Reader Response 8

Introduction and Chapter 1 - Goldstein

Reader Response 8 - "Who does what to whom, when, where, how, and why?" (represented by the letters WDWWWWHW), include page references and personal/professional connections.

Who: American public

Does What: undervalues and undermines 

To Whom:  educators /  teachers

When: Currently / ALL throughout history

Where: America most predominantly (other nations hold teachers to a higher regard and respect)

How: eliminating tenure, wanting rid of unions and bargaining methods

Why: students are performing low and the public wants highly qualified teachers

The first portion of this book was full of “Who does What to Whom, When, Where, How, and Why’s.” Different situations, different people, different dates, however, the overall picture was that America is not respecting teachers and should be holding them to a higher regard. Teaching is not “glorified babysitting,” that I sometimes hear it referred to as. Teaching is one of the most challenging professions to accomplish because there is not owner’s manual, no blue book or program to read. Teaching is standards based and assessment measured on paper but in reality it is about caring for students and teaching them life lessons with basic skills and in depth concepts. I think Catherine Beecher was on the right track but her time period still slowed down her development of advancements in the teaching field. The following discusses some of my opinions about the first portion of our readings.

Introduction

“Public school teaching had become the most controversial profession in America” (Goldstein, 2014, p. 1). I 100% agree with this quote. This summed up the “does what” version of the big question.

“No other profession operates under this level of political scrutiny, not even those like policing or social work, that are also tasked with public welfare and are paid for with public funds” (Goldstein, 2014, p. 1). I had never thought about teachers being paid from public funding and how this differed so greatly from many other professions. Of course I had considered that public schools are obviously funded with public money, But I had never considered how different this was than other jobs. Most people work for businesses that are established for a profit. Teachers profits would be the well-being and growth of their students and the advancement of knowledge. 

┄ Chapter One ┄

“Missionary Teachers”

THE COMMON SCHOOLS MOVEMENT AND THE FEMINIZATION OF AMERICAN TEACHING

On page 25 it speaks of a model classroom in which a veteran teacher instructs and the teacher candidate observes, listens, and practices. This reminded me of practicums, residency, and mentor teachers in the education field. This is how it should be! Think about the other professions out there. Doctors complete residencies, lawyers usually work under an associate for some time, apprenticeships are usually required for other trades as well. The book was correct when it states that the best practices in current teacher training resemble this technique. 

Catherine Beecher and Horace Mann would develop ideas to persuade the public about education in regards to female teachers. Schooling should be about the type of person the child was, not necessarily the degree of their math expertise. The introduction and first chapter of this book was full of statistical facts and quantitative figures regarding educators in America. The perspective of it being that American teachers are under-appreciated, undervalued, and underpaid in their work. While some of them did go into this profession because it was “easy” to get into, the work needs to be focused on making good teachers better and less on getting rid of bad ones. This creates conflict, distrust, and misplaced anxiety on capable educators. 

While Catherine Beecher and Horace Mann opened up the door for female educators to become qualified, there was and is still much work left to be done. Some of my personal reactions stemmed from the information that teachers often go into this profession because the entry level is considered fairly low. This angered me slightly. While I do know teachers that should have not acquired their license, it is an insult to assume that I was incompetent of attaining a different job. I have always wanted to be a teacher and I have also always done very well in school. Also, the fact that teachers should be on the same level as doctors or lawyers reputational wise; however, the pay drastically differs. What surprised me most was that teaching employs five times as many people as law or medicine (Goldstein, 2014, p. 8). Teachers spend more time with their students then most parents, yet we are paid so low and respected very little by many. Countless hours go into planning, analyzing, and reflecting, not to mention things such as care, affection, and other immeasurable tasks; but teachers are still paid a laughable salary and receive ridicule for the amount of work they do and the headaches they put up with.

The WDWWWWH&W of this section did not seem very positive, but this profession is one that cannot afford negativity to take center stage. Students are the number one priority and should not suffer from the complicated “teacher wars” as described.

References: 

Goldstein, D. (2014). The teacher wars : a history of America's most embattled profession. New York :Doubleday.