Students must be taught how to study. They must learn academic discipline.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan stated Thursday, “America’s university-based teacher preparation programs need revolutionary change, not evolutionary tinkering.” Inspiring words, but he is still focused upon the symptom, rather than the cause.
According to the Columbia Spectator, Mr. Duncan is concerned that education school graduates lack management and data skills, that states do not have a way to determine the programs which produce effective teachers, and that we do not reward those programs which are effective.
A New York Times article quotes Secretary Duncan as reporting that he has met hundreds of teachers who complained that they did not get enough practical training with classroom behaviors, particularly with poor students.
Former president of Teachers College in New York, Arthur Levine, presented a report which revealed that approximately 60% of the school's alumini found that the teaching programs did not prepare them to teach.
There is no doubt that a teacher acquires much more understanding and technique by observing other effective teachers in the classroom and spending time with students, rather than just reading about teaching concepts and discussing them.
Teaching is an ever-evolving combination of science and art. The variables are constantly changing and the educator must always be creative and able to adapt. Alternative teacher training programs such as Teach for America are one attempt at this.
The trick is that the students, in order to accept and respect a teacher, must perceive him/her as consistent, fair, knowledgeable, and on course.
At the same time the teacher is being pressured by administration, through school district in-services and conferences with the principal, to teach in a specific manner. Tall order.
I cannot say what will happen regarding teacher training. But I do know this.
Students must be taught how to study. They need to learn academic discipline.
While lessons are presented at school, much of the true learning occurs when a student completes follow-up homework assignments. This is where "the rubber meets the road". This is where the student actually realizes and exhibits the understanding of the day's lessons.
The problem is that in too many schools around the country, when that 2:30 P.M. bell rings, school, and learning, ceases. These kids are going home and no parent is there to help or encourage them to do their school work. There is no true enforcement of the school's expectations.
Sadly, in the students' minds, homework is merely a "suggested" activity rather than "mandatory".
In homeschools, private schools, and charter schools, a completely different attitude about homework exists. It serves an essential purpose, and students acquire the academic discipline they must in order to learn. They are taught the connection between homework (practice) and developing knowledge.
What are we to do? Secretary Duncan is on the right track by reevaluating the priorities of teacher training objectives.
But in order to help these students develop the academic discipline they require if they are to succeed in school, as well as in life, along with tutoring programs, mandatory, well-managed study halls should become a part of each school day.
A study hall is not a tutoring session. It is a place where a quiet and studious environment is enforced. It is the opportunity for students to finish homework - not to sleep, talk, or doodle. Those who need help must be provided tutoring elsewhere.
This has been a long-held policy (and in a way, a secret) in many private schools.
In this era when parents cannot or will not assist their children with homework, until we can find the way to train and encourage them to become more involved, we must treat the source of the problem.
We need to give our children a time and a place to develop academic discipline, to practice their learning, just as we do for sports.
This we must do instead of just having them "put in time" at school and then "be done with it".
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Comments
There should be a web site for all students to register if they need anyhelp in any subject from tutor-volunteers, who can repsond to students in their neighbourhood. If there is a good response from students & tutor volunteers, we can create millions of teacher hours from dedicated tutor volunteers.
Nateindks@hotmail.com
I think part of the problem is the administrations of the teachers. In bad schools, the administration doesn't back up the teachers when doling out discipline. And let's not forget all these retarded programs that the administrators pay money for and tell the teachers that they will use them...regardless of mixed results in other systems. Another part is that teachers performance seems to be tied to state exams and whether the kids can get the correct answers regardless of the comprehension level.
Peter- I enjoyed your piece. I agree with Duncan in that teachers need more practical, tangible experience with lower performing students. Every year, I watch at least one first year teacher become a deer in headlights after 2 months in the real classroom. They tend to lack real classroom management skills, differentiated instruction methods, and other practical skills like how to assess accurately. These skills are necessary for a teacher to survive, and pre-teacher training does not accommodate these needs.
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