But the unions have gained too much power. In some states, the union bars the school district from rewarding teachers that are great at their craft. They dictate that all of the teachers must be on an even pay level. This would discourage me from doing any more to help students, than the most ineffective teacher, if we were made to get paid the same. Unions have helped bridge the pay gap between male and female teachers, black and whites teachers, etc.
In the article Stop the Madness, written by Diane Ravitch, she elaborates on the issue of exceptionally high test taking. Teachers teach towards their test and as a result, are lazy. These faculty members, especially the teachers, worry more about the final test scores their students receive than if their students are grasping and fully understanding the educational topics. This is because the test grades that the students earn is how teachers are judged and ranked in the system. Therefore, in order to achieve these ideal scores, they are using the same tests and classwork every year.
My opinion of NCLB is it is flawed, developmentally inappropriate, ill funded, ←and→ leaving more students, teachers, ←and→ schools behind than ever before because The tests have turned into the objective of classroom instruction rather than the measure of teaching ←and→ learning. Based on my experience, the current implication of NCLB is similar to teaching in a Korean classroom; teachers are teaching the test and the only thing that matters are the test results. Teaching to the test is the number one criticism by teachers and administrators. There is so much pressure on schools to achieve acceptable performance levels that test-taking has become a subject in itself. Everything academic revolves around the year-end state testing to the point that other subjects are usually neglected.
She states multiple times that the children within the education system are being cheated every day because they are not being forced to read more difficult books. “Such benefits are denied to the young reader exposed only to books with banal, simple-minded moral equations as well as to the student encouraged to come up with reductive, wrong-headed readings of mulitlayered texts” (Prose 97). The reader can blatantly see that Prose thinks negatively of the high school curriculum that today's students face. It seems clear that Prose does not want to hide her personal view or feelings, so she starts her essay out in a way that we do not have to read between the lines to get a sense of how she feels about what she is writing. She uses more emotional language when she says, "The intense loyalty adults harbor for books first encountered in youth is one probable reason for the otherwise baffling longevity of vintage mediocre novels, books that teachers may themselves have read in adolescence"(Prose
Merit Pay Analysis for Teachers Merit pay for teachers continues to be a hot topic with valid arguments on both sides of the issue. Unfortunately it is the students and their education that continues to be in the middle of this debate. As Stonebraker argues in his book, The Joy of Economics: Making Sense out of Life, U.S. students “are being outperformed by students abroad in a wide variety of fields”. He continues by stating “Low wages create shortages of high-quality teachers, particularly in math and sciences, and the educational process suffers.” His discussion is thought provoking as it provides an out-of-the-box recommendation to improving teachers’ wages, especially in the more difficult subjects. The goal of this discussion should be what is in the best interest of helping the U.S. students compete academically in a global environment.
Both bills reassure applicants to prove they have looked for a job even if they don’t have a phone, internet access or money for transportation or anyone to watch their children. The provision now before the conference will unfairly cut the rolls create new heaps for recipients to jump through hoops and put applicants in a catch 22 situation further determining the states commitment to people in need. For decades politicians and regulators have asserted their rights to control poor citizens by relying on myths about those in need. These myths are familiar for anyone tuned into popular media. the poor and lazy must be forced to work, they don’t value education, they
P. Shipsey March 22, 2012 Nickel and Dimed Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich provides an interesting, and at times amusing, look at the plight of low wage workers in America. Although it is an unrealistic journey, as the author has the luxury of returning to her “real life”, has no familial structure to aide her, and moves constantly, rather than staying at one job to strive for advancement, the author does manage to highlight the difficult lives of those earning a minimum wage. Ms. Ehrenreich, a conflict theorist, approaches the problem of living on minimum wage. She posits that the problem is that the minimum wage does not provide a living wage, and that the benefactors of the low wage are companies. The author’s glass is half empty as she blames the unequal allocation of resources for the hard lives of herself and her temporary peers.
Literacy as Power even states that literacy education creates a critical consciousness where societies can analyze their conditions and “engage in effective actions for a just society. The main limitation of using literacy as a tool for social change is seen every day in the American economy. The mismatch of the educational level of the work force compared to the job opportunities is by far the biggest limitation. America has humans with masters degrees working minimum wage jobs. When Sylvia Scribner uses the term “literacy as a state of grace” I take it as when you are reading something and it changes your mind and actions.
The before school, lunchtime, and afternoon meetings, not to mention the obnoxious amounts of paperwork, are enough to drive even the sanest teacher to the sanitarium. For these reasons and many more, teaching has the highest degree of career turnover of any profession. But, how can we quit our complaining and attempt to avoid serious burnout? Try these strategies for avoiding teacher burnout and make concrete improvements in your attitude and outlook in the classroom. * Ask for Help - This is a really hard one for me to do.
Sanford and Evertson (1981) have similarly argued that classroom management is a major difficulty for “teachers and administrators in junior high schools” (p. 34). Offering a more positive learning environment in the classroom is not simple and research studies do not fail to reveal that the fundamental component in succeeding in managing it is in the teacher's capacities to oversee and direct the class.