the seeds,' and I feel like that is what is happening in California in education, nursing and social work," . . .


Teacher shortage looms: Fewer people entering field
By Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell San Bernardino County Sun, Calif.
Publication: San Bernardino County Sun (California)
Date: Tuesday, April 20 2010

. . .

From 2007-08 to 2008-09, the overall teacher workforce declined from 310,000 to 307,000.

From 2007-08 to 2008-09, the number of first-and second-year teachers dropped by more than 20 percent, from more than 35,000 to less than 28,000 in all school levels.

From 2001-02 to 2006-07, the number of enrollees in teacher preparation programs declined by one-third from more than 77,000 to fewer than 52,000.

http://www.allbusiness.com/education-training/teaching-teachers-primary/14313022-1.html

[MadHound]

33. And the assault on education continues

This is not just about busting the unions, though that is one of the goals. This is about flooding the market with enough "teachers" to drive the already low pay teachers get straight down to minimum wage.

Thus, without regard for the welfare of our children, this administration is going to encourage groups like TFA to pump out "teachers" like they had just gotten their degree out of a Crackerjack box. And for all the expertise they have, that's exactly where those TFA certificates may as well have come from. I've known a few TFA "teachers", and down to the last one, they were all pretty clueless. Clueless about how kids learn, clueless about pedagogy, clueless about classroom organization, clueless about all the behind the scenes work that goes into teaching.

That is what traditional education programs are for, to show students how to do things like curriculum alignment, show how students learn, how to manage kids. And despite this article's assertions, the education programs that I know of continue to put a heavy emphasis on work in the classroom, and always have. Every single semester I was in the education program, I had some practicum class that had me in the classroom.

Yes, I think that there are some graduates coming out of education programs that aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, but really now, what can you expect. Given that education programs are some of the most expensive and extensive in any college or university, education students are forced to take in more loans and such. Thus when they come out of college, they've got twenty, thirty, forty thousand dollars or more in debt hanging over their head. And their starting pay? Yeah, thirty thousand a year. Is it any wonder that a lot of bright students who would love to teach, who would make great teachers take a look at the profession while in college and decide to go where the money is? If you want the best students to become teachers, then you have to pay for it. That means a starting pay scale comparable with those of doctors and lawyers instead of comparable to janitors and garbage collectors. Japan and other top education countries pay their teachers very well for just this reason, to attract the best and the brightest.

What is the ultimate goal here? It isn't busting the teacher's union. It isn't even privatizing out schools. It is to dumb down our future generations, to make them into dumb, dull sheep. Because frankly a dumb populace is an easily controlled populace. In our current, service based economy we are seeing less and less need for an educated populace. Most jobs can be worked these days with only an eighth grade education. For those that require higher learning, well, that's what this emerging network of high end private schools are for, that and H-1B visas. We are being dumbed down people, that is what this assault on education is all about.

That, and this is one of the last great bastions of public money that private corporations can raid.