tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post202074724776825996..comments2024-03-27T05:08:05.064-07:00Comments on With A Brooklyn Accent: What is Lost When Teaching as a Lifetime Calling is Undermined: A Personal ReflectionMark Naisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00610048248462814950noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-41195702945126454212012-06-16T09:55:15.606-07:002012-06-16T09:55:15.606-07:00Trolladox, fuck off ok ? Is that grammatically cor...Trolladox, fuck off ok ? Is that grammatically correct enough for your highly intelligent sensibilities ? Don't you have a hedge fund to manage or a cancer to cure somewhere or are you coasting in stepmom's basement as an edu troll until the GOP calls to offer you the VP spot with Mittens ? Nothing more ridiculous than another self proclaimed internet genius who has hours to snipe on other people's blogs. Your extreme frustration is manifest. Get over yourself Einstein everyone else has.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-17763439179525109652012-06-04T21:40:59.343-07:002012-06-04T21:40:59.343-07:00Our beautiful Naples provided apartments and homes...Our beautiful Naples provided apartments and homes are among the top joint protection in the City region. With our fond and contemplative staff, you will be provided change options to fit your requirements and be able to select your perfect short-term or long-term accommodations.<br /><a href="//naplescorporatehousing.net/" rel="nofollow"> naples corporate housing</a>jimihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04502959747701682479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-68485522424874861572012-06-01T20:18:10.626-07:002012-06-01T20:18:10.626-07:00Further Mark, surely you can't take self-asses...Further Mark, surely you can't take self-assessment and peer assessment seriously. It's pointless and masturbatory. If you disagree with me and believe in it so strongly, how about you let your students self and peer assess themselves for a few semesters instead of grading them? Please. Get real.Paradoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04294801326487252258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-12507297908647774212012-06-01T20:15:02.591-07:002012-06-01T20:15:02.591-07:00Mark, if you're going to grade me, I suggest y...Mark, if you're going to grade me, I suggest you learn how to write properly first. The sentence, "Most teachers, especially the most talented and committed ones, view these reforms with horror, Not only are they extremely skeptical of the private sector’s vaunted “efficiency,” a legitimate concern given the astronomical compensation private companies give their executives, they fear that way classroom learning will be assessed erase those aspects of classroom teaching which make it life changing for student and teacher, and in the process, turn teaching into a revolving door profession." is quite possibly the most poorly constructed one I've ever seen on a public blog. Grammatical errors aside, you fail to comprehend my basic argument - no, there are not more mediocre teachers than bankers, executives, or garage mechanics. My point is, there are exactly the same amount of mediocre teachers. But mediocre bankers, advertising executives, and garage mechanics are not paid as highly as extremely good ones, nor are they protected from being fired. And again, why should students be graded if teachers cannot?Paradoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04294801326487252258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-82101325606629201742012-06-01T12:23:41.981-07:002012-06-01T12:23:41.981-07:00Those who can, teach, those who can't tell tea...Those who can, teach, those who can't tell teachers what to doMark Naisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00610048248462814950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-19542681742024563602012-06-01T12:22:52.350-07:002012-06-01T12:22:52.350-07:00If you are so "gifted" Paradox, you woul...If you are so "gifted" Paradox, you wouldn't be making the argument you are making. I give you a "B" because your arguments have no connection to the real world of teaching where self-assessment and peer assessment is continuous. Are there really that many mediocre teachers protected by tenure? Are there more mediocre teachers than bankers, advertising executives, garage mechanics, who work in fields without tenure. The teaching profession is uniquely "political" and subject to pressures fromm students, parents, elected officials, ambitioius administrators. The best public schools in the nation have teacher tenure because it is necessary to attract people who want to make a lifetime commitment to the field.Mark Naisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00610048248462814950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-42909057850478081272012-05-30T21:37:42.204-07:002012-05-30T21:37:42.204-07:00Giving a pass to the thousands of mediocre teacher...Giving a pass to the thousands of mediocre teachers just because a few great ones exist is no different than giving your entire class an A just because a couple of students did well. I just fail to understand how this obvious fact can be so lost on the general teaching population.Paradoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04294801326487252258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-8165886827900021942012-05-30T21:34:35.066-07:002012-05-30T21:34:35.066-07:00Here's the problem, Mark. As a lifelong, extr...Here's the problem, Mark. As a lifelong, extremely frustrated "gifted" student, I have absolutely no problem with your idea that good teachers should have autonomy to decide what goes on in their classroom. You keep qualifying your remarks and experience with words like "good" and "most talented" and "best teachers" - descriptions which by their very definition are a minority subset of a larger population. Just as not all of your students are equal, not all teachers are equal either. In fact, many of them have no business being in a classroom. So while my life has been profoundly influenced by those rare magical teachers you speak of, it's also been damaged by a far greater number of mediocre, unhappy, vengeful, and simply unintelligent teachers. I agree that it's impossible to quantify learning in such narrow categories, but what are you going to do about the huge number of mediocre teachers hiding behind the shield of tenure and unions? The bottom line is that if I can be graded as a student, teachers can be graded as well. This is an inseparable truth - any separation between teacher and student performance quantification reveals a foundational problem about the entire educational system. Walk the walk, Mark. If you don't want to be graded, you should refuse to grade YOUR students and publish a letter explaining your reasoning. Until then, this student will have a very hard time taking anything you say seriously.Paradoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04294801326487252258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-45005252988141293852012-05-30T21:14:39.681-07:002012-05-30T21:14:39.681-07:00Are you against grading students?Are you against grading students?Paradoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04294801326487252258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-11772668309064291532012-05-29T11:23:22.124-07:002012-05-29T11:23:22.124-07:00Thank you, Mark.
I too am still connected with m...Thank you, Mark. <br /><br />I too am still connected with many former students. I hope someday to start a Richmond (CA) Community Math Center. If I do, its success will depend on the participation of former students, who are lifelong residents of this community. (I've only lived here for ten years.)<br /><br />I don't think any big organization really knows how to be efficient. And efficiency has to be looked at in relation to one's goals. The important goals of teaching/ learning are hard things to measure.<br /><br />(Have you seen the post about the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/meet-the-worst-8th-grade-math-teacher-in-nyc/2012/05/15/gIQArmlbSU_blog.html" rel="nofollow">"worst" teacher in NYC</a>? Of course, she's a great teacher...)Sue VanHattumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10237941346154683902noreply@blogger.com