I remember being told by someone (a secretary in the school, actually), that as a parent, she would rather have someone who knew how to teach than someone who knew the material. That (in this state) you can pass a test to be certified in a subject, and that mastering the material is secondary to being able to deliver it.
That certainly seems to be the philosophy in this county. Everyone (the principal [English], the superintendent [middle grades social studies], the assistant superintendent in charge of curriculum [middle grades English], the math curriculum specialist [middle grades English NO MATH]) involved in supervising us may be the world's best teachers but they do not know math, they do not know the curriculum. When we try to discuss problems, they cannot hear what we are saying because they are not math people.
Science comes the closest - and there are two science people over us and they seem to get it. (They also understand that science has freedoms in what you can do to illustrate a point.) It is easier to use mentos and diet coke to make a point than to expound on the Pythagorean Theorem.
I am getting frustrated trying to bridge this misunderstnding.
There is more to teaching math than spiffy teaching techniques. You have to know the math.
Why is that so difficult?
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3 comments:
Definitely. You have GOT to know something about the content area. Maybe this can fly for English & SS. But it seems to me for stuff like math, science and music, you've actually got to know the stuff.
Personally, isn't math one of those things where it doesn't follow tradition pedagogy?
Not according to the people I work for.
I am trying to figure out a way to force kids to take notes so they can build on the knowledge.
I bet that it just looks like it's working for English and SS. As a parent, I suppose, I want a teacher that my child can learn from (way fuzzy criterion). As a student, I always wanted a teacher who knew the content. There was nothing worse than a teacher who didn't understand what they were teaching. My kids feel the same way, so I guess that's what I want as a parent too.
Teaching skills are only any good if they help you teach the content. Good luck with your "specialists".
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