It is a well-known fact that students entering higher education increasingly lack the academic skills necessary to succeed in their collegiate endeavors. It goes without saying that this is largely due to the widespread substandard education provided by legions of mediocre teachers—teachers who deliver shoddy instruction due to their own innately inferior academic abilities. At least, these facts are what Notre Dame Professor of Philosophy Gary Gutting would have readers of The Chronicle of Higher Education believe in his article “Why College Is Not a Commodity.” Although he makes many points that, if true, would be damning of the elementary and secondary teaching professions, Gutting stops short of proving his arguments logically or empirically. He claims today’s budding K-12 teachers often come from the bottom of the heap academically, directly leading to poor teaching—yet he provides no research to back up this connection. Furthermore, Gutting attempts to provide a solution to this so-called travesty by recommending that teaching be “professionalized,” ignoring the already-present professional practices and standards present. Gutting’s critiques, though thought-provoking, ultimately are logically and statistically unsatisfying in both their explanations of the state of teacher qualifications and in their calls to action.
Gutting makes the claim that teaching applicants have inherently lackluster academic abilities, but he fails to prove that this negatively affects quality of instruction. He states that “For every other knowledge-based profession—law, medicine, university teaching—we recruit from the top 10-20 percent of our undergraduate students. Not so for K-12 teachers” (Gutting). Although this may seem true at fir...
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...nking this criticism to poor teaching performance, Gutting neglects to pay attention to data that cast doubt on the correlation’s significance and magnitude. He then attempts to use this association to justify reforming the educational system, yet abstains from actually describing any practical elements of this revamp. While some of the points he makes pose valid concerns, the way in which he presents his views is neither empirically sound nor logically consistent. If he—or anyone—feels the need to make blanket statements criticizing a particular occupation, those critiques must be airtight and constructive before presentation, else the message may get lost and people could become offended by what they feel are false accusations. Professor Gutting, in trying to shine light on and provide counsel for what he sees as a pressing issue, did not achieve that standard.
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
Jon Marcus, an editor for the Hechinger Report, examines how long it will take for a college student to graduate and how it affects the cost of getting a college degree, “The Reason College Cost More than You Think”. Marcus was an online writer for Time in 2014, and he mostly writes about higher education, mostly it is about college. College cost more than a person thinks because of the length that a student will graduate college; courses that a college student takes time and expenses that need to be paid
166-173). Linda Darling-Hammond (2000) discusses how teacher education has changed and how it has affected our education system (p. 166). The author also notes how even the most intelligent people found it hard to prosper in the field without the right skills and preparation (Darling-Hammond, 2000, p. 166-173). In the article, she presents how post baccalaureate programs are carefully structured, versus alternative routes which can be no more than backup employment options. Darling-Hammond (2000) also addresses how it becomes difficult for aspiring teachers to learn both subject matter and pedagogy (p.
Our education system is failing and in his essay “What Our Education System Needs Is More F’s” Carl Singleton writes that nothing else will right the ship or fix this issue except for his proposed solution which is to simply fail more students. As a matter of fact “by the dozens, hundreds, thousands, even millions” (Singleton 1) is how he describes the failing grades should be distributed. He claims that illegitimately passing students has existed for the past two decades and even implies that it stems further back than that with many teachers in the school system today “who never should have been certified in the first place.”(Singleton 1).
From school buildings to supplies and teacher license requirements, life is very different for students and teachers today compared to two centuries ago. Today’s teachers receive higher education to learn the profession, and students learn new subjects such as foreign language, art, health, and science. After a long day of learning, most take the school bus home and continue their studies further. One thing that is similar between education in the 1800s and education now, however, is that children grow up to become well-educated, well-rounded individuals who are knowledgeable about themselves and the world around
It’s no surprise that there are faults within our schools in today’s society. As both authors’ point out if our educational system is
In John Gatto’s essay “Against Schools” he states from experience as a school teacher that are current educational system is at fault (148). He claims that classrooms are often filled with boredom manufactured by repetitive class work and unenthusiastic teachings. Students are not actively engaged and challenged by their work and more often than not they have either already covered the concepts taught in class or they just do not understand what is being taught to them. The children contained in classrooms have come to believe that their teachers are not all that knowledgeable about the subjects that they are teaching and this advances their apathy towards education. The teachers also feel disadvantaged while fulfilling their roles as teachers because the students often bring rude and careless attitudes to class. Teachers often wish to change the curriculums that are set for students in order to create a more effective lesson plan, but they are restricted by strict regulations and consequences that bind them to their compulsory teachings (148-149). An active illustration of John Gatto’s perspective on our educational system can be found in Mike Rose’s essay “I Just Wanna Be Average” (157). Throughout this piece of literature the author Mike Rose describes the kind of education he received while undergoing teachings in the vocational track. During Mike’s vocational experiences he was taught by teachers that were inexperienced and poorly trained in the subjects they taught. As a result, their lesson plan and the assignments they prepared for class were not designed to proficiently teach students anything practical. For example, the curriculum of Mike Rose’s English class for the entire semester consisted of the repeated reading of ...
Is college a commodity or is it not? This question seems to be popping up everywhere. In the article, “College is not a commodity. Stop treating it like one,” Washington Post write Hunter Rawlings gives his opinion on why college is not a commodity. He discusses the factors about the values and actions of the students and their education.
In society, independent learners are those who seek to further their education to the next level. In the article, “Why We Are Looking at the ‘Value’ of College All Wrong” by Valerie Strauss, Christopher B. Nelson argues that people can’t compare economics with receiving a higher education. Individuals who look at college from an economic lens are viewing education the wrong way. Instead, individuals should look at the bigger picture which is gaining an education and taking in the knowledge. When having an education, people grow and expand their knowledge. By expanding and gaining knowledge from the experience of college, people are able to become independent learners. However, most people tend to start evolving into independent learners after
When the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony founded the first college in America, Harvard, in 1636, it marked the beginning of college as the backbone to the American Dream (“About Harvard” ). Around the world, America is coveted for the “American Dream” in which someone can go from deep poverty, to unbelievable wealth, all by getting an education which allows a person to obtain any job and reach any economic level. The article “Peter Thiel Thinks You should skip college, and He’ll Even Pay For Your Trouble; The famous disrupted says overpriced universities hold back innovation, and what's to rewrite education to his liking” by Tom Clynes argues people should not attend college because it is a hindrance to innovation, while the article
The author's purpose is supported by explaining key issues of showering students with As. I believe that institutions should return to valuing the grading system so that those graduating can effectively utilize their earned degrees. Also, Staples asserts, "Individual professors inflate grades after consumer-conscious administrators hound them into it. Professors at every level inflate to escape negative evaluations by students, whose opinions now figure in tenure and promotion decisions" (Pg. 1065). At this point in the text, Staples talks the vulnerability of the teachers showcase to please students in order to satisfy their own needs. I find it quite ironic how teachers endure many years of schooling, only to prepare the future educators, nurses, and doctors to value their own salary and career opportunities. Additionally, with the student's opinions now being factored in toward promotion decisions, professors are now more lenient than ever to relinquish passing grades to all
What is the social value of college? The answer to this question is quite different when it is asked to multiple people. Some people believe that the social values that are learned in college can be learned outside of college, and others believe that college provides students with an environment to learn and practices social values in a controlled environment. One person that believes that people can learn social values outside of college is Dale Stephens. When it comes to people, who believe that college gives students a controlled environment to learn and practices social values are Michael S. Roth and Zac Bissonnette. In my opinion Stephens, Roth, and Bissonnette all have important points on the social value of college.
Shields, Patrick M., et al. Teaching and California's Future. The Status of the Teaching Profession: Research Findings and Policy Recommendations. A Report to the Teaching and California's Future Task Force. Santa Cruz, California: The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, 1999. 158 pages.
Natalie A. Johnson-Leslie, the author of “Effective vs Ineffective Teachers Educating Our Children”, claimed that ineffective teachers have inadequate classroom and management skills. They cannot control their students and cannot keep their classrooms quiet. As a result, the atmosphere of the classrooms is usually too loud for the students to be willing to learn. Derrick Meador, a school administrator and the author of “Qualities of Bad Teachers”, asserted that the teachers are not motivated to teach their students. They do not put a lot of effort into their job. They never come to school early and stay late, do not challenge their students, do not give homework regularly, give free days often, show videos frequently, and they do not prepare for their classes. It is important to thrust students hard enough to study so that they do not become discourage or panic. As stated by Strikwerda-Brown, et al, the professors at Edith Cowan University. “Poor teachers were described as not showing respect. They were also deemed to be inconsistent, untrustworthy and showed favoritism.” Poor teachers are not being fair in their classes. Not only that, but they are also not truthful and infrequently keep their promises with their students. Students never want to learn from teachers who are untruthful or people who are being biased. Students cannot be motivated to learn under the
Natalie A. Johnson-Leslie, the author of “Effective vs Ineffective Teachers Educating Our Children”, claimed that ineffective teachers have inadequate classroom and management skills (135). They cannot control their students and cannot keep their classrooms quiet. As a result, the atmosphere of the classrooms is usually too loud for the students to be willing to learn. Derrick Meador, a school administrator and the author of “Qualities of Bad Teachers”, asserted that the teachers are not motivated to teach their students. They do not put a lot of effort into their job. They never come to school early and stay late, do not challenge their students, do not give homework regularly, give free days often, show videos frequently, and they do not prepare for their classes. It is important to thrust students hard enough to study so that they do not become discouraged or panic. As stated by Strikwerda-Brown et al, the professors at Edith Cowan University, “Poor teachers were described as not showing respect. They were also deemed to be inconsistent, untrustworthy and showed favoritism” (35). Poor teachers are not being fair in their classes. Not only that, but they are also not truthful and infrequently keep their promises with their students. Students never want to learn from teachers who are untruthful or people who are being biased. Students cannot be motivated to learn under the teachers who are being unfair, don’t want to teach, and lack organization