Building a better NCLB?

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Educators are their own worst enemies: Like so many fields of endeavor educators don't want change. They are comfortable with the way they do things so they are unwilling to make the changes necessary to improve education. Why should elementary school teachers have tenure? Tenure was designed to protect people such as college professors who were doing research that might be unpopular. Instead tenure saddles us with teachers who are barely competent or burned out but cannot be fired.
Pay for performance is also feared. The idea that everyone does the job at the same competence level and therefore deserves the same pay may work on the shop floor but not in the classroom.
The changes that technology can bring to the classroom will not be realized for many years until we have an entire school system made up of those who grew up with it and understand it.
Admittedly teachers are not the only problem. School boards and administrators are equally to blame for not finding ways to leverage the technology investments they make. Frequently those investments are made on the wrong technology or to solve the wrong problems. I had an experience a few years ago where a local district made a large investment in technology to bring computers and internet into all classrooms. The only application of all this technology that they spent any time on and trained people with was the attendance and grading program so they could more easily get their state reimbursement. There was absolutely no training of teachers on how this technology could be used in the classroom.
Until school boards, administrators and teachers recognize that change is necessary and that their comfort levels must be challenged there will be very little improvement in education NCLB or any other proposal notwithstanding.; Posted by: drdelta@... Posted on: 08/07/07 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use