How difficult is it to effectively teach and whitewash your believes?
What is acceptable today by NEA Norms?
Answers:
Well, here is my take. I am no longer part of the public education system where I happily did teach for a while. My biggest problem is captured in your question and I no longer could simply put aside my beliefs (and years of educational training) to meet silly district, state and national standards. We are so focused on high-stake testing and teaching toward the tests that we pay very little attention toward developing capable, well-rounded thinkers.
I don't think it is unsurmountable and believe that we could begin to fix the problems that do exist, however, I believe that many educational administrators are either not willing and able to break away from what is mandated or are simply going along because it is "en vogue" right now.
You see it all of the time in areas outside of education, the pendulum swings in one direction only to come back to the other. The net-net is somewhere in the middle. I think the biggest problem I had was that I couldn't teach students the way I felt was best and it was frustrating. Instead of fighting a fight I couldn't win it was easier to move on to an area where I could make a difference.
As for the philisophical implications and what is acceptable by NEA, I cannot comment. They too are being pulled in many directions and I have seen them say many things to go along with legislation but at the same time suggest alternatives.
It is quite an interesting time to be involved in education, either as a participant or as an observer. Lets just hope we can get it right because the success of future generations ride on it.
nope... i think this is a great oportunity to control the information and public your questions and experience in a way that they don't get away from the subject but still work on paralel idea.
I am interested to test teaching an see how can all of info i know can affect the attention and focalize more into the subject. if you're "of Philosophical or Questing Nature", try not smoking pot for a few days Frustrating yes.. but if you want to at least try to make a difference, then do it and do it well. What beliefs? If you're talking religious beliefs, teach at a religions school. Religion has no place in any public school. I teach 10th grade English and enjoy the discussions and debates that take place in my room, many of which are philosophical and questioning in nature. Higher-level thinking and critical questioning are both important skills that students must learn in order to prosper in our world. My discussions don't end with concrete answers, but instead allows the participants to develop their own answers based on the evidence. Quite often I gain a greater understanding about life through these discussions.
That being said, I am very careful about what I will reveal regarding my own thoughts and philosophies. I know that my students view me as a role model, and I want them to make their own decisions rather than latch on to mine. Just as important, I never reveal my political affiliation to them. As an educator, my job is to expose what I can as objectively as I can while respecting EVERY learner in my classroom.
Over the years, I have had students from different countries, of different religions, of different customs, in non-traditional families, and so on.
My classroom is NOT my pulpit, nor my political soap box. My classroom is my tool to help students obtain as much education as they can while they are my students.
When it comes to "beliefs," I believe I am fulfilling my role best when I present what I know to be a VARIETY of beliefs. Why? Well, because that is the real world in which my students will work and live, and my students would be well advised to be shown how adapting to the real world can benefit them.
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