Big_D
Member
Anyone knows that the children in this nation are far behind our European counterparts, but who is to blame. I know that I am not the first to say this but the teachers and their unions are to blame. Now, I'm aware that the students need to take accountability for their own success but I am sure anyone reading this can thing of a teacher in their past that made such an impression on them that when they took their class they gave 100%. Also, I know that a lot of teachers do not get paid well but I doubt simply increasing their pay will automatically force them to do a better job and the statistics below will show that a higher turnover is needed to ensure better grades.
Why We Must Fire Bad Teachers - Newsweek.com
When I was in high school, one of my teacher admitted to making $70,000 and he showed us a movie for the entire duration of the class at LEAST once a week. I am not exaggerating. He would show us a movie every Friday and then it was not unusual for him to show us another one or two time more throughout the week. What is sad, is that he was not the only one. I can think of numerous teachers at my high school that show us movies, give us busy work, tell us to read out of our text books, and flat out not teach. As a freshman, one teacher did such a crummy job that in one quarter, the class average was a 64% and at my school a 60% was the absolute lowest a student could obtain and still pass. Another student and I had an A in that quarter so I would like to know how many people failed to bring the class average so far down. This teacher was a really nice guy but it is completely absurd that someone can do so poorly and still keep their job. What is even more pathetic is that my high school is continually ranked one of the top 1,000 in the nation. If my high school was one of the best in the nation, I would really hate to see what is happening at the rest of them.
Here is a couple quotes from two newsweek articles about the subject:
Are Teachers' Unions the Problem or the Solution? - Newsweek.com
Why We Must Fire Bad Teachers - Newsweek.com
Why We Must Fire Bad Teachers - Newsweek.com
"The research shows that kids who have two, three, four strong teachers in a row will eventually excel, no matter what their background, while kids who have even two weak teachers in a row will never recover," says Kati Haycock of the Education Trust and coauthor of the 2006 study
Why We Must Fire Bad Teachers - Newsweek.com
When I was in high school, one of my teacher admitted to making $70,000 and he showed us a movie for the entire duration of the class at LEAST once a week. I am not exaggerating. He would show us a movie every Friday and then it was not unusual for him to show us another one or two time more throughout the week. What is sad, is that he was not the only one. I can think of numerous teachers at my high school that show us movies, give us busy work, tell us to read out of our text books, and flat out not teach. As a freshman, one teacher did such a crummy job that in one quarter, the class average was a 64% and at my school a 60% was the absolute lowest a student could obtain and still pass. Another student and I had an A in that quarter so I would like to know how many people failed to bring the class average so far down. This teacher was a really nice guy but it is completely absurd that someone can do so poorly and still keep their job. What is even more pathetic is that my high school is continually ranked one of the top 1,000 in the nation. If my high school was one of the best in the nation, I would really hate to see what is happening at the rest of them.
Here is a couple quotes from two newsweek articles about the subject:
An obvious example: the teachers' unions have fought for protections in contracts and in state laws that make it virtually impossible to get bad teachers out of the classroom. On average it takes two years, $200,000 and 15 percent of the principal's time to get one bad teacher out of the classroom. As a result, principals don't even try.
Are Teachers' Unions the Problem or the Solution? - Newsweek.com
In New York City in 2008, three out of 30,000 tenured teachers were dismissed for cause. The statistics are just as eye-popping in other cities. The percentage of teachers dismissed for poor performance in Chicago between 2005 and 2008 (the most recent figures available) was 0.1 percent. In Akron, Ohio, zero percent. In Toledo, 0.01 percent. In Denver, zero percent. In no other socially significant profession are the workers so insulated from accountability.
Why We Must Fire Bad Teachers - Newsweek.com
The Indianapolis Star reported how Lawrence Township schools had quietly laid offwith generous cash settlements and secrecy agreementsa teacher accused of sexually assaulting a student; another accused of touching students and taking photos of female students; another accused of kissing a high-school student; and a fourth with a 20-year history of complaints about injuring and harassing students, including a 1992 rape allegation. At the time the story ran last summer, all four teachers still held active teaching licenses.
Why We Must Fire Bad Teachers - Newsweek.com