I disagree with a lot of what you said, I don’t think any of the teachers I’ve come across recently deserve any type of merit pay. They make their “curriculum” once and reuse it year after year. Last year my son came home with several typewritten coloring sheets. Is it safe to assume that these people educating my children don’t have access to a computer?
I have some experience teaching, in Japan and teacher’s assistant in Miami and I’m proud to say I helped develop new materials for the kids. The teacher’s I worked with were thinking outside the box and developing things that would stimulate the children. As you said, there was little to no direction from school admin so we were free to develop what we wanted.
I also disagree about the credentials, I think it is VERY important for teachers to have practical experience in the class environments they will be teaching in. If a prospective teacher is thinking they’re going to walk in like Mr. Kotter or Michelle Pfeiffer (Dangerous Minds) and everything will work out that is totally unrealistic – things may not turn out so rewarding.
As far as the discipline, it’s true, my lousiest teachers were ill prepared to deal with the lack of respect they encountered. Earning and demanding respect are a big part teaching, parenting and life in general.
