patrick.net

I have a question: Are there youtube videos that demonstrate the differences between a good and a bad teacher?

I acknowledge that SOME bad teachers exist, and that it would be great if they were all great teachers, but WHAT EXACTLY is it that bad teachers do that make them bad teachers? Please discuss!

My main impression of a bad teacher (from TV news programs, no less) is an excessively talkative woman that prattles non-stop but with very little actual information coming out of her mouth. It seems that there is not enough real information for the kids to absorb, too much spoon-feeding, and not enough quiet time during a lecture to let the information sink in with all the prattling going on(***). Fewer words, more content, more reflection is what is needed.

Am I on the right track, or totally out in the weeds? Please educate me :).

(***) Come to think of it, this style of "communicating" is also prevalent on TV. The other day I watched a clip of Lauren Lyster from a program called Capital Account. She is interviewing Sheila Bair, who I think would make an excellent teacher, whereas Lauren Lyster would drive me absolutely crazy if I had to listen to her even just one day. Scroll forward to the portion where she is talking with Sheila Bair for contrast. Also contrast Lauren Lyster with Charlie Rose, who I think also could be an excellent teacher, someone who teaches people to THINK for themselves rather than just filling space and time with words.

Lest I be accused of being sexist, there are lots of men on TV that are every bit as bad as Lauren Lyster. Especially the "but let me ask you this" crowd on CNBC and Fox.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/L3Jup8yGkZw

from a personal point of view, and life experience, and having raised (and raising) kids, I can honestly say that there is a difference in the way male children learn, verse female children. And type-a, vs type-b is different too. I submit that kids should be seperated by sex and personality type, and that may create a classroom envirnoment that allows a teacher to find a "teaching method" that is most effective. The seperation by sex is going on for my daughter's 5th grade class right now, just as a pilot study, and the results show huge improvements for both sexes and the teachers love it.

You are correct about the TV. And the internet. And most other forms of idle time tune-out entertainment. I dont think reading a book is as bad, unless it is a bad book. lol

So it is not the teachers fault, then? But what are the kids going to do when they get out in real life and may have to work with people that do not adhere to their "style"?

On that same note, have you ever heard a parent utter the phrase "my kid just has a different learning style". I don't buy into that concept. Kids need to learn how to learn. Some *small* adjustments in "style" is ok, but the idea that every kid needs a different algorithm is just a smoke screen for the kid being stupid, lazy, misbehaving or all three. And the parents as well.

And seriously, we are going to segregate society by "personality type"? I don't think that is a good idea at all.

Peter P says

LOL, I wish I were a kid. Time is a non-renewable resource. I wish I have more.

How can I tell your physical age? I can only infer your other age from reading your posts.

Okay, so no examples at all of what bad teachers do that is wrong?

I mean, come on, we can't label people as bad teachers without SOME sort of indication about what exactly they are doing wrong.

Peter P says

The invisible hand will set the price.

Teachers are not tomatoes in a bin in the market. The free market does NOT always work.

If it was a free market, teachers would also have the right to reject and accept each kid. If the system worked that way, I think teacher pay would soar high above where it is now.

Nobody says

How can I tell your physical age? I can only infer your other age from reading your posts.

Come to Coffee Hour? Peter P was there last time.

justme says

Nobody says

How can I tell your physical age? I can only infer your other age from reading your posts.

Come to Coffee Hour? Peter P was there last time.

Not this Saturday though.