Star Teachers
Haberman’s star teachers exhibit warmth, fairness, and discipline. They understand that their role is to teach; love and compassion are not enough. The teachers that Haberman views as quitters/failures blame academic underachievement on student’s backgrounds, home environment, and observe personal limitations rather than recognize their responsibility to provide a safe, and undisruptive environment for students to learn.
Poverty schools have ineffective teachers because the traditional university programs training and recruiting teachers provide these schools with candidates who will most likely quit or fail. Most college students seeking to become teachers are in their twenties, which Haberman considers to be the worst time to train someone to be an effective teacher. He notes that young adults are still struggling with the issue of self-identity, fighting off peer pressure, seeking independence and trying to find meaning and purpose in life. Many have few real-world experiences, seek immediate gratification, and are idealistic, which are exact opposite characteristics of what a teacher is suppose to be. A teacher must be committed to the needs of her students and inspire confidence and build self-esteem in them not look for her/his individuality and be self-absorbed. Therefore, mature adults are more likely to be successful teachers because they have more experiences and firm values. Haberman explains that just because candidates have a high GPA, have passed all requirements for teacher licensure and have been declared “highly qualified” does not necessarily make them effective teachers to poverty children. The teacher must be able to relate to the children in urban schools and build a positive relationship wit...
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... make the student want to learn by showing patience and encouragement. Stars are gentle and caring with their students but also exhibit strength of character. More than anything, they want their students to succeed, and make them into prosperous individuals. Thus, star teachers are not necessarily individuals who finished a degree from a university for education or scored high on tests, but they were simply able to build a lasting relationship with their students. Their goal is to engage students in meaningful lessons and teach them to be independent thinkers. They do not judge their students or their family but have respect for them. Also, stars do not try to change the school but their main focus is on their students. They view the students need to succeed in school as a matter of life and death and therefore their main goal is to see their students succeed.
The author states in “A New Deal for Teachers” that in America, especially in poorer school districts, teacher quality is lacking. In urban districts, out of the new teachers hired in the next three years, about half of them will quit (usually the quality ones). The recruitment of better teachers is, as the author says, the biggest problem in our education system. He states that he’s been told by urban teachers that many of their colleagues are incompetent. Contributing to this is that state requirements are very low, which allows poor quality teachers into schools. Miller explains that smart and competent people who want to be teachers, are getting more and more difficult to find. This is true mainly because there are fields of work that those
...is model of teaching leaves out the students from poor economic and social disadvantages. Failing to take into account that even if they receive the same education as someone from a middle-class background; these students still have to go home and deal with unfortunate circumstances.
Especially in regard to educating children in poverty so they will not fall behind. Helping adults to understand how to help these children is vitally important because those in poverty have different needs and require a different means of motivation, “if poor people were exactly the same cognitively, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally as those from the middle class, then the exact same teaching provided to both middle-class students and students from poverty would bring the exact same results (Jensen).”
A simple fix may be to require pre-service student teachers to have some level of training or observation in disadvantaged areas (Capra, 2009). Since there is no simple answer to the issue, it is necessary that teachers work to develop effective pedagogy that combats the ills of poverty in minority students. The fact remains that the topic of poverty is one that must be addressed in order for the classroom environment to function. Many researchers contend that students from impoverished and minority schools in the U.S. are more likely to be taught by teachers that are underprepared, that lack experience and that are minimally qualified to even teach. Additionally, teachers that instruct in low-income minority areas have less supportive work environments and few professional growth opportunities than their counterparts (Borman & Ranchuba, 2000).
“Despite decades of federal, state, and local programs intended to support young children’s preparation for schooling, children from low-income families continue to begin formal schooling at a disadvantage.... ... middle of paper ... ... Sometimes they won’t learn anything, they may have made some good friends, or enemies, but they never really realized how to do certain things the teacher wanted them to grasp.
In many low income communities, there are teachers that are careless and provide their students with poor quality education. These teachers are there just to make sure that they keep receiving their monthly paychecks and act in this way because they believe that low income students do not have the drive, the passion, or the potential to be able to make something of themselves and one day be in a better place than they are now. Anyon reveals that in working class schools student’s “Work is often evaluated not according to whether it is right or wrong but according to whether the children followed the right steps.” (3). This is important because it demonstrates that low income students are being taught in a very basic way. These children are being negatively affected by this because if they are always being taught in this way then they will never be challenged academically, which can play a huge role in their futures. This argument can also be seen in other articles. In the New York Times
As Malcolm Gladwell expresses, America must be critical and selective when hiring teachers. By hiring a seemingly good candidate, it is inconclusive if he or she will fit the standards of an adequate teacher. In Gladwell’s article, “Most Likely To Succeed,” he reiterates which traits and actions an advanced teacher should employ, compared to a below average teacher. A candidate may fit the job requirements, but may lack an important skill once they are hired, such as using effective communication skills to teach students in a positive manner. Even if a student is bright enough to do well in a class, they may not reach their full potential due to being taught by a poor teacher. Evidently, this is an inconvenience to students and creates an
The most important reason public schools provide an excellent education is that teachers are required to be highly qualified and suited for the job. When asked if public schools were a wise investment for the government Barnard answered,” Yes, not every parent [very few in fact] are trained and suited to educate students”” (Barnard). In particular, they must acquire and maintain a license to teach. In order to earn this teaching certification, they must demonstrate proficiency in all basic skills, study their subject area in depth, and learn effective techniques of instructing all kinds of learners. They also are required to get on-the-job training under the guidance of an experienced teacher. They have to motivate students to learn and have a passion for teaching, maintain their license, and continue their own education and training throu...
Successful teachers develop the whole child by making integrated efforts to promote their student’s academic, social and emotional learning. Children need to be aware of themselves and others; make responsible decisions, and be ethical and respectful of the people around them.
Sadker, D.M., Sadker, M.P., and Zittleman, K.R.,(2008) Teachers, Students, and Society (8th ed.).New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
In today’s America, the educational system has been blaming teachers for the failure of students. This pressure put on teachers causes a lot of unneeded stress and can even be demoralizing. Instructors are always trying to put the student’s
Everyone knows that when it comes to making a difference in a child’s academic and life achievements, their teachers play a large role. A teacher’s ability to relate to their students, and teach them to achieve both socially and academically contributes to how effective they are. What does it mean to be an effective teacher? Overall there seems to be an emphasis on teacher effectiveness related to how well their students are performing on standardized testing. As teachers we know there is more to being an effective teacher then just teaching our students based on tests. This paper will identify different definitions of an effective teacher along with how to assess teachers on being effective.
For the most part it is not the students fault as to why they are failing, but the teachers. In run down schools in poor towns, most teachers can only do so much with what they are given. In most cases it leads the teachers to just give up. In David K. Shipler’s The Working Poor: Invisible in America, Shipler states, “It had been a science class, and the teacher had given up and allowed a student who had brought a Nintendo game to plug it in” (Shipler 240). If the teacher ends up giving up or stops caring all together, the student will follow suit. In the student’s mind if the authority does not see it as important, why should they. It is important that the teachers, no matter the school, not give up on the students, for most it is the only the students have to look up to. According to Lyndsey Layton, writer for the Washington Post, just about 11 million children were living below the poverty level (Layton). For that amount of children to be living that low in life is unacceptable, but because of how education is in these areas where the children are living in are bad, they don’t have much hope for their future. Education is the only outlook these kids have for a better future and if that is corrupt or interfered with than there is a really good chance of them not being able to escape the poverty. Although there are millions of teachers that do strive to provide the best for his or her
...sionate professors who helped shape the type of teacher I would like to be. They found ways to talk to me in a manner that motivated me to want to improve, all while honoring the work that I have already done. I would like to bring this same moral into my classroom, when a child is motivated, passionate,and self-aware of their needs, strengths, and weaknesses, they can and will push themselves to improve. Students do not solely care about how much knowledge an educator has, but they care about how much these educators truly care. We shouldn't judge a person on how educated they are based only on test scores. The most educated person may not be the most suitable person to teach children. I may lack the test scores, however, I do not lack the passion and motivation needed to be a great teacher. If we cannot celebrate small successes, the final outcome is less weighted.
A Teacher Holds the Key to Knowledge, Success, and Fun The greatest gift a teacher can give students is a positive learning experience that lasts a lifetime. An outstanding teacher is a good role model, fair, consistent, and open to new ideas. A good teacher can motivate and entertain without students realizing the learning process it taking place. It is a great achievement for a teacher to see the “light bulb” come on over a student’s head when he/she understand a problem or can figure out an equation.