Weblog of Wesley Fryer

Unfortunately, this comment isn’t a surprise. This administration has proven, much like the last, that they are totally out of touch with real education, formal schooling, and what makes a quality teacher. They haven’t a clue that they are actually doing far more harm than good by their careless remarks and their lack of respect for people who have truly dedicated themselves to bettering the lives of others. Apparently, Mr. Duncan and his boss are the victims of “poor teaching” because they ought to know better.

I am currently in a Master’s of Education program and have been disappointed in its rigor, teaching strategies and accountability. When having spoken to other master’s students in other programs it seems that many have to read texts or books and then reflect and share- and that is it. Maybe have to write a thesis with little higher education standards at the end. Does that necessarily improve student learning? Granted, of all the programs out there, I have limited knowledge and maybe I have just experienced poor programs, however if you surveyed most teachers in master’s programs as to why they are there, most that I have come in contact with would say to move up the pay scale, not to improve student learning. Not all of course would say that, but many people in the education profession are in for the wrong reasons and we need to be honest with ourselves about that because they are the ones giving ammunition to those outside our profession.

Rather than getting defensive and assuming those who have earned their way to high ranking positions are out to demean our profession, maybe we should step back and critically analyze our profession so we can be the ones to change it and make it better, rather than being forced to while we kick and scream that we aren’t respected. We are not going to gain integrity of profession by claiming to be blameless.

To Arne Duncan achievement and test scores are the same thing. Maybe the reason he doesn’t understand the difference between the two is because he hasn’t earned a graduate degree. His post graduate experience consisted of dribbling a basketball, not contributing intellectually to the field of education. On the other hand, Linda Darling-Hammond, who many thought would be Obama’s choice for ed. secretary, had spent her entire professional life conducting educational research and has contributed hundreds of papers, articles, and books on teaching. Obviously, Duncan wasn’t chosen because of his didactic expertise. He was chosen to implement someone else’s political agenda.

It will be interesting to see where he ends up when his current position comes to an end. I’m willing to bet that it will not be in the field of education.

I am in my mid 30′s and as the education budgets in Florida continue to decrease and cause the closing of schools, laying of of teachers, and enlarging of classroom size there is something to be said about how what funds are allocated are allocated. If it is true that 8 billion dollars are spent adding additional salary for the completion of Masters programs I think it is a fair question to ask if that money is being spent in the most effective way.

I spent the time (about 18 months) getting a MS in Education: Administration just to help bone up my resume. I am hoping to gain as many resume items as I can to make myself more marketable as this declining economy continues. Teaching English now, perhaps in the next few years moving into administrative positions. Of course my MS has not made me a better day to day in the classroom teacher. It has made me a more well educated person, and a person with additional confidence. Perhaps the confidence alone over time will improve how well my students do.

For this specific argument I agree that if educators are not at the forefront in establishing how money is spent then complaining later will have little value.

Personally, I tend to agree that more money is wasted on an
antiquated system that among other issues, focuses rewards on
personal achievement in the hopes that it will leads to better
results in the classroom without any meaningful research that
demonstrates a direct correlation. Then, turning outstanding
teachers into administrators (often mediocre at best since it
requires an entirely different skill set) simply because they are
personally rewarded with a better pay package, is as ludicrous as
it gets. Kinda like the “factory style education system” of
grouping children by age rather than by achievement or ability. Get
off your high horse educators and get the clue that it’s not
exactly personal, but the system you are wanting to keep for
personal benefit is exactly what’s pushing the best and brightest
out of the system altogether. When I look back at my own education,
I see that I performed about 90% of it after the 5th grade on my
own, my “teachers” were mere facilitators of resources. I agree
with the quote that, “If you can be replaced by a computer (or by
extension, a robot), you should be.” That day is coming. Reading a
common text in a community setting is not teaching in of itself.
Yet, I’d hazard to guess that well over half of your ranks are
performing at that level.