The Condiments Keep Changing but the Baloney Stays the Same

When I read an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer with the title, “Hire teachers that actually know things,” I kept thinking of our readings on professional development. The article begins, “ When I first started teaching in Philadelphia public high schools 40 years , there was a ubiquitous joke: If you can’t do, then teach. Over the years, the joke has been insightfully amended; if you can’t teach, then teach teachers. “(2009. p. A18) Now I know this isn’t the nicest thing to say to a group of teachers but it is very interesting. The experience of the author was that young teachers coming into his school with degrees in “something real” such as history, English, math or science were garnering respect and success with their students as compared to the teachers coming into his school with degrees in education. Beauchemin goes on to explain that we can’t expect to magically create good teachers by “hugely wasteful and overfunded staff development that seems to obsess our present school administrators.” (2009. pA18) Good teachers must have the knowledge to back up their position as a teacher. Beauchemin discusses the data that is constantly being quoted in schools and required changes in curriculum. Does this help our students to learn? Do we just need to buckle down learn what we need to know and teach it to our students?(2009. pA18)

Relating this article to our readings on professional development I began to think about the reality of everyday work as a teacher. Is it plausible to really implement the things being taught in professional development seminars? I think it is a lot to ask of already burdened teachers and when it comes to technology few of us are experts; some of us need the help. Research shows that teachers need extra time to review and learn technology, without extra time they are in danger of burn-out. (2007. Hew & Brush)

I found the article to be interesting because I am always asking my husband (high school science teacher) if he is using the technologies we are learning about. Usually he says no saying they are just not practical. He is also a member of his school’s technology academy so he is very interested in technology. He does use the basics in his classroom PowerPoint and a whiteboard and he says there just isn’t time in the day. Perhaps technology should be more a part of education training. If colleges start to incorporate technology more into their teacher education curriculum it might be easier to naturally incorporate it into the classroom. I’m sure this is happening to some extent and I feel like this is a time of transition in our field; a transition between those who use technology and those who do not.

Citations:

Beauchemin, Phillip. (Friday, November 6, 2009). Hire teachers who actually know things. Philadelphia Inquirer, A18.

Hew, Khe Foon & Brush, Thomas. (2007). Integrating technology into K-12 teaching and learning: current knowledge gaps and recommendations for future research. Educational Technology, Research and Development, 55(3), 223-252.