Post # 1
Member
2538 posts
Sugar bee
Hi bees! This is a big issue after a report was released showing that in countries where the teaching profession has a higher status, students perform better than countries with a lower status. There was a debate in the New York Times yesterday about how to best raise the status of teaching in the U.S.
I’m very curious what the hive has to say about this issue! What do we need to do to raise the status of the teaching profession and/or improve the U.S. school system? I know this is a super complicated issue, but I would love to see what you think.
(I’m in my 6th year teaching H.S. English in California…)
Post # 3
Member
436 posts
Helper bee
This is my 12th year teaching and I agree that often teachers aren’t considered a high status profession. I went to a workshop recently and a country (can’t remember which one) the smartest students go to school to be doctors or teachers and that isn’t the case in the US.
Post # 4
Member
436 posts
Helper bee
I don’t mean that students who aren’t smart don’t go into the teaching profession but that the majority of students want other careers such as doctors or lawyers. I’m tired of how much pressure is put on teachers when in many cases the parents are the ones who should be to blame for their students lack of academic skills. Something should be done to make the parents more responsible.
Post # 5
Member
1940 posts
Buzzing bee
I think the education of teachers needs to change. I was a teaching major in college for a period of time, but decided to pursue a more academically rigorous degree instead.
Especially when teaching the high school level, I wish more/most teachers would actually go to school for a subject, become an expert and then teach. Basically, if you’re going to teach biology, I think you should have a Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in Biology with the appropriate supplemental teaching courses (instead of a degree in teaching). Honestly, this would help teachers as well – teachers would be more knowledgeable about the subject, could potentially be marketable in other fields, etc.
One of the other differences I have read about is the time committment. Apparently, it’s not uncommon in countries like Japan for teachers to be physically in the school building 60-70 hours per week (including Saturday classes). I personally don’t know that many teachers in the US who spend that much time on site as well as complete off site responsibilities (i.e. grading papers, etc).