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The real issue here is not complaining about bi-gone days and figuring out
how to instill critical thinking in students in such a way that it interests
them. No, they don't listen to the radio stories anymore but they do watch
TV and there is so much just to teach from that experience. Believe it or
not, I don't disapprove of teaching to the TAAS completely. I live in Texas
and the students entering public universities are better writers than most I
have seen in other states, so something comes out of it, even if it is not
ideal. Currently, I tutor students getting ready to take the TAAS and I ask
those critical questions to make them consider what they are saying and to
remind them that I am not in their brain and can't see what they are
thinking, so they must paint a picture that I can see.
The most obvious difficulty of all is the quality of teachers everywhere. A
degree in education is useful for knowing how to deal with students in the
classroom, but there is not enough emphasis on learning the subject area of
specialty and then being able to make that come alive for students. It's
even worse at many universities where students right out of the bachelors
are teaching college freshmen. I know because I was one of those people and
I was unbelievably naive.
I did apply at a middle school right after I completed the masters as I
waited for my husband to finish his medical degree and I was turned down
with the specific reason that I might intimidate the other teachers because
of my accomplishments and because of my sheer knowledge in my degree area,
so essentially I knew too much and was too confident that I could help
students? It didn't hurt my feelings at the pay rate of 22k, so I went and
applied at a pharmaceutical company making over double that. We are chasing
away all of the good teachers and sending them to industry!
Victoria Sharpe
Texas Tech University
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