In Praise of Great Teachers

As we return to school, it's a good time to pay homage to the people who do the work and who make the difference for students in in schools: the teachers.

A million and one researchers have made it clear that schools are exactly as good — no better and no worse — than the teachers who teach in them. (See, for example, a study by Stanford's Linda Darling-Hammond, and  research from Australia's classrooms.)

So what exactly is a great teacher?

A great teacher has four traits: 1) subject matter competence; 2) a genuine personal interest and enthusiasm for learning and for the subject at hand; and 3) command of effective teaching techniques; and 4) an ability to communicate with and motivate young people. Let's take each of these one by one.

1. Subject matter competence. Easier for an elementary school teacher, but not to be assumed, particularly once children get to middle and high school. I've worked with a bunch of Harvard graduates who can't write; don't assume that your child's eighth-grade English teacher can write. Maybe she can, but maybe she can't.
2. Personal interest and enthusiasm. Did you have teachers who exhibited so much interest and enthusiasm for their subject that they could barely keep quiet? They were personally thrilled by what Shakespeare teaches us about human nature, or the symmetry of a quadratic equation, and they shared their excitement in a way that we could not ignore.
3. Command of teaching techniques. This is harder to remember, but back in first grade, you might have had a teacher who knew what to do with you when you just didn't "get" certain blended vowel sounds. She knew to try a new way to help you "get it," or to have a peer explain it to you in a certain way. And then you got it.
4. Ability to communicate with and motivate young people. Some teachers care. They care deeply about the well-being of each of their students, and they know how to reach out and touch young people. Sometimes they have interesting stories themselves that captivate us, or maybe they just have an intuitive sense about how to connect with young people.

I had a teacher like this. Her name was Pat Rose, my ninth-grade English teacher at Sewickley Academy, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Mrs. Rose knew her stuff. (She'd read David Copperfield at least 27 times, so she had no trouble spotting those of us who hadn't done our reading for the week.) She taught young writers how to choose their words carefully and to omit needless words. She insisted on precision and elegance in written expression.

Perhaps most important, she taught us that the proper length of an essay "is like a woman's skirt: long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to keep it interesting."

Mrs. Rose was somewhat old-fashioned. She was also extremely good at commanding the attention of 14-year-old boys.

Visiting her Web site the other day, I was thrilled to discover that Mrs. Rose is still teaching, and that she still loves poetry. (She tried her best to make me love it back when I was 14 — with limited success.) She writes on the poetry page of her Web site: " By making us stop for a moment, poetry gives us an opportunity to think about ourselves as human beings on this planet and what we mean to one another. I wrote the following poem for my eighth-grade students in the spring of 1999; however, it is a poem that is really for all my students past and present. It is dedicated to my students and all the teachers, family members and friends who care about young people."

Here is the poem she wrote:

On the day
When the world turns from you and
Shadows steal the light,
And you stumble in the dark,
Remember those who believed in you.

On the day
When you hesitate to step forward toward your own horizon,
When you doubt your dreams and
You stand before a closed door,
Remember those who placed the future in your young hands.

On the day
When your wish for wisdom exceeds your need for reason,
When you look for the truth that will explain your life, and
There are questions in your heart,
Remember those who taught you to value the search.

Then on the day
When a wreath of laurel is placed upon your head,
When you thrust strong arms into joyful skies, and
You lift your face to the warming sun,
Remember those who gave you a compass
So that you could chart your course among a complexity of stars.

Thank you, Pat Rose. And thank you to all the teachers who believed in me and who helped me find my way.

Comments

[Daniel McKenzie]

I am a non custodial parent, but feel I should be able to find out where my child is attending school.

Does anyone know where I can go or check to see if my son is attending school.

[David Mintz]

HI, I am the principal of Currie Middle School - the new principal. We have tremendous teachers, yet we have kids who are new to the country, who do not speak English, who quite frankly could teach anywhere but select to work in a very hard school. we have cut tardies, we have increased learning time, have renewed focus on what it means to be a middle school, have an incredible support staff. On the surface, and just using CST scores there is no way to compare us to Pioneer Utt, or any other school in America for that matter. You create a huge disservice for our community and for the new comers who may live in our attendance zone but will not give our school a chance because of the way you "advertize" that we are bad. You do not know our school. You do not know our community. You do not know our staff. You do not know the work that has gone into the school by way of the District to provide support. You did not see the standing ovation our children gave to a wheel chair, severely handicapped child during promotion. You did not see the parents who walk to school at night to support their children in music and art programs - because they have no cars.
You do not know our school other than from a test score - so please do not make our job harder. I would write more and try to get parents to rate our school, but most do not have internet and most work many, many hours each day. Most are not high school graduates, yet they send their children to school each day for a better life.
CST data is available for free on the states WEB site - your constant advertising and "information" is only destructive to those of us who spend our time doing good for children.

David Mintz, Proud Principal, Currie Middle School

[nadia]

Organic food contest for K-12 teachers.
Hello, this is Nadia with Earthday Network.
For the second year, Go Organic! For Earth Day is holding a curriculum contest on organic food and farming for K-12 teachers. Up to five outstanding teachers will win organic food for their schools for one day, provided by Go Organic! For Earth Day partners: Organic Valley, R.W. Knudsen Family, Santa Cruz Organic, Earthbound Farm, and Clif Kids, among others.
“Earth Day Network is proud to promote the Go Organic! Campaign through our 25,000+ member Educator’s Network” – said EDN’s Education Director, Sean Miller – “Schools present a unique opportunity for the educational, environmental, and business communities to become part of the learning process.”

Teachers must offer a minimum of three lesson plans that can include, for additional consideration, the following categories of organic products: dairy, grains, fruit juices, soy, canned and fresh produce, and fiber products. Curricula will be judged on their educational quality, applicability to the K-12 audience, and how it illustrates the connections between farming practices, the environment and human health.

Submissions must be returned to Earth Day Network by October 8, 2007. The winning curriculum will be determined by October 26, 2007, and the winning teachers and their schools will be notified by October 31, 2007. The tasty prize will arrive at the winning schools as an Organic Thanksgiving Gift during the week of November 12, 2007, courtesy of our national sponsors!

The Go Organic! For Earth Day, a project of Earth Day Network (www.earthday.net), Organic Trade Association (www.ota.com) and MusicMatters (www.musicmatters.net), increases awareness about the benefits of organic products nationally.
The Go Organic! Campaign educates millions of consumers on the benefits of organic agriculture and products, and will provide more than 3,500 retailers with coupon books full of savings on organic products. In addition, the campaign boasts a consumer-friendly website (www.organicearthday.org) that includes information on the benefits of going organic, giveaways, e-postcards, and the opportunity to sign up for e-Newsletters.

Interested teachers may register for free with Earth Day Network at www.earthday.net/involved/teachers/default.aspx, where they can download the contest instructions.

About Earth Day Network

Earth Day Network, www.earthday.net, seeks to grow and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable planet. It pursues these goals through education, politics, cultural events, and consumer activism. Current grassroots programs include the Climate Change Solutions Campaign, Campaign for Communities, and the National Civic Education Project.

Earth Day Network works with more than 105,000 K-12 teachers in the United States alone. In 2006, EDN launched Earth Day Television, greatly expanding its reach to a global network of more than 15,000 partners and organizations in 174 countries. More than one billion people participate in Earth Day civic activities, making it the largest secular civic event in the world.

The 40th Earth Day will be celebrated on April 22, 2008.

[Rick]

Funny how this blog goes on about praising those wonderful teachers, yet we fall short of paying them. Can't eat praise, and after awhile, frankly it sorta sounds like some machiavellian bs. But, have a nice day anyway!

[real estate]

Good reading.