Monday, December 26, 2005
Meeting; yuck
Meeting with Dad, by the way, was a disaster. Dad (a military man) started right off the bat attacking M., the regular math teacher, for "not being in control of the class", (which is utter nonsense, she does a very good job).
Ms. M. did an amazing job of keeping her cool, maybe that's what education school is all about, you learn to suffer idiots with grace….
We had a teacher in the school that had retired from the military and thought teaching would be a nice second career. She didn't last two months - the kids LOVED hearing her try to raise her voice above the din. One of the most effective teachers I have worked for spoke in a hoarse whisper. The kids would strain to hear what he was saying. Amazing.
Anyway Dad's son will not be in my Algebra class next week. The kid was way behind the class and with no support from Dad there was no way to catch up. I am sure the boy will be mortified and his friend will ask me why he is not in the class. No comment kids, now let's look at this curve called the parabola.
Ms. M. did an amazing job of keeping her cool, maybe that's what education school is all about, you learn to suffer idiots with grace….
We had a teacher in the school that had retired from the military and thought teaching would be a nice second career. She didn't last two months - the kids LOVED hearing her try to raise her voice above the din. One of the most effective teachers I have worked for spoke in a hoarse whisper. The kids would strain to hear what he was saying. Amazing.
Anyway Dad's son will not be in my Algebra class next week. The kid was way behind the class and with no support from Dad there was no way to catch up. I am sure the boy will be mortified and his friend will ask me why he is not in the class. No comment kids, now let's look at this curve called the parabola.
// posted by Old Math @ 8:35 PM 
Comments:
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I taught my first year on an emergency credential, meaning I had a bachelor's degree and a pulse. The only way I got through that year was to fall back on my military experience.
Everything in the Army was training--which is another word for teaching. Every training event had a task to perform, conditions under which it would be performed, and standards to which it would be performed. Task/conditions/standards sounds a lot like a Madeline Hunter objective statement to me.
Additionally, the military teaches 'leadership'. Don't think for a moment that the military is filled with order-following automatons. If it were there would be no need to practice leadership. In the Army, as in a classroom, presence counts big.
Everything in the Army was training--which is another word for teaching. Every training event had a task to perform, conditions under which it would be performed, and standards to which it would be performed. Task/conditions/standards sounds a lot like a Madeline Hunter objective statement to me.
Additionally, the military teaches 'leadership'. Don't think for a moment that the military is filled with order-following automatons. If it were there would be no need to practice leadership. In the Army, as in a classroom, presence counts big.
Plenty of teacher candidates don't survive the first year. This one was notable because A) she had a military background and B) she tried the "drill sergeant" school of leadership which is you try to yell your way to class room control. I don't know if A) and B) had any connection at all.
While the military has real leaders it also (like any large organization) has pedantic fussbudgets who rely on a system for everything. Dad was in the second category and (common to his breed) distrusts and dislikes anyone who think otherwise.
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While the military has real leaders it also (like any large organization) has pedantic fussbudgets who rely on a system for everything. Dad was in the second category and (common to his breed) distrusts and dislikes anyone who think otherwise.
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