thank you, shirley. . .we MUST keep our voices raised against Duncan. . .his speech on NCLB was masterful deception and wrong. . .and he continues to do more harm than good. . .paul thomas

Does practice make perfect? 

Arne Duncan does a great job revitalizing some of the mythology exposed by Deborah Britzman in "Practice Makes Practice" (2003), notably that the student teaching experience is the "real" foundation of teaching while theory is only cursory to or even detracts from learning how to become a teacher.  He seems to indicate, consequently, that the earlier student teachers enter the classroom, the better off education as a whole would be.

Britzman is having none of this, of course, and erases the imaginary borders between theory and practice: they are not discrete or somehow diametrically opposed but rather are engaged dialectically with each other.  Experience is not in-and-of-itself educational without the capacity to reflect upon that experience and frame it personally, socially and politically.  Thus, more is better can't possibly be a pancea for bettering teacher practice.

The other mythology Duncan seems to be channelling relates to the primacy of the classroom teacher in the act of learning and is again ably articulated by Britzman: everything depends on the teacher, teachers are self made, and teachers are experts.  Given the tides of standardized testing, government cuts to funding and increasing class sizes that Shirley was referring to, perhaps teachers aren't the only factor in determining what kind and what quality of learning takes place.

If all we're concerned about is the product, then perhaps practice does make perfect, insofar as practice via increased teacher training tends to validate and enforce norms of doing and thinking for teachers.  But if we're concerned with the journey and concerned with the teleological outcome of that product for the individual and society, than perhaps we need to think in broader terms than "more is better."  When we begin to do that, practice makes practice.

I agree Lana in regards to new teachers facing many challenges.  Not only are new teachers not given respect by some students and staff but they are often placed in teaching situations that they have not been prepared for in their undergrad classes.  I often  hear new teachers say to me when asked what are they teaching; their response is , “I’m teaching resource or I am teaching a self contained special needs class (yes they still do exist)  Why don’t we just throw them into the lions den while were at it.  Talk about quickly turning new teachers off the profession. 

What new teacher is going to go to their principal and ask for help or better still, tell them that  they lack the experience to meet the needs of the many  students who have met up with failure time and time again and did not receive proper training in their undergrad classes to meet the differentiated needs.   Navigating the world of teaching can be overwhelming as it is. 

Although Duncan is reflecting on the college programs in the States, I too  think our undergrad programs fall short in preparing our new teachers for the world of the inclusive classroom and our ever growing “special needs” population.    Furthermore, our school administrators need to reflect  where and what classes new teachers are being assigned.  If we want our new teachers to continue being passionate and remain in the profession,  we need to provide whatever is necessary and placing them in a class full of "Special Needs students"  as their first assignment, is not the way to go.

I must say that I don't agree with corporation people being in charge of education.  They may know how to run their corporations but just what does that have to do with teaching.  I think the two are so extreme that they could never be bed or dancing partners.  Changes do need to be made especially in the way teacher's are being taught.  This is a new day with new children and they are still preparing teacher's the same way.  The issues that I face as a new teacher is very overwhelming.  It is my desire to be an effective teacher as well as a caring teacher.  I would like for the Department of Education to realize that excessive testing can be very damaging to children especially when the children associate their worth to the result of the test scores.  I love teaching, however I don't feel adequate.  I think that the Instructor's should get acquainted with the student's that are in the system today and not the one's that were enrolled in schools two hundred years ago.  I realize that testing is necessary, however when testing takes the place of learning it is a serious problem.  I agree with the comment on the book companies.  They are in it for the money and keep making new editions in order to charge more money and I must mention that when you take the book back you don't get a good deal.  For example you may buy a book for $120.00, when you take it back they may give you $20.00 and sell the same book back for $100.00.  The books are in need of a major overhaul.  They are not child friendly and do not address the culture or the concerns of the youth.  If you are not in an Urban Teacher's Program I don't believe that you are going to be prepared for the children of today, regardless of race or socio-economics.  Teaching is not student-centered and is still based on an authoritative style.  The entire educatonal system is still top down. I agree reform is needed but it will not happen as long as the people that dominate education are the same ones that developed this system that is failing in the twentieth century.

I have to say that I am disappointed with the direction that the comments on this thread have taken.  Since when is it worth mentioning that teacher preparation programs are "out-of-touch" and since when was it new that rookie teachers got the crappy teaching loads or that a "one-time" visit is adequate in evaluating a teacher's effectiveness?  This is all stuff that's been thrown around for a long time.

What hasn't been thrown around is effective solutions to this problem.  I believe that mentoring is a step in the right direction.  I also believe that having a department or a senior teacher within a department have a good part of the decision when it comes to hiring and teacher evaluation is also an important step in the right direction.  All to often teachers are hired on a "last minute" basis.  We are always able to pick up a couple of what we (as administrators) consider "superstars" in the spring but agin, the interview process AT NO POINT involves input from the teachers within the school.  Not to mention the last minute scrambles in June and again in August where if I have an opening, I'm going to fill it with the first person who walks through the door with the right credentials (and often times without).  In an ideal world, teachers should have a HUGE input into who they see as their colleagues and share their students.

Secondly, teaching in Quebec has ALWAYS been seen as a second class profession.  we are paid 3.5 days a week so we can collect our $ in the summer months.  And even at that, our salaries are based on a 90% of a full time "functionnaire" salary with the same scolarity.  I think that in order to promote and improve the image of teachers, there needs to be within the province, a regulatory body (teachers monitoring teachers) that is not connected with the Union, much like the Ontario College.  This would create a body that would have input politically on the teacher evaluation and hiring processes as well as the money and connections to begin to raise the profile of our chosen profession with the public through media and policy.

I am sure there are other great ideas out there and the two that I have presented are certainly open for discussion, I just want to emphasize again that stating and re-stating facts that are well known and have not changed for as long as I can remenber isn't going to help anybody or anything and amounts to a lot of talk for a little action. 

Final point:  some people who are exposed to a difficult clientele in their first couple of years of teaching develop an affinity and a passion for working with that clientele and probably would not have done so had it not been for an "administrator" "forcing" them to "spend time in the trenches".  There's nothing wrong with trenches as long as proper support, listening, and balance are used to guide you through them. 

Only a teacher, a family member of a teacher or a close friend of a teacher knows the reality of the classroom.  In my 25th year of education, I have seen the "respect both inside and outside the classroom" decline. It used to be that we had to meet the "needs" of ALL students.  Now, we have to not only meet their needs, but those of ALL parents and their wishes, the Commissioners and our communities.    More demands, more time, less money in the system and little respect!

How do we attract new teachers and how do we keep them?  The teacher is no longer the respected authority.  S/he must justifiy every action/reaction regardless of justice.  The classrooms are filled with children who have severe behavioral difficulties, psychological issues and parents who are struggling with their parental responsibilities.  "I just want to teach!" commented one student teacher in our school as she struggled with a classroom filled with many challenges.  Getting to the subject is a major achievement with some classes.

Classroom managament in other parts of the world is not an issue in the same way that our teachers face it here.  Why is that?  I believe that the respect for education and teachers exists on a much higher level in these countries.  Education is celebrated not forced.  Professionals are treated as such and are not constantly put down and criticized for the failure of certain youth.  Responsibility must be taken by EVERYONE.

                     It takes a village to raise a child" (African proverb).  

                   Let's keep in mind that the school and teachers do not make up the entire village! 

 I look back at what I learned in my education degree and frown about some of the things the Professors promoted as relevant and important in the classroom. First the university I attended was a retirement community for administrators from the local school board. They would retire and show up the following academic year at university as  a professor. Taking their courses became little more than workshops for programs that the school board  implemented and promoted through out its schools. This is great if you plan on teaching in this board, however; there were many future teachers from all over Canada who would be returning to their home towns to teach. None of them publicly voiced any opposition to learning material that was used in one small board in this Province. There were programs created by individuals in consultation with teachers in this board that are now being marketed to other boards in the Province. There isn’t anything wrong with using something that works in one board what is wrong is letting this marketing into the classroom and suggesting this is the best method/program and not introducing other alternatives.  This marketing or pushing has also carried over into classroom experience. During the first week of my first teaching job the principal of my school came to my class room and politely informed me that I should be using these two programs in my classroom. I was already acquainted with the programs (surprise! Surprise!) from university classes and knew that just about every other teacher in the school was using them in their classroom. Why did I spend four years in University instead of attending a thirteen week intensive workshop focusing  on how to implement the two programs/frame works in my class.???