[edi581] illiterate teachers
- From: "diana romeo" <dromeo@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: edi581@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 11:56:49 -0500
Hi Class,
It seems to me that except for required assignments, our class listserve has
been very quiet this year, although parhaps the traffic level has been normal.
Only Jerry can tell that.
I thought that I would try to generate a little activity before class ends,
and possibly make myself unpopular at the same time. Maybe some of you
(including Jerry) will share your thoughts on this!
The following e-mail appeared recently on Middle-L listserve. I have not put
it in quotation marks or altered it in any way, because I wanted to reproduce
it exactly as it was sent. It reads:
Has anyone read the book Mick Harte was here. We're doing that book with my
sixth graders and was wondering if there was any lesson plans with it. Thanks
for your help!
Vickie!
I sometimes make typographical errors in my messages and in my haste, fail
to correct them, although I consider this poor form and try not to do it.
However, I think, in fairness, anyone can let a mistake or two go through.
However, one does not need to be judgemental to conclude that the above is an
illiterate atrocity by someone who has no command of proper grammar, and is
purportedly TEACHING English to young children.
I count 3 errors in the first sentence alone, and they are not the type
which are generated from hitting the wrong key on the keyboard- they are
generated from ignorance of the English language. The second sentence has three
more, including using a singular verb for a plural noun.
We have had some interesting discussions on teacher tenure. My wife is a
teacher, and I have been associated with education in one way or another all my
life, and I strongly believe in a tenured system. It provides just and needed
protection to millions of GOOD teachers who would be helpless without
it.However, the controversy, and continuing question is: "does tenure shelter
bad teachers along with the goods ones?"
My own theory is that it does not do so by design, and does not need to do
so, but sometimes does. In my 5 years inside schools as a teacher (albeit
substitute), I have encountered many teachers who lack professionalism, work
ethic, and even competence, and not only continue in the profession, but get
the same increase at the end of the year as the good teachers, who work hard
for their students.
As Jerry has pointed out, contrary to popular belief, tenure does not
guarantee a lifetime job, but only assures just cause for dismissal. Under this
formula a teacher can be fired for any just cause, including incompetence.
However, we all know that bad teachers do exist (as some incompetent
people, in all fairness, do in every profession). Out of our entire class, and
all of the teachers we have cumulatively known in our student and teacher
years, how many TENURED teachers can we name who were fired for INCOMPETENCE
and only incompetence, not involving any malfeasance or any other charges? If,
as a group, we can come up with 12 out of the thousands of teachers we have
known, I will be surprised- but surprise me. I would like nothing better. It
will give me a new level of faith in the system.
So the final question is (I don't know if there is a final answer), how can
we do a better job of purging bad teachers from the profession without
destroying tenure or entertaining bird brained ideas like the "renewable
tenure" Jerry has alluded to, which is non-tenure? It is unfair that these
slugs damage students and get the same pay and salary increases as the great
majority of good teachers who work so hard to be good at their profession.
Does the answer lie in better Administration? Would the Unions back
Administrators in the dismissal of teachers who had commited no other offense
than just being very bad teachers. Then, the final, final question. How do we
judge who is a good and who is a bad teacher (Even though everyone knows)?
Thoughts please!
Carl
P.S. Please excuse any uncorrected "typos" in this message. Yuk! Yuk!
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