What Teachers Make

You must have heard that classic line, reiterated by Jack Black in School of Rock: "Those that can't do, teach. (and those that can't teach, teach Gym)" As someone who is close to a number of people in the education business, it may be fun to laugh at sometimes, but what do we really think about it?

Here is a slam poem (another reason I like this) by Taylor Mali that explains, very well, what teachers make. (I should warn you though--there's a touch o' the language at the very end of the video.) [Poem's full text is here if you want to read along.]



[Tip o' the hat to my friends Eddie and Julianna]

School Kills Creativity

It is astounding to me how nearly everyone thinks education is important, and most have education opinions based primarily on their own experience in school and a few random facts they've picked up from an article or random study or the like.

Not that this is wrong, just that it seems interesting that so many people "care," but not enough to really do something about it, beyond the occasional rally or protest or "get out the vote" campaign.

I'm not going to give you my ideas that I think will solve all issues. Even the video I'm about to introduce I don't think offers the end-all solution.

That being said, I think that what Sir Ken Robinson says is this video is really intriguing. Now, it is a 20 minute video, but I know you can stick it out, tiger.

Like he says: Where in the world can you find an education system that doesn't have a hierarchy of subjects with Math, Science, History at the top and the Arts at the bottom?

Oh, I forgot to mention that he is hilarious even through his serious subject matter.



So what do you think?

Do schools kill creativity?

How could we change this?

[Tip o' the Hat to Doug McAbee]

The Onion On American Education Issues

I daggum love the Onion. For those of you that don't know, the Onion is a fake news network that creates satirical news stories and videos which are sometimes inappropriate, but always witty and hilarious while pointing to the real issue at hand.

This particular article struck me as something I simply could not not share. Here's a snippet. The article was titled "Report: Increasing Number Of Educators Found To Be Suffering From Teaching Disabilities":

WASHINGTON—A shocking report released by the U.S. Department of Education this week revealed that a growing number of the nation's educators struggle on a daily basis with some form of teaching disability.

The study, which surveyed 2,500 elementary and high school level instructors across the country, found that nearly one out of every five exhibited behaviors typically associated with a teaching impairment. Among them: trouble paying attention in school, lack of interest or motivation during class, and severe emotional issues.

"For teaching-disabled and at-risk educators, just coming to school every day is a challenge," said Dr. Robert Hughes, a behavioral psychologist and lead author of the study. "Even simple tasks, like remaining alert and engaged during lessons, can be a struggle. Unfortunately, unless we take immediate action, these under-performers will only continue to fall further behind."

And it only gets better. I love how it's mind-blowingly funny and at the same time points to two important issues: One, the incapability and underpaid nature of much of the teaching profession. Two, the oversimplification of the issue of kids falling behind in school as simple "learning disability."

So, what do you think?