ACCOUNTABLE

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   mom101posted 13 years ago

   Do you think teachers should be held accountable for their class and what, as a whole, they learn?

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      WildIrisposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      In addition to Brian Slater's response I would say that teacher's are accountable to their students for being prepared to teach their subject and to bring enthusiasm to their teaching.

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      mimindposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      100% no way you get a student in 4th grade who has been passed every year and can not do kindergarten level work or is a non-english speaking student without to many accomidations from the district. I have been in schools that have failed and often its not just  the teachers students and families are transient switching schools often etc. Not everyone learns or hasthe oppertunity.If it can be proven they are using best practices tweaking lessons if students are not learning and seeking advice from other professionals etc and doing everything right its not fair to penalize them. Thta said there are some real suckie teachers out there that do not try a better stratagey for accountability in the profession needs to be designed.

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      Brenda Durhamposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      No.
      They should be accountable for what they teach, not necessarily for what kids learn.

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   BRIAN SLATERposted 13 years ago

   Yes and no- teachers are accountable to the children to make sure they study and learn the curriculum that has been set. But you can take a horse to water and if it doesn't want to drink it, no amount of pulling or pushing will get it to.
   Society has a role in how we raise our children to want to go to school and be educated.  Parents have a lot to answer for over the past 20 years or so, particularly at the lower end of the social scale.
   The problem is you just need one unruly child in a class to cause havoc. In the "good old days" children were disciplined and basically toe'd the line. Todays children are smart and know that teachers can't hurt them, only ask them to do something, this makes their position weaker, so children exploit this, not in any malicious way but children know how to make the most of what they can.
   This in turn makes the teachers role more difficult and isn't a job I would like, but good look to them that do.

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   Daniel Carterposted 13 years ago

   A bad or below average teacher will reveal his/her value or liability in time. As WildIris stated, teachers need to be prepared to help their students learn everything they can to be successful. But it's up to students to learn, not the teacher's job to "enforce" learning. Each needs to be accountable for their OWN actions.

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      mom101posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      daniel, how can you tell a kindergarten student, hey, learn if you want to, it aint my job to make sure you learn.
      By the statement, or the way i interpreted  it, leads me to think that is what you are saying. If a child is being disorderly or unruly, I can see that he/she needs to face  the consequences of their actions.

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         Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         And what do you "expect" out of a kindergarten student to learn?
         
         They are 5 years old? Do even think a child that young actually can pay attention long enough to learn anything, except playing around?
         
         You cannot force children to learn. They must learn at their own pace.
         
         To address the main question- Yes, some teachers are to be held accountable for their layout, format and system of teaching. If it is ignorant to the students and non-productive, then they should either be taught a new system for teaching or get out of the teaching business altogether.

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         thooghunposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         You both make good points, what I would suggest is a go-between (the parents). Should the child not learn willingly then I would (as a teacher) inform the parents. What I'm trying to say is; there should be a parent-teacher relationship as well as simply a teacher-child relationship.

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            mom101posted 13 years agoin reply to this

            thooghun, very true. Parents should do everything they can to work with the childs teacher. And that, in itself would be a great subject for another topic.
            cagsil, most students that age are ready to learn behavioral skills. When my son started kindergarten, he knew colors. could count to 100, read (small words of course), his abcs and how to sound them out. I taught him how to sound them first. ....Several of the kids knew some of the above or more. I was told to back off teaching in order for the other children to catch up. My son was given pages to color to occupy his time. ......

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   libby101aposted 13 years ago

   In the past teachers had full control over what they taught students... but in today's schools teachers are told what to teach step by step! They have little to no control over the material! Now their methods could be put to test!!!
   
   I believe they push children too hard these days! My son was learning spanish in kindergarten! I think it's great to broaden the horizon of any child... but come on? Kindergarten... they don't even know their native tongue's full course yet!
   
   He's in the first grade now and is being taught far more than I would think a six year should be. He comes home with several sheets of homework to complete. He is only six!
   
   I think they try to make children grow up too fast!

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      marty1968posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I agree Libby, I have two daughters; one of whom just graduated high school. Children today are far more intelligent than we were at that age. I dont think they are necessarily trying to make them grow up too fast. Its just that todays society is much more advanced now and with technology on the rise children have to be better prepared to be turned out into a world of constant change (be it good or bad)

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   orioleorangeposted 13 years ago

   It's irresponsible to make any one group -- students, teachers, parents, community -- shoulder the entire burden. All play a part and should hold themselves accountable for what they can do. I understand this is an ideal.

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