Do you feel teachers are really doing their job of truly teaching our children w

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   freefoggingposted 14 years ago

   Do you feel teachers are really doing their job of truly teaching our children what they NEED to...
   
   know through life??

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   nightwork4posted 14 years ago

   i don't think it is a teachers job to teach our kids about things that concern them throughout their lives, that's a parent's job. i don't think teachers are what they used to be though, they seem to have lost their compassion in too many cases. teachers, at one time put everything into their jobs whereas now it seems it's only a job.

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   SOKCGOLDposted 14 years ago

   As nightwork4 said, that isn't really the teacher's job. How could it be? Imagine a classroom with 30 kids in it. What do they NEED to know to get through life? Each one is going to end up with a different life and will need a different skill set. How can one teacher prepare all these kids - at the same time? Instead, we have standardized lesson plans and standardized tests. You can't blame the teachers. They are overworked and underpaid - and under-appreciated. They are working in a broken educational system. It is absolutely up to the parents to take a major role in shaping and participating in the child's education. The role of the school is to teach kids HOW to learn. WHAT they learn should be the parent's concern.

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      freefoggingposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Teachers only work through the school year and have summers off. They are there to teach our children, not just pass out homework and send them home.

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   shellyakinsposted 14 years ago

   I think that teachers need to teach kids in authentic situations.  I feel like the education system is sometimes far removed from real-life.  We need to teach kids skills in real-world settings.  For example, who in the real world writes five paragraph essays?  We write blogs, emails, personal narratives, reviews, etc.

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      freefoggingposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree. Children need to be taught more towards what real life will throw at them. Teachers corriculums need to be redone and made smaller so they have the time to help the kids who need it.

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   freefoggingposted 14 years ago

   They now come out of school (my kids are all grown by the way) nowadays, not knowing how to write a check or balance their checkbook. Some of the kids are now passed through the grades without knowing what the need to know for that grade he was passed from. I really believe we need to increase school hours by two and cut out the summer vacation. Our children are so behind everyone else's, it's sad. And what will the future bring? My kids went to a small country school. Most of the teachers were good, but a few of them acted like they didn't really want to take time out to help the children who needed it and asked for it. I did a lot of re-teaching at home plus hours and hours of homework. I had always thought school was for that, teaching a curriculum properly, I mean.
   I have noticed though, some of my friends children who are still in school, are not learning like they should be. I hear a lot of things like the kids were watching TV in school instead of assigned work. Or I see kids graduating that can't read or add. That's a huge problem in my eyes.
   And...it IS the teachers job to teach our children academics...come on...if they aren't there to teach, then what are they getting paid for. And hey, I would like to make their pay and have summers off. I am a nurse...that's a darn hard job too, probably harder than a teachers, and we don't get paid enough for our job either, but we care to much to just quit working or not do our job just because we don't get paid enough. They knew the pay scale before they went to school to teach, so it wasn't like a big surprise.
   We really need to revamp our education system for the sake of our children! That may mean getting rid of the "bad" teachers, increasing school hours and increasing school days...that's what our children really need to be able to learn properly and retain at least the important stuff!

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   cardeleanposted 14 years ago

   Classrooms are complicated places.  Teachers have many people to answer to and their days are filled with state mandates about what to teach.  Yes, there are "bad" teachers but the education of children has to be a collaborative effort between schools and parents.  We may not teach our children how to balance a check book but we also need to teach them how to effectively surf the web for information.  This is not something that had to be taught in the past.  Teacher's curriuculum continues to grow not shorten.  Many teachers spend their summers taking classes to renew their licences and preparing themselves for their classroom next year, it's not all free time.
   
   If you feel that teachers have it so easy and are paid too much then I would encourage you to volunteer in a classroom for a week and see what teachers do.  Thirty plus kids in a classroom with a variety of learning levels, personalities and home lives that all play into the environment.  My mother and sister are both nurses and yes that is a very hard job too.  They parallel each other in MANY ways.

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      freefoggingposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I volunteered for 6 years straight. I was not impressed. Most teachers send all work home so not to be bothered. And as far as their pay...they get the summer off. I am a nurse and I make less than the teachers in my area,without summers off

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   kessposted 14 years ago

   The teacher can only do what is required of them.....
   
   If any understand Life in its fullness...I am sure they wont be able to fit in the education system.. for he will feel obliged of his own self to go against it....

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   poorconservative1posted 14 years ago

   Through life? No. As some of the other bloggers have said, that is a parents job. Life lessons are something that should be taught to children by the parent(s) and unfortunately sometimes something that they have to learn on their own, children never listen. Teachers obligation to children should be limited to reading, writing and arithmetic and of course sports. But I don't think that is the real issue here. The real issue is what the teachers get for doing the job that they sometimes don't do. In the U.S. most teachers get paid very well, usually get to retire in their early 50's and reap retirement benefits while seeking other employment to supplement their already over bloated pension.
   As Milton Friedman author of Free To Choose once said "Government teaching institutions (public schools) should be allowed to exist but they should be forced to compete with Private industry teaching institutions (private schools) through a voucher system."

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   Middlespecialistposted 14 years ago

   I am sorry you have had some bad experiences with teachers.  I am surprised at the conditions you are describing, because most of us are very busy keeping the kids busy and preparing them for testing, etc.
   
   I do feel like the answer to your question is "not really," however.  But not because teachers do not want to.  If your child is planning to get a job taking and passing tests, we are doing a great job!  Kids are going to be great at that as adults with the current focus on testing.
   
   But I am very concerned that we are not teaching the functional skills children need.  I hear on the radio today that many cities in California are going to cut out art and music altogether.  Teachers do not choose what to teach any more...that is mandated from administrators now.
   
   I think your question is a great question.  But please do not judge all of us because of a few you have heard bad things about.

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