insert cartoon here teaching is soft and mushy a. startling facts about teaching b. why you should...
TRANSCRIPT
INSERT CARTOON
HERE
TEACHING IS SOFT AND MUSHY
A. STARTLING FACTS ABOUT
TEACHING
B. WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
C. WHY YOU SHOULD TEACH
STARTLING FACT ABOUT TEACHING
In the last two years, the State Dept. of Education has issued more than 50,000 emergency teaching credentials.
STARTLING FACT ABOUT TEACHING
In the last five years, there have been only 8 fully credentialed teachers for every 10 teaching positions in California’s public schools.
STARTLING FACT ABOUT TEACHING
In California during the 2000-01 school year, 1 in 7 teachers had no credential or the wrong credential for the subject they were teaching.
STARTLING FACT ABOUT TEACHING
20% of all new teachers quit within three years…
STARTLING FACT ABOUT TEACHING
20% of all new teachers quit within three years…
50% quit within five years.
STARTLING FACT ABOUT TEACHING
Those teachers who scored in the top 25% on their college entrance exams were nearly twice as likely to leave.
STARTLING FACT ABOUT TEACHING
One-third of teachers in a nationwide poll said that they would not go into teaching if they had a chance to do it over again.
STARTLING FACT ABOUT TEACHING
The life expectancy of a teacher is four years lower than the national average.
“Teaching is the most responsible, the least
advertised, the worst paid, and the most richly
rewarded profession in the world.”
— Ian Hay
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
Teachers are grossly
underpaid.
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
TEACHERS ARE GROSSLY UNDERPAID.
Teachers earn 29% less than other
workers with B.A. degrees.
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
TEACHERS ARE GROSSLY UNDERPAID.
An entry level job in Silicon Valley pays as
much as a 5th year teaching position.
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
TEACHERS ARE GROSSLY UNDERPAID.
A beginning engineer makes $47,112 in
California while a new teacher earns $26,225.
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
Teaching is undervalued by society.
“Those who can, do; those who can’t,
teach.”
— George Bernard Shaw
“You don’t have to think too hard when
you talk to a teacher.”
— J. D. Salinger
“Everybody who is incapable of learning
has taken to teaching.”
— Oscar Wilde
“Education: the inculcation of the
imcomprehensible into the indifferent by
the incompetent.”
— John Maynard Keynes
“Teaching is not a lost art, but the
regard for it is a lost tradition.”
— Jacques Barzun
“One out of every three students in the United States scores
below the 34th percentile in math.”
— Bobo the Clown
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
Teaching is complex.
“We expect teachers to handle teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, and the
failings of the family. Then we expect them to educate
our children.”
— John Sculley
“Teaching … is not only the hardest job
in the school, it is the hardest job there is.”
— William Glasser
“Unless one has taught, it is hard to imagine the extent of the demands made on a teacher’s
attention.”
— Charles Silberman
“People sometimes say, ‘I should like to teach if only pupils cared to learn.’ But then there would be
little need of teaching.”
— George H. Palmer
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
TEACHING IS COMPLEX.THE BALANCING ACT
Providing for successvs.
Providing a challenge
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
TEACHING IS COMPLEX.THE BALANCING ACT
Computational skillsvs.
Calculator use
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
TEACHING IS COMPLEX.THE BALANCING ACT
Traditional testsvs.
Performance tasks
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
TEACHING IS COMPLEX.THE BALANCING ACT
Coverage of topicsvs.
Depth of understanding
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
TEACHING IS COMPLEX.THE BALANCING ACT
Algebraic thinkingvs.
Algebra 1 for all eighth graders
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
TEACHING IS COMPLEX.THE BALANCING ACT
Real learningvs.
Test preparation
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
TEACHING IS COMPLEX.THE BALANCING ACT
State Standardsvs.
Common sense
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
Teaching is stressful.
STARTLING FACT ABOUT TEACHING
Teaching is the third most stressful occupation on earth behind only air traffic controllers and surgeons.
“50 years ago, teachers said their top discipline problems were talking, chewing gum, making noise, and running in
the halls. ...
“The current list, by contrast, sounds like a
cross between a rap sheet and the seven
deadly sins.”
– Anna Quindlen
TOP 7 SCHOOL PROBLEMS1940
1) Talking out of turn
TOP 7 SCHOOL PROBLEMS1940
1) Talking out of turn 2) Chewing gum
TOP 7 SCHOOL PROBLEMS1940
1) Talking out of turn 2) Chewing gum 3) Making noise
TOP 7 SCHOOL PROBLEMS1940
1) Talking out of turn 2) Chewing gum 3) Making noise 4) Running in the halls
TOP 7 SCHOOL PROBLEMS1940
1) Talking out of turn 2) Chewing gum 3) Making noise 4) Running in the halls 5) Cutting in line
TOP 7 SCHOOL PROBLEMS1940
1) Talking out of turn 2) Chewing gum 3) Making noise 4) Running in the halls 5) Cutting in line 6) Dress code infractions
TOP 7 SCHOOL PROBLEMS1940
1) Talking out of turn 2) Chewing gum 3) Making noise 4) Running in the halls 5) Cutting in line 6) Dress code infractions 7) Littering
TOP 7 SCHOOL PROBLEMS1940
1) Talking out of turn 2) Chewing gum 3) Making noise 4) Running in the halls 5) Cutting in line 6) Dress code infractions 7) Littering
TOP 7 SCHOOL PROBLEMS1990
1) Drug abuse
TOP 7 SCHOOL PROBLEMS1990
1) Drug abuse 2) Alcohol abuse
TOP 7 SCHOOL PROBLEMS1990
1) Drug abuse 2) Alcohol abuse 3) Pregnancy
TOP 7 SCHOOL PROBLEMS1990
1) Drug abuse 2) Alcohol abuse 3) Pregnancy 4) Suicide
TOP 7 SCHOOL PROBLEMS1990
1) Drug abuse 2) Alcohol abuse 3) Pregnancy 4) Suicide 5) Rape
TOP 7 SCHOOL PROBLEMS1990
1) Drug abuse 2) Alcohol abuse 3) Pregnancy 4) Suicide 5) Rape 6) Robbery
TOP 7 SCHOOL PROBLEMS1990
1) Drug abuse 2) Alcohol abuse 3) Pregnancy 4) Suicide 5) Rape 6) Robbery 7) Assault
TOP 7 SCHOOL PROBLEMS1990
1) Drug abuse 2) Alcohol abuse 3) Pregnancy 4) Suicide 5) Rape 6) Robbery 7) Assault
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
Teaching is exhausting.
INSERT CARTOON
HERE
AN ALIEN’S VIEW OF SCHOOL:
“School is a place were young people go to watch old people
work.”
“Teaching was the hardest work I had ever
done, and it remains the hardest work I have
done to date.”
– Ann Richards
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
Teaching is ambiguous.
EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING
1) High test scores
2) Quiet classrooms
3) Adherence to state standards
4) Use of latest curricula
5) Modern, high-tech classrooms
But what about . . . Caring for, respecting, and relating to students Believing in kids Compassion, energy,
creativity, and intelligence Inspiring life-long learning
“To be a good teacher you need to keep two things in mind simultaneously: 1) you need to reach
every student, every minute.
“and …
2) in the broad sweep of a student’s life, you are little more than a speck of sand.”
– from Possible Lives by Mike Rose
“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”
– Albert Einstein
“Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.”
– William Butler Yeats
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH
Teaching is frustrating.
“For every person wishing to teach, there are thirty not wanting to be taught.”
– W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman
MURPHY’S LAW IN THE MIDDLE
SCHOOL
Clocks move more quickly during prep periods and more slowly during staff meetings.
MURPHY’S LAW IN THE MIDDLE
SCHOOL
On Staff Development Days, clocks don’t move at all.
MURPHY’S LAW IN THE MIDDLE
SCHOOL
The line at the copy machine is inversely proportional to the number of minutes left in your prep period.
MURPHY’S LAW IN THE MIDDLE
SCHOOL
The copy machine will jam just before you need to run off an important test.
MURPHY’S LAW IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Good students move away.
MURPHY’S LAW
IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL
New students haven’t covered anything you’ve been learning.
MURPHY’S LAW IN THE MIDDLE
SCHOOL
The problem child will turn out to be a school board member’s son or daughter.
MURPHY’S LAW IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Kids with colds will sneeze in your face.
MURPHY’S LAW IN THE MIDDLE
SCHOOL
The disaster drill will be scheduled during your prep period.
MURPHY’S LAW IN THE MIDDLE
SCHOOL
An assembly will be scheduled during the period in which you are most behind.
MURPHY’S LAW IN THE MIDDLE
SCHOOL
A disaster will occur on Parent Visitation Day.
MURPHY’S LAW IN THE MIDDLE
SCHOOL
When something wonderful happens in your class, nobody is there to see it.
WHY YOU SHOULD TEACH
1) Teaching requires
CREATIVITY.
2) Teaching is COMPLEX.
3) Teaching is EXCITING.
4) Teaching is SATISFYING.
WHY YOU SHOULD TEACH
5) Teaching is COMPELLING.
6) Teaching is intensely PERSONAL.
7) Teaching is FUN.
8) Teaching has a SOUL.
.
WHY YOU SHOULD TEACH
Teaching requires
creativity.
“Good teachers are usually a little crazy.”
– Andy Rooney
“One can do anything, anything at all … provided with a passionate and gifted teacher.”
– Pat Conroy
WHY YOU SHOULD TEACH
Teaching is complex.
“A successful teacher needs: the education of a
college president, the executive ability of a financier,
the humility of a deacon,
the adaptability of a cameleon,
the hope of an optimist,
the courage of a hero, the wisdom of a
serpent, the gentleness of a
dove, the patience of Job,
the grace of God,and
the persistence of the Devil.”
– anonymous
WHY YOU SHOULD TEACH
Teaching is exciting.
“Perhaps teaching is really a mutual experience between the younger and the older; perhaps all there is to be learned is what they can discover between them.”
– Amanda Cross
“Teaching provides a way to stay young at heart, to maintain a lifetime of active learning. … It is in every respect a profession of hope.”
– Vito Perrone
WHY YOU SHOULD TEACH
Teaching is satisfying.
“Why teach? Why did Prometheus steal fire only to turn around and give it away? There is an inherent generosity in the human spirit – one of its faces in the face of a teacher.”
– Michael Crichton
WHY YOU SHOULD TEACH
Teaching is compelling.
“Teaching is a life sentence … 24/7.”
– Jonathan Kozol
“Love is a better master than duty.”
– Albert Einstein
WHY YOU SHOULD TEACH
Teaching is intensely personal.
“We teach more by what we are than by what we teach.”
– Will Durant
“Most of us end up with no more than five or six people who remember us. Teachers have thousands who remember them for the rest of their lives.”
– Andrew Rooney
WHY YOU SHOULD TEACH
Teaching is FUN!
“To love what you do and feel that it matters – how could anything be more fun?”
– Katharine Graham
“Teaching seems to me beyond doubt the greatest of the professions.”
– Theodore Brameld
WHY YOU SHOULD TEACH
Teaching has a soul.
“If you plan for a decade, plant a tree. If you plan for a century, teach the children.”
– anonymous
“Teachers are more than any other class the guardians of civilization.”
– Bertrand Russell
“The future of the nation is on the shoulders of teachers and how they teach kids.”
– Richard R. Green
“Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.”
– H. G. Wells
“I beg of you to stop apologizing for being a member of the most important profession in the world.”
– William G. Carr
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”
– Henry Brooks Adams
“I touch the future. I teach.”
– Christa McAuliffe