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| And Then Some Education Education leads to prosperity... And Then Some! |
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Dealing With Mediocre Teachers
by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD
It would be nice to believe all
teachers are hard working, competent, and dedicated. Most educators fit that
description, but as in every profession, there is mediocrity as well.
Having mediocre teachers “in the system” may be symptomatic of our culture.
That is, what was once considered substandard is now considered acceptable.
What was once merely average is now above average or excellent. When this
social atmosphere prevails, true excellence is feared and must be
challenged. If this is the same culture by which criteria are established
for measuring competence, it is not difficult to see how it is partly to
blame for mediocrity being protected — maybe even being undetectable.
Mediocrity can result from institutionalized incentive programs, too.
Teachers have lifetime job security, and their pay is based on salary
schedules that have nothing to do with talent, effort, success, or even on
how much students learn. Great teachers are rewarded only if they leave
teaching for other careers whereas mediocre teachers stick around knowing
their weak performance is tolerated.
Another possible explanation for mediocrity is the education system itself.
It teaches to the middle and sets goals no higher than average. And, if you
were to watch mediocre teachers, the message is often in the nonverbal cues
they convey — the way they enter the room, where they stand, how they engage
the pupils, the use of insecure gestures, poor classroom positioning, and
even the failure to smile. Seldom is it in how much knowledge they have.
Because the clues are, generally, nonverbal, students can judge the quality
of a teacher within ten seconds of seeing them, and their judgments tend to
be consistently correct.
The question is, to what extent is the mediocrity of teachers harmful to the
education of students? One could argue that average is all right since it is
so much better than substandard. What the system needs to do is rid itself
of the lousy teachers, offer modest retention bonuses to the mediocre, and
compensate excellence with pay raises, sabbaticals, free education,
available and well-marked parking spaces, quality students, and other perks.
One of the problems may be with expectations. Should parents expect our
educational system to turn every child into a genius? Should education be
responsible for unleashing each child’s true potential? I don’t think it’s
being cynical to mention that most students are average (half above and half
below), and many — its true — are likely to grow up to be truck drivers and
WalMart clerks. They will play video games, watch TV six hours a day, and
surf the Internet— once their true potential has been unleashed, of course.
Our society has become obsessed with the illusion that everyone is special.
Every one has some talent, genius, or brilliance that has been unfairly
suppressed, and it is the responsibility of education, and teachers as the
stewards of that precious commodity, to coax, prod, and goad it out of them.
We could become a nation of gods, they believe, if only we had better
teachers!
One point that is missed in all of this is that our teachers — mediocre or
not — are far better than most students could ever utilize. Even mediocre
teachers can offer more knowledge of higher quality than 90 percent of their
students can absorb. Giving students a mediocre education is far better than
teaching them answers to standardized tests. It was Robert Hutchins who
said, “It must be remembered that the purpose of education is not to fill
the minds of students with facts...it is to teach them to think, if that is
possible, and always to think for themselves.”
The goal of education must always be recruiting quality teachers who can get
students to think. The problem is simply that judging whether or not future
teachers have this ability is like judging — before a marriage — whether or
not a future partner will be satisfactory.
There must be more in-school training, more observation, more focus on the
micro-skills of teaching. We can better utilize technology to coach and
analyze what goes on within and beyond classrooms. With digital technology
we can record then freeze-frame and analyze body language — how potential
teachers use gestures, intonation, facial expressions, and eye contact —
verbal mannerisms, as well as the proxemics of both trainee and established
teachers. Why not have experienced teachers who are considered “master
teachers” use microphones to coach and give trainees who are equipped with
earpieces, instant advice and feedback just as it occurs in sports? Why wait
until the end of lessons for retrospective, stale advice?
There need to be far more observations of trainees by a wide variety of
teachers, and not just those who teach the same subject. Why not create a
cradle-to-grave approach to staff development that expects career
progression from all staff members beginning from their earliest years?
Those who dare to teach must never cease to learn. Potential teachers must
visit a variety of teachers to see how lessons are taught, knowledge
conveyed, classroom interaction occurs, and students are challenged.
Performance management must focus on the skills teachers need to make them
better teachers rather than on the hoops they need to jump through to get
more pay or higher rank. Also, cradle-to-grave approaches to staff
development should not just recognize the essential skills and experiences
of older staff but use them — even retired “master teachers” — to mentor and
tutor rookies.
William Arthur Ward, the educator, author, poet, pastor, and motivational
speaker, said, “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The
superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” I contend that
with cradle-to-crave approaches to staff development, all of these can be
contained in a single teacher — not four separate individuals. There are
times for telling just as there are times for explaining, demonstrating, and
inspiring. We need to recruit quality teachers, true, but we need to train
them, too, to strive for quality because to teach is to touch lives forever.
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Dealing With Mediocre Teachers
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Effective Learning Means Being a Student of and for Life
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Get a College Education!
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Hidden benefits of college
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The link between homework and success
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What is the Importance of Public Education
Effective Learning Means Being a Student of and for Life
by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD
Learning new information is difficult. Learning does not always come as
naturally and comfortably as might be thought. There are three fundamental
problems to effective learning. The first is that students are never really
taught how to learn. Second, they
are never introduced to the obstacles to learning and, more specifically,
third, they are never given strategies
to overcome the obstacles. It doesn't matter how old a student is, the
physical setting in which learning is to occur, or the delivery methods used
to convey the information. If these basic problems are not addressed,
learning may be inhibited if not terminated entirely, and what can be a
disaster for students, is that their ability or willingness to be students
of and for life can be extinguished.
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Dealing With Mediocre Teachers
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Effective Learning Means Being a Student of and for Life
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Get a College Education!
>
Hidden benefits of college
>
The link between homework and success
>
What is the Importance of Public Education
Get a College Education!
by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD
In our individualistic society it is a
common belief that the strong, lone voice is an animating force behind every
kind of success. Along with this belief is the “up-by-your-own-bootstraps”
and “do your own thing” approaches to living that individuals believe frees
them from having to prepare themselves within the traditional institutions
or formats—colleges and universities—for their future lives.
Why do these beliefs in individual achievement and self-fulfillment occur?
There are three basic reasons. First, the story of college dropouts who
became successful—with the prominent one being Bill Gates, the richest man
in the world—dominate people’s thoughts and fantasies and draw them into
trying to do the same. Second, lotteries, gambling, instant cash prizes, and
pop idols lure some from education to taking chances on wealth with hopes
for a successful, happy, secure future. Third, the Internet tends to level
the playing field for many. That is, it allows start-up companies with
little capital to compete in the world market just as it gives everyone an
equal opportunity to express themselves. With a level playing field, who
needs an education?
We need more educated, informed people in this world. Of course, there will
be exceptions, but as technology becomes an even greater factor in
everything we do, the need for educated, informed people grows coordinately.
There is no substitute for a college or university education. I’m not
suggesting that it is the “be-all” and “end-all” of solutions designed for
everyone, and I’m not suggesting that everyone is likely to make the
“proper” use of it. It doesn’t necessarily make people better thinkers, nor
does it guarantee they will be better citizens, but the likelihood of both
outcomes becomes more probable with a college education. With better
thinking and responsible citizenship as a student’s primary goals, however,
those outcomes are all but certain.
Why is it that technology makes education more in demand? People can now
access more types of networks than ever before, and they are accessible
globally. Even local community debates resonate globally. Messages between
close friends and family are now visible on blogs, in virtual communities,
and through webcams and photo-sharing sites. In a progressively more
networked society, the future prospect of citizens being connected at any
time, in any place, means that massive interconnection opportunities grow
more likely. Enormous amounts of information will pass in both directions in
service channels, and the major challenge is that everyone has is to make
sense of it all. How do we give it meaning? This is not just true for
citizens but for service designers as well.
There are new social-networking sites, Wikis, communication tools, and
folksonomies, and these emphasize online collaboration and sharing among
users. Never before has so much information, so much collaboration and
sharing, and so much communication been available at the slight movement of
a mouse. This isn’t fantasy; this isn’t a dream; this is reality, and it is
here. It is the way business, education, and professional transactions will
take place in the future, and the very least that education can and will do
is continue to introduce new technologies, prompt the asking of intelligent
questions, and promote the camaraderie, teamwork, and collaboration that is
one of the ancillary, if not one of the direct, benefits of education.
If any student who is in school today—at any level—has not gotten the
message, it is time to make certain it is written in large letters, blinking
in bright colors, posted directly in front of them so that they cannot miss
it: do not drop out of school. Stop the excuses! “I don’t want to study.”
“School doesn’t excite me.” “I just can’t get into it.” “I was not cut out
to be a student.” “Teachers don’t make it exciting.”
There are few jobs out there beyond fast-food, grocery workers, bank clerks,
and other positions in the retail marketplace or service professions. Do you
want to be a garbage collector or lawn-service provider for the rest of your
life? Try raising a family, buying a house, and making your dreams come
true, based on one of these salaries!
Whether the job you want requires a college education or not, you are likely
to find that without one, you will quickly discover there is a ceiling
beyond which you cannot progress—no matter what business or profession you
are in. Even if your goal is to open an Internet business and make millions
of dollars online, remember that often the success of Internet companies
rely on the skills and credibility of those in positions of control and
authority. Because of a college education, you are likely to have improved
writing and communication skills, and these will be revealed in every
message you send, contact you make, interaction you engage in, and website
message you construct.
When your credibility is on the line, your preparation and background will
be transparent to those who it will be necessary to persuade and influence.
So, is just any college education good enough? The true answer is “Yes.” It
doesn’t matter where you obtain it. But, for yourself, it does matter what
skills you gather for yourself. Think about the skills that will best suit
what you want to do. Some basic understandings about business will be
helpful, just as some basic math, economics, and computer skills will be,
too. Take basic courses in English to gain as much experience in writing as
you can. Basic psychology, sociology, and any courses that contain sections
on intercultural understandings will be useful. Courses in interpersonal,
small group, and public communication, without a doubt, will assist you,
too, in becoming a well-qualified, college educated, individual.
The purpose of your college education should be to strengthen your
foundation, broaden your understandings, and deepen your thinking. Remember,
the goal is not to make you think in any specific direction; the purpose is
to make you think, organize your ideas, draw meaningful conclusions, and
deal with ideas in a mature and serious manner. There is no better place
than college to accomplish this.
back to page top
>
Dealing With Mediocre Teachers
>
Effective Learning Means Being a Student of and for Life
>
Get a College Education!
>
Hidden benefits of college
>
The link between homework and success
>
What is the Importance of Public Education
Hidden benefits of college
by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD
Financial rewards, increased knowledge,
and social contacts may be some of the obvious benefits of getting a college
education, but there are numerous benefits that are not so obvious and which
may, indeed, be overlooked when students and parents make their decisions
about either going to college or not. For many, it is these benefits that
make the cost, time commitment, and energy worthwhile. I call these the
hidden benefits of a college education.
Often, students who enter college do so with a specific idea about what they
want to study, and what they want to be when their education is complete.
There is nothing wrong with this kind of focus, and, for many, it offers
precisely the direction they need to make the most of their college
education. When I said, above, “there is nothing wrong with this kind of
focus,” perhaps I should add, “if you maintain an open mind and
flexibility.”
There is so much more to college life than classes, subject disciplines, and
majors. I will label this “so much more”: exposure. Many students think they
know exactly what courses provide, instructors dispense, and experiences
deliver and, yet, it is the hidden benefits that often surprise — even
astonish. “I had no idea,” is a common statement made by those who have
entered the ivy walls with an open mind and flexibility.
The “exposure” comes from other classes — outside of one’s major — often,
the required courses themselves. The “exposure” comes from the different
instructors and how they choose to present their material, explore various
approaches, and challenge their students. The “exposure” comes, too, from
how students interpret, assimilate, and absorb the information. It is this
unique juxtaposition of subject matter, presentation, and interpretation
that cannot be predicted and, yet, can yield such incredible results.
When the focus of college is on awareness and the introduction of new ideas
and new insights, one cannot escape being fascinated — even captivated .
That’s where the open mind and flexibility come in. Instructors do not ask
that students accept — unless it is on a temporary (for class purposes)
basis — but they do want them to listen, concentrate, and consider. It is
not about indoctrination, although some people may see it that way — as much
as it is about weighing and considering. It is the development of good
thinking, reasoning, and decision-making skills. And to develop these in the
best manner means giving students something worthwhile, different, and
challenging to think about. It means helping them break out from their
limited and personal, often traditional, stereotypical, commonplace, and
rigid kinds of thinking and reacting. It means getting them out of the boxes
they may not even know they are in and getting them to investigate new boxes
they didn’t even know existed. This promotes tolerance and open-mindedness.
Another hidden benefit of a college education is communication, whether it
be written, spoken, or nonverbal. College offers opportunities to record
reactions, write papers, and prepare reports. At times, some of these
“opportunities” seem to be busy work on the way to getting a degree. And
yet, confirmed in many studies that have been completed, accurate, effective
communication is one of the greatest weaknesses in the workplace. Every
opportunity to record one’s thoughts and reactions in writing should be
grasped as another chance to formulate thoughts, shape ideas, and structure
impressions. To have trained, knowledgeable, authorities assisting students
to better express themselves should be accepted as a rare and unique gift
designed to make them more effective.
Oral communication is not totally different from written. Even though many
students feel they are already talented speakers — after all, they have been
talking since they were born — few are as effective as they think. Speech
communication courses compel students to examine the basics of effective
communication: skillful listening, adept use of words, useful methods for
supporting opinions, adroit patterns for organizing thoughts, as well as
powerful ways for expressing them.
There are hidden, underlying benefits of speech-communication courses as
well. First, think about the breadth and depth of ideas exposed to because
of the speeches of others. Second, think about the critiques, evaluations,
and assessments. Imagine the opportunities students have not just for
comparing their efforts with others, but for projecting (internally, of
course) specific methods for self-improvement because of the work they see
others present. There are an overwhelming array of possibilities for making
great strides in their personal ability to grow, change, and develop.
There are nonverbal communication benefits of a college education as well.
These can occur on a personal basis with friends, relationship partners, and
other students as they interact on a daily and continuing basis. And it
isn’t just their talking to others, but also it is the reactions they
receive to what they project. They have unrestrained opportunities to test
the way they communicate, make changes, and develop their repertoire of
reactions and responses.
In the communication classroom, focus on nonverbal communication is a
natural part of the evaluations and critiques students receive. For the shy,
performance opportunities often serve to bring them out of their shells. For
the more natural, it gives them a chance to perfect, hone, and polish their
abilities — concentrated practice with critiques that offer suggestions for
improvement and development.
Another important hidden benefit of a college education is growth in
self-esteem. You could say, “But, that happens naturally outside the ivy
walls,” and you are correct; however, when you are regularly challenged with
new ideas, when you are often forced to think and solve problems, when your
communication abilities are pressured to grow rapidly, and when you are
surrounded by a compelling, nurturing, and encouraging environment precisely
constructed to improve your self-esteem, you cannot escape development and
maturity.
There are many other hidden benefits, of course, and the acquisition of
words is certainly one of them. With increased vocabulary, it is easier to
put your thoughts into words, to articulate your ideas and, even more
important, to express precisely what you intend. When you hear about the
benefits of college — increased financial rewards, knowledge, and social
contacts — you seldom hear about the hidden benefits of exposure,
communication, self-esteem, and vocabulary, but these may even be more
important to your success, future life, and happiness.
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Dealing With Mediocre Teachers
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Effective Learning Means Being a Student of and for Life
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Get a College Education!
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Hidden benefits of college
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The link between homework and success
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What is the Importance of Public Education
The link between homework and success
by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD
It was a sturdy maple desk hidden behind my bedroom door. To my right was
a large bulletin board mounted on the wall that held items of current
interest; on my desk was a lamp that cast bright light on the writing
surface; in my top desk drawer were my pens, pencils, and paper. It was a
private, quiet, comfortable place in my basement bedroom where I put in vast
and pleasant hours on homework assignments and projects.
In this essay, I want to make a strong case — based on personal experience —
for homework — the time students spend outside the classroom in assigned
activities to practice, reinforce or apply newly-acquired skills and
knowledge and to learn necessary skills of independent study. To me, the
value of homework is crystal clear. It has helped me review and practice
what I learned in school, get ready for the next day’s classes, learn to use
libraries, encyclopedias, and other resource materials, and explore subjects
in greater depth than could be accomplished in the classroom. Homework, for
me, has always been as routine as mowing the lawn or taking out the garbage.
Homework significantly affected my growth as a student. For example, with a
comfortable place to study and a supportive family environment, I found that
it established effective study habits. Of course, as a child I looked
forward to times when I had none, but the rule was always: first your
homework, then you play. And when this routine was established early and
reinforced without fail, it taught me that outside of class time, I had to
control, regulate, and order my world. With that kind of self-discipline, I
could deal with most assignments and solve most problems. Homework became an
automatic and expected extension of classes, and classwork and homework were
interwoven in the same way as shoes and socks, computers and software, and
pencil and paper.
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Dealing With Mediocre Teachers
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Effective Learning Means Being a Student of and for Life
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Get a College Education!
>
Hidden benefits of college
>
The link between homework and success
>
What is the Importance of Public Education
What is the Importance of Public Education
by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD
We hear the results in a wide variety
of places. At a local nursery, the owner explained why most all of his
helpers were women by using his thumbs to indicate that men’s problems could
all be traced to a preoccupation with handheld video games. “All they want
to do is play,” he said. Another local employer of part-time helpers
explained that it is impossible to find qualified males saying, “There are
few men who are even interested, and those few lack the qualifications. They
don’t know much, and they don’t care.”
In a report by the Independent Women’s Forum of Washington, D.C., entitled,
“Taking the Boy Crisis in Education Seriously,” (April 2007), Krista Kafer
makes the case that, “Boys, not girls, are being left behind by our nation’s
schools.” She backs up this conclusion in an astounding paragraph of
findings:
Girls surpass boys in reading, writing, civics and the arts. Girls get
better grades and more honors; they have higher aspirations, are more
engaged in school and are more likely to graduate from high school and
college. Boys, on the other hand, are more likely to be suspended or
expelled, need special education, smoke, drink, and do drugs, repeat a
grade, commit suicide, become incarcerated, leave school without attaining
literacy, drop out of school or be unemployed. Marginal advantages in math
and science for boys pale compared to the sheer advantage girls enjoy
throughout school.
Kafer makes it clear that this is no “manufactured crisis” or a “backlash
against the women’s movement” as some feminist authors have suggested.
A survey of high-school seniors found that girls are more likely to
participate in music and performing arts activities, academic clubs, student
council or government, and join the newspaper and yearbook. Also, they are
more likely to participate in community affairs, or volunteer once or twice
a month. The only extracurricular activity boys are likely to take part in
is athletics.
A survey of high-school sophomores found that girls are more likely to
perform community service, take music, art, and language classes, read at
least three hours a week of non-school reading, and talk on the phone. Boys
work on hobbies, drive or ride around, visit with friends, play sports,
watch television, and play video games. Of those who said they watched 6 or
more hours of television, 22 percent were boys and 15 percent were girls.
The public education system must respond with innovative strategies and
environments that help boys and girls, because the consequences of these
conditions are serious. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that 60% of
the new jobs being created in our economy today will require technological
literacy, yet only 22% of the young people entering the job market now
actually possess those skills. By 2010, all jobs will require some form of
technological literacy, and 80% of those jobs haven’t even been created yet.
Students must be prepared for a world that even we ourselves cannot
completely anticipate. If students do not know how to learn, and if they do
not have a desire to learn, adaptation to and flexibility within a new,
uncertain environment tomorrow is unlikely.
What both educators and students must understand is that scientific
knowledge is doubling every few years. As a result of breathtaking
changes—the sudden growth of information technologies, medical
breakthroughs, and advances in genetic engineering, for example—most major
societal institutions are in a state of change. Yet schools remain much the
same institutions as our grandparents attended. Faced with this flood of
change—in large measure driven by science and technology—we are, as a
society, failing miserably to produce an informed and scientifically
literate populace.
We are in dire need of a serious discussion in this country about the
importance of public
education, what our children actually need to be taught, and the extent to
which quality instruction currently exists. Schools need to increase
everyday standards for classroom attendance, behavior, homework completion,
and academic participation and cooperation. And consequences for not meeting
these standards also need to be increased and enforced.
Failing to hold students accountable for inappropriate behavior and
unproductive
academic performance is a recipe for lowering standards to the point where
individuals no longer believe that the rules apply to them. Often, students
spend more time complaining about educational requirements they are expected
to follow instead of attending classes and figuring out and using
constructive strategies for passing.
Once we focus more on instilling academic values in our students instead of
worrying
about bruising their egos, damaging their self-esteem, or stifling their
voice, our schools will finally begin to recover the ground lost to the
specter of low expectations. Doing so will do more to indicate increased
standards than any exit exam ever could.
Good schools that help boys and girls reach their potential exist in both
the public and private sector. The existence of some of these schools,
however, is insufficient. Public education must embrace innovation and
encourage the replication of strategies—wherever they can be found—that will
help boys and girls reach their potential. If this means allowing families
to choose schools, single-sex schools or classrooms, new charter-school
laws, unique scholarship programs, or instituting new math and science
requirements, the development of innovative strategies must be the goal if
we are not just to give every boy and girl the chance to succeed, but if we
are to be successful in providing society with an informed and
scientifically literate populace. Kafer writes that, “Successful single-sex
classrooms and single-sex schools can have a positive effect on student
achievement for boys and girls. Such environments can break down stereotypes
and help girls attain high achievement in math and science and boys attain
high achievement in reading and writing.”
Public education is important, but we need to approach it in such a way that
we both recognize and emphasize its importance, but, most importantly,
strengthen and improve it.
back to page top
>
Dealing With Mediocre Teachers
>
Effective Learning Means Being a Student of and for Life
>
Get a College Education!
>
Hidden benefits of college
>
The link between homework and success
>
What is the Importance of Public Education
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